Why GM Offers The Hummer EV As A Military Vehicle – CleanTechnica

Sign up for daily news updates from CleanTechnica on email. Or follow us on Google News!

---

I recently came across a press release by GM Defense that wasn’t about EVs. But, while poking around to see if it would be relevant to CleanTechnica, I came across something interesting. The very much civilian-oriented Hummer EV is seriously being offered for sale to militaries.

Before I get into the details, let’s first take a realistic look at how EVs actually fit into military usage.

Can EVs Even Be Used By Militaries?

While it may seem silly on the surface, electric vehicles are definitely going to war. It’s not only something that’s coming, but it’s already happeing. Yes, we all know that there won’t be working DC fast chargers every 50 miles in many war zones, but people who rely on that fact alone to poo poo the idea show us that they don’t know much about warfare or militaries.

The most important thing to understand is that many if not most military vehicles aren’t fighting vehicles like tanks. For example, a good number of 2011 Chevy Volts are still putting around on U.S. military bases, and they’re there for people to drive around doing administrative tasks on pavement. Military police drive the same cars civilian police officers use. The military also uses many normal semi-trucks, delivery trucks, and more.

Even at war, most military personnel aren’t fighters. 90% or more of the effort is support personnel who take care of the needs of the people doing the fighting. Before these support personnel go into an area, the front-line people have already come through and cleared out most of the danger if not all of it. So, people “in the rear with the gear” have a lot more flexibility about how they power their vehicles and what they depend on.

Another thing to consider is that electric vehicles are basically omnivorous. A diesel vehicle can only run on diesel. A gas vehicle can only run on gas and maybe ethanol mixes. A hydrogen fuel cell vehicle can only be powered by hydrogen. But, an EV isn’t picky about where its electricity comes from. You can use solar, hydro, geothermal, methane, gas, diesel, hydrogen, nuclear, and just about anything else to charge an EV up.

As General John J. Pershing said, “Infantry wins battles, logistics wins wars.” On top of the versatility is the ability to rely less on lines of communication. In military speak, a line of communication isn’t just about sending information, but also food, water, fuel, and everything else that’s needed. Some of the worst disasters in military history have happened when an enemy force cut off these critical supply lines, leaving fighters without badly-needed supplies, including fuel.

For example, the infamous Battle of the Bulge that my grandfather earned a Purple Heart in was mostly a big fight over fuel. When Brigadier General Anthony McAuliffe refused to surrender, famously telling the Nazi commander, “Nuts!”, the Nazis were unable to steal allied fuel and their final desperate offensive of the war ground to a halt.

But, what if future militaries carried along the ability to make their own fuel for months or years at a time? Portable solar farms (think a Jackery setup like mine on steroids), small nuclear reactors, future fusion technology, and many other things could power an electric fleet of fighting vehicles.

We’re already seeing this start to play out with electric motorcycles. It’s still not perfect, but there have been cases where small groups of scouts, hit-and-run raiders (including snipers), forward observers, and anti-tank missile crews have silently slipped into an area and wreaked havoc on big, diesel-fueled fighting forces. Solar charging for e-bikes and motorcycles have enabled these forces to move independently of any fuel supplies.

How The Hummer EV Fits Into All This

With all of this much-needed context in mind, it sounds a lot less silly for an overpriced and heavy conspicuous consumption luxury EV to be a serious offering for militaries.

In the company’s brochure for the vehicle, it says, “Combining robust off-road capabilities with near silent operations, the GMC HUMMER EV can be used across complex terrain to support military operations for military police, VIP transportation, logistics support or within training environments.” But, while GM Defense is not actively marketing a stock Hummer EV for front-line use, that doesn’t mean that this may not happen in the future.

Last year, the U.S. military bought one for testing. Military brass intended to test it for use at home on military bases, but the testers also had in mind to test it for field use. Not only did the Pentagon want to reduce reliance on fossil fuels (for both environmental and strategic reasons), but the idea was to also work on providing and moving electrical power around.

This year, GM Defense took the Hummer EV to the next level, making a one-off prototype that would make it a viable vehicle even on the front lines. With a tube-frame, ruggedized panels, an upgraded suspension and tires, and even a 12 kW diesel range extender and generator, the vehicle gains a lot of extra utility that the stock one doesn’t have.

From what I’ve read, the U.S. military and others have not pulled the trigger on buying any fleets of Hummer EVs or modified variants, but it’s pretty clear that there’s still a lot of potential there when a military feels like it’s ready for it.

Modularity Will Be Key To Making This Happen

When this happens, it’s probably going to need to be flexible. To start with, fossil fuels won’t be able to completely go away. It’s going to have to be a process.

GM Defense was on the right track to add a diesel generator to the vehicle, but the first ones will probably need to have a little more pep than 12 kW. Having something that’s more in the realm of Level 3 charging instead of Level 2 would enable these vehicles to jump right in and replace many existing diesel-only vehicles.

But, over time, as leadership gets more comfortable, being able to quickly remove the generator would make for the flexibility to move forward away from diesel. Generators of different sizes could be swapped in, as could small hydrogen fuel cells, or other things.

Featured image provided by GM.