Quick answer. To fulfill a battery line item on a government or oil and gas contract, you need a compliant part plus a documentation packet that survives a contracting officer audit or an operator approved vendor list review. The core packet is:
- Country of origin letter (made in the USA by Stryten Energy)
- Certificate of conformance to the cited specification
- Authorized reseller letter (proof of an authorized Stryten channel)
- Warranty certificate
CPBS supplies Stryten Absolyte AGP with that packet. The final compliance determination always rests with the contracting officer on a government buy, or with the operator on a private contract, under the specific clauses of your award.
Winning the contract is the first step. Delivering a battery that a contracting officer or an operator approved vendor list will accept, and proving it on paper, is where many battery line items stall. You are not shopping for the cheapest cell. You are sourcing a part that meets the cited specification and assembling the records that show where it was made, that it conforms, and that it arrived through an authorized channel.
Critical Power Battery Solutions (CPBS) is the battery division of Advanced Technical Services Inc. (ATS), founded in 1981, ISO 9001 registered, and based in the Chicago area. CPBS sells the Stryten Energy line only, current Stryten product plus the predecessor GNB Industrial Power Absolyte line it succeeds. For contract fulfillment that single authorized line is a strength: one traceable source, one documentation chain, and no grey market substitution risk. The primary product here is the Stryten Absolyte AGP, a sealed valve regulated AGM battery, with the Stryten E-Series flooded line available where a specification requires a flooded cell.
Who This Guide Is For
This guide is for whoever owns a battery line item on a contract and has to deliver both the hardware and the paperwork. That includes:
- GovCon primes and subcontractors serving the Department of Defense, Veterans Affairs, Energy, the FAA, and civil agencies
- Procurement, contracts, and supply chain specialists and proposal or bid coordinators assembling a compliant submission
- EPC firms and integrators on federal or municipal projects
- Oil and gas operators and their suppliers who must register a battery on an operator approved vendor list before it can ship
The common thread: you have won or are bidding work, the battery is a line item, and you must source a compliant part and produce records that survive audit. Many readers are also matching a legacy GNB or NSN callout to a current part under a bid deadline.
Why the paperwork matters as much as the part: a nonconforming battery or a missing record can mean a rejected delivery, a held invoice, or a corrective action request that follows the prime into the next audit. On the demand side these batteries back switchgear and protective relays, communications plants, UPS strings, SCADA cabinets, and substation DC systems. For the regulated end of that range, see government and defense battery systems and oil and gas battery systems for hazardous locations. A companion guide, the Stryten Absolyte AGP Class I Division 2 oil and gas battery sourcing guide, publishes alongside this one and covers the hazardous location classification questions in depth.
The Contract Documentation Packet
On a contract buy, the documentation packet is the deliverable the part rides on; a loose battery with no records will not clear an audit or an approved vendor list. Here is what a government or oil and gas battery line item typically needs and what each document proves. CPBS attaches these to the quote and the shipment.
| Document | What It Proves | Who Typically Requires It |
|---|---|---|
| Country of origin letter | The battery is manufactured in the United States by Stryten Energy | Government buyers for the Buy American determination; operators with domestic preference clauses |
| Certificate of conformance (CoC) | The delivered product meets the cited specification and contract requirements | Contracting officers, quality assurance reviewers, operator approved vendor list reviewers |
| Authorized reseller letter | The supplier is an authorized Stryten channel, not a grey market source | Quality and supply chain audits, warranty chain of custody reviews |
| Warranty certificate | The manufacturer warranty applies and transfers to the end user | Operators, facility owners, prime contractors |
| Nonspillable transport documentation (UN 2800) | The battery ships as a nonspillable article under UN 2800 | Freight, receiving, and environmental health and safety reviewers |
| Design continuity reference | The current Stryten part is the same design as the legacy GNB part a spec cites | Contracts citing legacy GNB or NSN part numbers |
The design continuity reference is the Stryten Energy Manufacturer Declaration, attributed to Stryten Energy as a company, which states that the design, engineering, and manufacturing carried over unchanged from the GNB product to the Stryten product and that only the name changed. That single document lets a contract that still cites a decades old GNB part accept a current Stryten part without a substitution dispute. For the depth on each document, including UL94 V-0 case verification, seismic evidence, and the authority having jurisdiction audit workflow, see the GNB and Stryten compliance documentation guide.
