Ultralife views fuel cells as a complementary, not competing, technology to its product portfolio of non-rechargeable and rechargeable batteries, chargers and communications accessories. Fuel cells are more and more becoming a natural progression in the power technology road map that is, to a large degree, being driven by the market. The technology is maturing and more players than ever before are involved to some degree in fuel cells and related technologies.
This technology will enhance our ability to respond to current and future government & defense and commercial market requirements - and will support our underlying value proposition as a provider of total power and accessory solutions. And as in years past it continues to play a part in our long-term development programs.
We anticipate it is highly unlikely that fuel cell technology will permanently replace non-rechargeable or rechargeable battery technology in the markets we serve.
Ultralife takes cautious and deliberate approaches to this technology. Fuel cells are considered emerging technologies containing a high degree of technical and performance risks as well as uncertainty with regard to their economic viability and the market's pace of adoption. To effectively manage and understand these risks and uncertainties, we pursue a collaborative approach with fuel cell companies and academic institutions. Fuel cell technologies at various levels of performance and commercialization are surveyed, evaluated and applied to current and future projects and products, enabling Ultralife to expand its ability to respond to wider market demand as well as increasing our own capabilities.
Many fuel cell companies are involved in various development paths, with private and public investors continuing to fund innovative and radical approaches to a growing field of market requirements. Ultralife anticipates that fuel cell technology progress and economic viability will not likely be linear and incremental, that is, it will more likely be disruptive in nature.
We proactively seek out partners with technology and market positions that have the potential to overturn existing solutions. We work closely with partners to understand the technology's future potential beyond that of its current status. We do not expect that any one fuel cell technology is capable of meeting all user needs and requirements. Most important, we evaluate and apply relevant fuel cell technologies on the condition that they effectively meet the needs of the application and those of the end user.
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Our McDowell Research unit has released the MRC-171, an MBITR battery charger/adapter, which allows the safe charging/discharging of one or two MBITR Lithium-Ion rechargeable batteries simultaneously.
The newly released UBBL12 is a rugged, 15-volt, 7-ampere-hour lithium-Ion battery containing Ultralife's SmartCircuit™ technology. It has rugged construction, a built-in state-of-charge indicator and high energy density, and is ideal for military applications that can be advantaged with rechargeable technology.