ZeroAlpha Solutions announces C-BMS contract, reveals new portable power supply

Part of ZeroAlpha Solutions' Containerised Battery Management System displayed at DSEI 2025. (Janes/Giles Ebbutt)

ZeroAlpha Solutions has been awarded a contract by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) to provide its Containerised Battery Management System (C-BMS), the company announced at the Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) 2025 exhibition held in London from 9 to 12 September. The contract, worth GBP650,000 (USD888,000) was awarded in April and is for three systems with an option for a further three.

Jake Rawson, head of business development for ZeroAlpha, told Janes that the British Army lacks a bulk maintenance capability for rechargeable batteries, particularly new versions such as the conformable wearable battery (CWB), which has been adopted for the army's Project Asgard. Any existing facilities do not meet the required fire risk and environmental standards.

He said the C-BMS consists of a 20 ft ISO container equipped with fire suppression and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), which provide the correct conditions for battery charging and storage and can maintain the correct temperature for optimum battery performance. Power input can be either single- or three-phase, 230 V or 400 V respectively, at 50 Hz.

Inside the container is a series of 19 inch racks providing 98 charging bays with smart chargers for a variety of batteries. “You can charge a battlegroup's worth of batteries in six hours,” Rawson said.

He noted that the mobility of the C-BMS enables it to be used as a home station or deployed. The first three are due to be delivered in November. Although Rawson was unable to say where these would go, Janes