Vendor Qualification and Approved Vendor Lists
A battery and its manufacturer get onto a source list or an approved vendor list by proving, on paper, that the product meets the specification and comes through an authorized, traceable channel. The evidence falls into two patterns:
- Government source lists and qualified products lists ask for the manufacturer, the country of origin, the conforming specification, and the authorized supply path.
- Operator approved vendor lists (common across oil and gas) ask for the same, plus spec compliance evidence and, for hazardous areas, the applicable location ratings.
This is where the single authorized Stryten line pays off. Because CPBS sources one manufacturer line rather than a rotating set of brands, the trail from manufacturer to authorized reseller to end user stays clean and auditable. There is no open question about which factory built the cell or whether it entered through a grey market reseller, and no risk that a substituted brand quietly breaks the warranty chain. You can confirm the authorization independently before you list a supplier; the authorized Stryten distributor verification guide walks through how. Registering one authorized line, with one documentation chain, is faster to qualify and easier to keep current than a multi source approach.
Buy American Flow-Down
On a federally funded contract, domestic preference flows down from the prime to the subcontractor to the supplier, so the battery you deliver has to support the prime’s Buy American position. The defensible supply is a battery manufactured in the United States, backed by country of origin documentation. Stryten Absolyte AGP is made in the USA by Stryten Energy, and CPBS supplies the country of origin letter that documents it for the contract file. This guide does not parse the Buy American Act against the Trade Agreements Act, the domestic content thresholds, or the waiver mechanics; that statute level analysis belongs to the contracting officer and to the federal battery procurement and Buy American Act guide. The final applicability determination always rests with the contracting officer on a government buy, or with the operator on a private contract.
Matching a Legacy GNB or NSN Spec to a Current Stryten Part
When a contract cites a legacy GNB Absolyte part number or an NSN, match it to the current Stryten Absolyte AGP equivalent and attach the design continuity reference so the substitution is documented, not improvised. Many federal and operator specifications were written years or decades ago and still call out GNB Absolyte GP or IIP designations, or an NSN that traces back to one. Because the Absolyte line continued in production under Stryten in the same plants and under the same design, the legacy part numbers map to current Stryten AGP models, and the Stryten Energy Manufacturer Declaration documents that the design did not change.
Do not guess the cross reference on a contract. Use the right resource for the question:
- Part number mapping and verified parts: the GNB Absolyte part number cross reference guide
- Brand transition background: the Absolyte battery history from GNB to Stryten
- Is the legacy line still available: the GNB availability and Stryten replacement supply guide
- Specification data by application: the Absolyte AGP specifications by application library
Send the legacy or NSN string to CPBS and Tom Kierna returns the current Stryten part plus the design continuity documentation for your file.
Routes to Buy and Lead Time
You can place a Stryten Absolyte AGP order four ways, and all of them end with the same documentation in the contract file:
- Direct request for quote to CPBS
- Through your prime contractor
- A government schedule path such as GSA, DLA, or VA, at the concept level
- An operator purchasing system
Whichever path you use, include these in the request so CPBS can confirm both the part and the exact records the contract will demand at receipt and audit:
- The contract specification, or the battery section of it
- Any legacy GNB or NSN part numbers
- The required documentation list
- Delivery location and need by date
- For an operator AVL buy, the site and area classification and any operator data sheet
On lead time, match the order to your project schedule, not to a catalog ship date. Industrial standby strings are configured to the application, and a contract also means coordinating freight and nonspillable UN 2800 handling, so build the documentation and production window into the schedule early. To write or tighten the battery specification, use the battery specifications procurement guide, and pull published data sheets from the CPBS spec sheets resource. Sending the spec early lets CPBS confirm the part, the configuration, and the documentation list before the bid closes.
Send Your Contract Spec to CPBS
Send these three things to Tom Kierna at CPBS and you get back the Stryten part, the configuration, and the documentation packet within your bid window:
- The contract specification (or its battery section)
- Any legacy or NSN part numbers
- The required documentation list
Call 630-984-9718 or email sales@criticalpowerbatterysolutions.com, or use the contact page. To align the battery sizing and documentation before you submit, start with the battery sizing consultation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What documentation do I need to supply batteries on a government contract?
Most government battery line items need a country of origin letter, a certificate of conformance to the cited specification, an authorized reseller letter, a warranty certificate, and nonspillable UN 2800 transport documentation. Contracts citing legacy GNB or NSN parts also need a design continuity reference. CPBS supplies the full packet with the order.
