Ballard: Protonex' Power Manager Gets Full Rate Production Status By U.S. Army

(RTTNews) - Ballard Power Systems (BLDP, BLDP.TO), a provider of clean energy products, and its subsidiary Protonex Technology Corp. announced Monday that the U.S. Army Program Executive Office Soldier or PEO-Soldier has received signature approval for its Mobile Soldier Power Program of Record to full rate production status, commonly known as "Milestone C".

Ballard noted that this Program of Record includes a number of new devices focused on improving power and energy management on and around the soldier. This includes Protonex' Squad Power Manager Kit or SPM-62, conformal wearable batteries, and man-worn power and data distribution devices, such as Protonex' Vest Power Manager family.

The SPM-622 is a tough, versatile and agile power management device, weighing less than a pound and enabling military forces to manage and prioritize power use for various electronics devices from any available power source.

The U.S. Department of Defense and Allied militaries have deployed more than 5,500 Protonex SPM Power Manager Kits through the limited production phase of the program.

The SPM-622 Squad Power Manager was developed by Protonex and is manufactured at production facilities located in Southborough, Massachusetts

Paul Osenar, President of Protonex, said, "With the digitization of the battlefield, the U.S. military identified a capability gap in energy and power management for its increasing array of electronic devices. Our Squad Power Manager is one of the solutions that fill this gap...... The Milestone C designation now enables the U.S. Army to field the SPM-622 as part of the Mobile Soldier Power Program of Record in significant volume."