Contact: Monica Futrell (630) 755-7915
mfutrell@www.navitassys.com FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Navitas Systems Announces New US Lithium Custom Cell Manufacturing Line with Lockheed Martin Corp. as first Strategic Customer
Flexible Equipment Enables Production of
Advanced Lithium Chemistries and Cell Formats at Scale
Woodridge, Ill – Feb. 19, 2018 – Navitas Systems LLC (www.navitassys.com), a leading provider of lithium energy storage products for commercial, industrial and government/military customers, announced today that it has installed a new, automated lithium-ion cell production line at its Advanced Solutions Group facility in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
This state-of-the-art facility has the capability to produce more than one million custom format pouch cells per year, enabling Navitas to design, prototype and produce both advanced cell chemistries and unique form factors optimized for high-demanding performance requirements and packaging envelopes. Cells supported range between sub-1 Amp hour (Ah) size to 60Ah.
“For the last several years, there’s been a large gap in the supply market for lithium cells,” said Alan ElShafei, Chairman and Founder of Navitas Systems. “At one end of the spectrum, you have large lithium cell manufacturers who are at full capacity, supplying standard lithium products to the automotive and electric grid markets. At the other end of the spectrum, you have a low number of small companies supplying low-volume quantities that are very labor intensive. Navitas fills a large unserved gap in the middle, offering the unique ability to optimize different lithium chemistries from our R&D experts, and then ‘turn the crank’ and produce these cells at significant volume, and with the flexibility of creating non-standard cell shapes and utilizing high performance lithium chemistries.”
The military, aviation and medical markets are illustrative examples of market segments that demand high-performance products in space-constrained and environmentally-challenging product applications. The U.S. military has had limited battery options, since many lithium cell suppliers are located in adversary countries. Navitas Systems is working with Lockheed Martin to bring its Navy customer higher-performing products.
“We’re proud to offer one-stop energy solutions made right here in the U.S., and Navitas is excited to work with Lockheed Martin as our first customer, ElShafei continued. “Over my 30-year career, I’ve visited countless lithium battery manufacturing plants from around the world. The infrastructure installed at our facility is one of the most innovative, safe and flexible production lines available anywhere. This line can do non-prismatic, polygonal, or rounded edge cell formats to assure maximum volumetric efficiency or optimal weight distribution. We look forward to serving customers who have the most challenging battery applications with this new cell production line”.
About Navitas Systems, LLC
Navitas Systems is a leader in integrated design, technology development, and manufacturing of innovative energy-enabled system solutions and energy storage products for commercial, industrial and government agency customers. Navitas Systems products range from customized energy storage solutions for motive, idle-reduction and defense related applications, along with custom renewable energy integrated power systems, to standard products like lithium based lead-acid replacement batteries. Our ruggedized lithium energy storage products are the perfect choice for any high-performance multi-cell battery application that requires lower weight, reduced volume, massively increased cycle life, higher efficiency, and environmental durability.
Navitas is headquartered in a state-of-the-art 100,000 square foot facility in Woodridge, Illinois. In early 2012, the company acquired the Government Solutions Group of lithium battery manufacturer A123 Systems. With this acquired advanced battery group located in a 50,000 square foot R&D, Engineering, & Manufacturing Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan, along with strong local and offshore partners and solid financial stability, Navitas is well positioned to continue serving the energy products and power electronics needs of major worldwide customers.
From advanced R&D, safe/high energy cell design, in-house electronics manufacturing and cable assemblies, to sophisticated battery pack assembly, Navitas Systems is your one-stop shop for comprehensive energy and power electronics solutions. For more information on how to partner with Navitas Systems please contact Monica Futrell via email at mfutrell@www.navitassys.com or call her at 630-755-7915. For more information on Navitas Systems please visit www.navitassys.com.
