Army selects six companies for electric vehicle infrastructure ideas

The Army has selected six companies for a new cohort that seeks to solve some of the challenges that the service faces to building an electric vehicle infrastructure, according to an April 22 Army Futures Command announcement.

Each company received $100,000 for an eight-week program, which will include a presentation to the Army at the end, according to the announcement.

The solutions will support the Next Generation Combat Vehicle Cross-Functional Team and the Ground Vehicle Systems Center, as well as the Army Applications Lab and Alion Science and Technology, according to the announcement.

"The Power Transfer Cohort will support the Army in its modernization strategy by developing EV infrastructure in remote locations for the Army's ~225k vehicle fleet," the announcement states. "This Cohort began virtually on March 29, 2021, and concept design presentations to NGCV leadership are planned for May 20, 2021."

The Army Applications Lab started its first cohort of this type last year with the Long Range Precision Fires CFT, to find ways that the service could introduce greater automation to the artillery resupply process.

"Last year, we launched and validated this new Cohort Program approach. We know it works, and we're already seeing the results for our Army mission partners," Col. Len Rosanoff, director of AAL, said in the April 22 announcement. "The Power Transfer Cohort is a chance to show that this model can scale across the Army to solve other complex problems."

The following companies were selected for the power transfer cohort: Coritech Services, Inc., Royal Oak, MI; Czero, Inc., Fort Collins, CO; Fermata Energy, Charlottesville, VA; PC Krause and Associates, West Lafayette, IN; Tritium Technologies, LLC, Torrance, CA; and Wright Electric, Albany, NY.