Orion, MI April 4, 2005 -- Cobasys, a leader in advanced NiMH battery technology, announced today that it was selected by ISE Corporation to provide its NiMHax battery packs for development of a new hybrid-electric powertrain for the Army's Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV). The high performance FMTV, built by Stewart & Stevenson Tactical Vehicle Systems, is the "platform of choice" for combat arms and other support applications.
Scott Lindholm, Cobasys Chief Sales Officer, noted "We are pleased to be working with ISE Corporation on this important military project. ISE is a leader in the design and development of hybrid drive systems for commercial applications." Mike Simon, Chairman of the Board of ISE, commented that "The Cobasys NiMHax battery packs are an ideal solution for the FMTV project due to the complete integration of all necessary components to provide a safe, reliable high performance battery pack."
The ISE hybrid drive system is expected to offer several benefits, including improved fuel economy, reduced harmful emissions, greater operating range and reduced noise. ISE's advanced control system will enable the FMTV to travel for several miles on battery power alone, with the engine turned off, thereby providing a "stealth" operating capability sought by the Army. ISE recently displayed an FMTV development vehicle with the Cobasys packs at the Clean Heavy Duty Conference held in La Quinta, CA.
Eric Johnson, Cobasys Manager of Transportation Sales for the program, noted "The NiMHax 576-240, our battery system solution for ISE is part of our standard pack architecture. This is a very exciting application because it is one of the largest NiMHax HEV packs available. This system contains 96 Series 1000 battery modules and is designed to deliver 576Volts and 240 kilowatts of power. The system also incorporates the newly developed Cobasys Hawkeye� algorithm, which assures accurate and reliable battery state-of-charge for optimum vehicle system operation".
According to Debbi Bourke, Cobasys Program Engineer, "The Cobasys NiMHax 576-240 battery system supplied to ISE offers longer life and more power in a smaller, lighter package than typical lead acid batteries. The plug and play NiMHax battery packs include battery monitoring, electronics, CAN communications and thermal management. The high power, 240kW, and liquid cooled NiMHax packs are ideal for military applications where dirt, dust and water intrusion are concerns".
ISE Corporation, based in San Diego, is a leading supplier of hybrid drive systems and components for heavy-duty vehicles such as buses, trucks, trams, airport equipment, and military vehicles. ISE is a world leader in electric, hybrid-electric, and fuel cell technologies, and the U.S. distributor for Siemens ELFA electric and hybrid-electric drive components.
Cobasys designs and manufactures advanced Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) battery system solutions for transportation markets, including HEV, Electric Vehicles (EV) and 42 volt applications, in addition to Stationary Back-Up power supply systems for large Uninterruptible Power Supply systems (UPS), Telecom and Distributed Generation markets.
Cobasys is a joint venture between ChevronTexaco Technology Ventures, an operating unit of ChevronTexaco Corporation (NYSE: CVX) and Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ: ENER). For more information about Cobasys' products contact Ray Wagner, Vice President of Marketing at 248-620-5765 or visit our website at www.cobasys.com.
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