Maybe, Just Maybe, The US Army Wants EVs After All
May 27, 20265 seconds
Tina Casey
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The US Army has been cautiously dipping a toe into the vehicle electrification field since the early 2000’s, with little to show for the effort. The momentum seemed to fizzle out entirely after federal energy policy took a sharp U-turn last year. However, the idea of pairing EVs with gas-powered range extenders may still have legs.
EVs And Range Extenders
Range extenders have become a familiar feature in the civilian EV field. First pioneered in force in 2009 by General Motors with its short-lived Chevy Volt, the idea is to pair the advantages of electric drive with the security blanket of a gas tank. The powertrain is electric, with the tank called into play to run a generator as needed (see lots more Volt background here).
More recently, automakers have fallen back on EREV (extended-range electric vehicles) to attract EV-curious car buyers who need, or think they need, to visit a gas station every once in a while. The Scout Motors branch of Volkswagen comes to mind. The Scout venture launched in 2024 with pitch for 100% battery-powered vehicles, but last fall it reported that the majority of its reservations ask for the range extension option.
Right around the same time, CleanTechnica editor Zachary Shahan took a look at pros and cons of the EREV trend. The list was rather thin on pros, except to note that a range extender could be helpful for drivers who log hundreds of miles a day. On the con side, range extenders add another layer of expense and complexity, potentially raising maintenance and repair expenses as well as up-front costs.
EREVs For The US Army
The US Army has its own set of priorities, having come to the range extender space through anti-idling kits. The kits are basically battery packs that can power auxiliary systems, enabling the operator to shut down noisy diesel engines instead of hitting idle mode.
Last May, Josh Luckenbaugh of National Defense Magazine reported that the Army has been testing anti-idling kits on medium-class tactical vehicles. With a fuel savings of 10-20%, the Army is also laying plans to introduce the kits among other vehicles as well.
The Army is also prepping for the next step up the electrification ladder in the form of integrated power kits capable of delivering high voltage DC power. Luckenbaugh lists on-board missile defense, mobile command posts, directed energy weapons and vehicle-centric microgrids among the applications.
In concert with microgrids and other advanced systems, integrated power kits will have a significant impact on logistics and the military workforce, as well as raw fuel consumption. Maj. Gen. Michelle Donahue, commander of Combined Arms Support Command, told National Defense Magazine that integrated power kits could eliminate 12 fuel truck companies from the Army’s current roster of about 40 companies.
EREVS For The US Army
Considering the Army’s growing interest in battery power, it’s only one small step from integrated power kits to EVs with range extenders. At least, that is what the US electric truck maker Harbinger has in mind, in partnership with the American branch of the global defense supplier Rheinmetall. The two companies have joined forces in pursuit of military electrification opportunities in the field of cabless, uncrewed robotic vehicles.
“Initial areas of collaboration include autonomous tactical wheeled vehicles, contested-logistics resupply, and next-generation robotic platforms aligned with U.S. Army autonomy and manned-unmanned teaming priorities,” Rheinmetall explains.
“Harbinger’s platform is designed from the ground up with scalable battery architecture, and a range-extended hybrid powertrain, enabling silent watch, reduced thermal and acoustic signatures, and extended operational endurance,” the company added in a press statement dated May 27.
“Harbinger’s hybrid platform leverages the company’s proven electric chassis, and pairs it with a gas-powered range extender that recharges the battery to keep missions going in the most demanding environments,” Rheinmetall elaborates.
More EVs For The US Army, One Way Or Another
As for why Harbinger and Rheinmetall are confident about their chances, the partners refer to the “Other Transactions Guide” issued by the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment in July of 2023. “The companies have already submitted a joint autonomous tactical wheeled vehicle in response to the U.S Army’s Sustainment Other Transactional Authority (OTA) effort,” the partners noted in an email to CleanTechnica.
In an explainer issued in 2022, the US Army Acquisition Support Center outlined the case for electrification in one form or another, considering that Defense Department vehicles spend 75% of their time stationary, with their engines idling to keep systems running.
“Estimates indicate that tactical vehicles can burn from 30 percent to 60 percent of their fuel while stationary, during the course of normal use. This reduces vehicles’ range, burdens operational logistics chains and creates significant costs for DOD,” AASC noted.
Keep an eye on that OTA window for more electrification opportunities. Last July the American Bar Association posted a long rundown on the topic, noting that Defense Department’s reliance on a single fuel source — petroleum products — is a “critical vulnerability.”
The author, Major Curtis N. Cranston, recites a laundry list of reasons why petroleum dependency is a bad thing, up to and including Russia’s misbegotten invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
“In particular, only one month into the operation, Russian forces abandoned hundreds of their stalled combat vehicles after running out of fuel in their infamous “40-mile-long” convoy on roads outside Kyiv,” Maj. Cranston recites, drawing a contrast with hybrid EVs:
“Hybrid-electric drive (HED) TWVs offer immense tactical, operational, and strategic advantages—lower thermal/audible signature, higher sprint-speed, reduced logistical burdens, and greater operational endurance/independence—that significantly enhance force survivability and lethality.”
Cranston also takes note of political roadblocks and structural procurement hurdles obstructing a timely, efficient transition to hybrid EVs. Still, he argues that change is inevitable.
“Sooner or later, the DoD will ultimately have no other choice but to transition to hybrid-power ground vehicles,” Cranston elaborates. “For this reason, as DoD acquisitions programs explore options to hybrid-electrify its ground vehicle fleet, their leaders continue to pay close attention to commercial advances in HEV technology.”
Under the category of sooner rather than later, Cranston suggests that the procurement process can be tweaked to cement the links between military and civilian applications.
“The DoD’s need to continually develop HED technologies, like EV batteries with improved energy density to power the DoD’s light- to heavy-duty TWVs, thus has obvious commercial application, which this new acquisition pathway could support,” he concludes.
Thoughts? Drop a note in the discussion thread…
Image: The US Army has been slow to adopt EVs, but the combination of range extenders and crewless, robotic applications could provide an opening (screenshot, courtesy of Rheinmetall/Harbinger via email).
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