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Israeli-based battery manufacturer Epsilor has delivered the first of its 6T series lithium ion batteries to Hanwha Defence Australia for integration in the Australian Army’s fleet of future Redback infantry fighting vehicles (IFV).
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The delivery of the first COMBATT 6T lithium ion batteries marks a major milestone in the Australian-build phase of the multi-billion-dollar LAND 400 Phase 3 program set to fundamentally reshape the Australian Army’s combined arms, land warfare capability.
Marked ELI-52526-DM, the new battery stores 3,630Wh of energy, the highest energy density in the market, with the COMBATT 6T battery undergoing a suite of testing prior to being down selected by Hanwha Defence Australia (HDA).
Epsilor’s COMBATT batteries support advanced armoured vehicles, ground robotics, tactical energy storage systems, missile launchers and radar systems, with the batteries currently undergoing testing for use with the US Army.
Merav Kolody Shubeli, Epsilor director, sales and marketing, said, “Whilst the Australian market sets a significant footprint in Epsilor’s global marketing activities, the global and growing demand for high energy density batteries for the Redback IFV, creates further opportunities for Epsilor to provide its COMBATT 6T batteries to new customers worldwide.”
These tests include bullet penetration, extreme temperature performance and long cycle life, ensuring reliability in the most demanding military environments, with both versions being designed to support defence vehicles, tactical energy storage applications and ground military robotics.
Shubeli’s comments were expanded on by Epsilor’s president, Ronen Badichi, who added, “Epsilor is pleased to equip HDA with its market-leading product, further extending our already known capabilities. Being chosen by a global leader is a strong expression of trust in our technology.”
Epsilor Electric Fuel is a globally recognised developer and manufacturer of custom and standard smart batteries, battery chargers, and mobile power management systems and draws on more than four decades of expertise in electro-chemistry and battery management systems (BMS). Epsilor delivers high-energy-density solutions tailored for extreme environments across defence, aerospace, medical, industrial, and marine sectors.
Hanwha Defence Australia is a subsidiary of Hanwha Aerospace, a division of the vast Republic of Korea Fortune 500 conglomerate Hanwha Corporation. The company signed a contract with the Commonwealth of Australia at the end of 2021 to supply Huntsman self-propelled artillery systems under LAND 8116 Phase 1, a $0.9 billion to $1.3 billion project.
Hanwha Defence Australia signed a multibillion-dollar contract for LAND 400 Phase 3 at the end of 2023 to supply the IFV to the Australian Army, which is Army’s largest acquisition program to date. Both the Huntsman and Redback family of vehicles will be manufactured in the Greater Geelong area of Victoria at the Hanwha Armoured Vehicle Centre of Excellence, now under construction.
