Celadyne, the decarbonization and H₂ solution company, announced the launch of their Army SBIR Phase II in partnership with the U.S. Army.

Celadyne develops advanced technologies that effectively convert H₂ to usable energy through compact, easy-to-use fuel cells that seamlessly integrate. Previously, Celadyne joined forces with the U.S. Army to demonstrate 50-kW fuel cells onto some support vehicles.

Now, they have signed a $1.9-MM expansion contract as they transition into Phase II of their partnership. Phase II aims to build on these prior successes and further integrate advanced membranes into 50-kW fuel cells for support vehicle applications. The technology enhances fuel cell durability, efficiency, and compactness, aligning with the U.S. Army, Marine Corps, and Air Force's interests for improved operational capabilities.

"Coming off of the success from Phase I with the Air Force, we're excited to jump into the next chapter of this partnership," said Gary Ong, CEO & Founder at Celadyne Technologies. "Our new fuel cell technologies help improve operational capacity and flexibility in contested environments and for agile deployment. What we're doing is applying these technologies to both existing and new projects utilized by the U.S. Army, resulting in ground vehicles that utilize less H₂ fuel to deliver the same payload, range, and performance. We're giving our troops the best tools possible, so that they can continue to do what they do, but better."

According to Army documents, the Army sees the fuel cell research conducted by the automotive industry as an emerging technology that, when properly matured for military use cases, may provide future benefits to its Warfighters. Its investments in this technology development through the SBIR program shape how concepts for fuel cell use may develop over time.

Celadyne's commercialization strategy targets both military and civilian markets, with a phased approach focusing on proof of concept and an eventual scale-up for widespread adoption in various vehicle types and H₂ production applications.