Impact Power Technologies announces new lithium-polymer replacement batteries, Boston PD contract

Impact Power Technologies will showcase two new long-lasting lithium-polymer replacement batteries for portable radios while also announcing a new contract with the Boston Police Department during the upcoming International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) show in Chicago, according to company officials.

Impact Power Technologies will unveil two new batteries during the IACP event: the IPT 4000-LiP that works in Motorola Solutions’ APX 4000 and a TRBO model, as well as the IPT 9858-LiP 42 that powers Motorola Solutions’ XTS 2500/1500/1250 and HT 750 radios.

Each of the batteries powers the radios “two to two-and-a-half” times as long without a charge as the original manufacturer’s batteries, according to Ken Murphy, chief operating officer for Impact Power Technologies. In addition to each charge providing power for a longer period of time, the batteries are able to maintain their performance level through more recharge cycles, he said.

“At IPT, we guarantee 900 cycles, and that’s unheard of with a full two-year warranty,” Murphy said during an interview with IWCE’s Urgent Communications. “In all of our case studies right now, we’re up over 1,200 cycles, and that’s before the battery gets below 80%–it still has juice in it after that point, but 1,200 cycles is completely unheard of in two-way battery technology.”

Impact Power Technologies President and Chief Engineer Curt Quinter said that the Miami Beach Police Department has been using the company’s lithium-polymer replacement batteries for almost three years and has been able save money by skipping previous battery-purchasing cycles, because the IPT batteries continue to perform at a high level.

Extending the length of time that a battery provide effective power to a radio was the reason Quinter began researching the lithium-polymer technology and remains the primary focus of the company.

“I’ve worked with various police departments for the last 15 to 20 years, and every complaint was, ‘Why can’t you make a battery that lasts more than six to seven hours?’” Quinter said during an interview with IWCE’s Urgent Communications.

Quinter said test results on the IPT 4000-LiP battery should be completed later this month, but he said estimates are that the battery will allow the Motorola Solutions APX 4000—one of the smallest P25 portable radios on the market—to run for 20-23 hours on a single charge. The battery is expected to be available by the end of November, he said.