Saft signs satellite battery supply deal with Lockheed

French battery maker Saft has signed a multimillion dollar long-term agreement (LTA) with Lockheed Martin to supply lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries for its telecommunications satellites.

The duration of the contract is five years.

Under the deal, Saft will supply high-energy VL48E Li-ion cells with a 3.6V, 48Ah package to power the satellites with lightweight, reliable technology required to withstand a harsh space lifecycle.

Saft America president Thomas Alcide said: "For nearly half a century, Saft has played a significant role in providing high performance batteries to the space market, and we are thrilled to have the opportunity to further our relationship with Lockheed Martin.

"Our innovative thinking and advanced technology solutions have led us to become the top supplier worldwide of batteries for satellites as we continue to pursue a mission of powering outer space."

This month, Saft signed another deal with to supply Li-ion batteries for its telecommunication satellites.

The five-year agreement was a follow-up to a 2009 long-term agreement.

The Li-ion batteries are expected to power Boeing’s satellites when solar rays are blocked by the Earth and support the entire geosynchronous orbit (GEO) mission duration.

Boeing used Saft’s Li-ion batteries built using its advanced Li-ion technology solutions in more than 145 satellites.

The company has over 50 years of experience in the space market and its Li-ion technology and solutions have been used to withstand extremely harsh missions with GEO and medium earth orbit (MEO) global positioning satellites.

The batteries support specific applications such as high power telecommunications to observation and low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites.

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Image: Saft signed a multimillion dollar long-term agreement (LTA) with Lockheed Martin to supply lithium-ion batteries for its telecommunications satellites. Photo: courtesy of Business Wire.