What is a certificate of conformance for batteries?
A certificate of conformance, or CoC, is a supplier signed statement that the delivered battery meets the specification and contract requirements it was bought against. It gives the contracting officer or the operator quality reviewer a documented basis to accept the product. CPBS issues a CoC with the Stryten Absolyte AGP order on request.
What is the difference between a certificate of conformance and a certificate of origin?
A certificate of conformance states that the product meets the cited specification. A certificate of origin, or country of origin letter, states where the product was manufactured. A contract often needs both: conformance for quality acceptance and origin for the domestic preference file. CPBS provides each for Stryten Absolyte AGP.
How do Stryten Absolyte AGP batteries get onto an approved vendor list?
They get onto a government source list or an operator approved vendor list through documentation: the manufacturer, the country of origin, the conforming specification, and proof of an authorized supply channel, plus spec compliance evidence. The single authorized Stryten line keeps the trail clean. CPBS assembles the registration packet.
Are Stryten Absolyte AGP batteries made in the USA?
Stryten Absolyte AGP is manufactured in the United States by Stryten Energy. CPBS provides a country of origin letter documenting US manufacture, which supports a buyer’s Buy American or domestic preference determination. The final compliance determination rests with the contracting officer on a government buy, or with the operator on a private contract.
Does CPBS provide Buy American and country-of-origin documentation?
Yes. CPBS supplies a country of origin letter documenting that Stryten Absolyte AGP is made in the USA by Stryten Energy, which supports the buyer’s Buy American determination. CPBS does not issue a blanket compliance ruling; the applicability determination is made by the contracting officer or the operator under the specific contract clauses.
How does the Buy American requirement flow down to subcontractors and suppliers?
On a federally funded contract, domestic preference clauses flow down from the prime to subcontractors to suppliers, so the battery you deliver has to support the prime’s position. A made in USA battery with country of origin documentation is the defensible supply. The statute mechanics and thresholds are covered in the federal Buy American Act guide.
Can I source batteries through CPBS for a GSA or DLA contract?
Yes. CPBS supports orders placed direct, through your prime, or via government schedule paths such as GSA, DLA, or VA at the concept level, and through operator purchasing systems. Every route ends with the same country of origin and conformance documentation in the contract file. Send the solicitation excerpt to scope the part and the packet.
How do I cross-reference a legacy GNB or NSN battery to a current Stryten part for a contract?
Map the legacy GNB Absolyte or NSN designation to the current Stryten Absolyte AGP equivalent, then attach the Stryten Energy Manufacturer Declaration documenting that the design carried over unchanged. Do not improvise the substitution on a contract. The verified mapping is in the CPBS cross reference guide, and CPBS confirms the part for your file.
What lead time should I plan for a contract battery delivery?
Plan lead time to your project schedule rather than to a catalog ship date. Industrial standby strings are configured to the application, and a contract also involves freight and nonspillable UN 2800 handling. Build the documentation and production window into the schedule early, and send the spec to CPBS before the bid closes to confirm timing.
Can CPBS supply a certificate of conformance and authorized-reseller letter with the order?
Yes. CPBS supplies a certificate of conformance to the cited specification and an authorized reseller letter confirming an authorized Stryten supply channel, along with the country of origin letter, warranty certificate, and UN 2800 transport documentation. The packet is built to survive a contracting officer audit or an operator approved vendor list review.
Who do I contact to source batteries for a government or oil and gas contract?
Contact Tom Kierna at CPBS. Call 630-984-9718 or email sales@criticalpowerbatterysolutions.com, or use the contact page at criticalpowerbatterysolutions.com. Send the contract specification, any legacy GNB or NSN part numbers, and the required documentation list, and CPBS returns the Stryten part and the documentation packet within your bid window.
About the author. Tom Kierna leads battery sourcing at Critical Power Battery Solutions, the battery division of Advanced Technical Services Inc. (ATS), an ISO 9001 registered company founded in 1981. He has more than 40 years in industrial batteries, including 15 years at GNB and Stryten, and builds contract bid responses, documentation packets, and legacy GNB or NSN to Stryten cross references within bid windows. June 16, 2026.
References
- US General Services Administration, FAR Part 25, Foreign Acquisition. Acquisition.gov. Statute level Buy American Act and Trade Agreements Act detail is handled in the CPBS federal Buy American Act guide.
- Stryten Energy, Absolyte AGP Basic Operations Manual (SE1097). Stryten.com.
