By Jennifer Kho

Smart Energy Solutions said Monday the U.S. Army is testing its Battery Brain on three Stryker vehicles.

The Battery Brain is a device that monitors a vehicle battery’s condition and disconnects the battery if it is being drained, leaving enough of a charge to restart the vehicle. It also can extend battery life more than 50 percent by keeping it from draining too low, and gives drivers advanced warning if their batteries need to be replaced.

The consumer version of the device is already sold at auto retailers such O’Reilly Auto Parts in the United States and Elcart in Italy. But the modifications to make the Battery Brain battle-ready could open up the military market to Smart Energy Solutions, a market that—while it includes fewer vehicles than the consumer market—could look more favorably on the device. While it’s annoying for any driver to be stuck with a dead battery, for the military it could be, well, deadly.

And the military market is nothing to scoff at.

The Stryker family is more than 1,900 vehicles strong, and Smart Energy Solutions hopes its work customizing the Battery Brain for the military will result in a device that any military vehicle can use with only minor programming tweaks.

If so, the U.S. Department of Defense, which operates the world’s largest fleet of vehicles, would certainly be worth courting.

“This is a door opener for the military,” said CEO Pete Mateja. “The sales potential for us is tremendous.”

Of course, before making military sales, the Battery Brain will first have to pass the Stryker tests, expected to last at least a year.

The device is being put through its paces at the proving grounds in Michigan and Alaska, said Ed Braniff, chief financial officer. Most likely, the defense department will return with requests for more modifications, and Smart Energy Solutions will come back with a second batch of prototypes, he said.

Smart Energy Solutions began modifying the Battery Brain for the Stryker about four months ago, when the U.S. Army approached the company after a military show, he said.

Strykers run on different voltages—up to 60 volts—requiring some different components, he said. Also, Smart Energy Solutions is working to encase the device in an armored box.

But the main changes were software-related, he said.

Instead of just disconnecting the battery when it is being drained, the Army wanted the Battery Brain to give a series of warnings at different stages and to shut down applications in several tiers, he said. Those changes would allow soldiers to start an auxiliary generator, for instance, or make other decisions depending on their situation.

While customizing a product for each vehicle would reduce profit margins, Smart Energy Solutions is working toward a Battery Brain that could fit any military vehicle, and be quickly programmed for the specific vehicle as they are installed, Mr. Braniff said.

The military market could also open the way into the heavy-duty trucking market, which has similar voltage requirements and would not need armored casing, and farm equipment, he said.

Selling to the military could also help Smart Energy Solutions get certified by the U.S. General Services Administration, which buys police cars and other government vehicles for different government agencies, he said.

But the company also realizes they will have to hurdle several obstacles before it gets there. While the company expects it can significantly reduce the military’s battery cost, it couldn’t give specifics.

Mr. Braniff said he doesn’t know how much the military spends on wasted batteries, or how much money it could save by using the Battery Brain, and also can’t estimate the price of the military Battery Brain, because that will depend on the ultimate specifications, including the casing.

Still, the military Battery Brains will be profitable if Smart Energy Solutions sells 300 or 400, he said. If the Battery Brain passes the Stryker tests and the Army places an order, the company expects it won’t order only half its fleet, but will make it standard.

“Troops that are going to combat are replacing batteries that have already been used rather than taking the chance of battery failure,” Mr. Mateja said. “Apparently the landscape in Iraq and Afghanistan is littered with dead batteries.”