Arotech Corporation, a US-incorporated Israeli R&D firm’s battery subsidiary, Electric Fuel Batteries, has shipped over 3,500 zinc-air BA-8180 zinc air batteries to US Forces the Persian Gulf since April 1. This record number of BA-8180/U batteries was delivered under the US Army's Communications and Electronics Command (CECOM) $4.1 million orders.
The corporation’s Auburn, Alabama factory almost tripled its capacity to meet US Army battery requirements. "Demand for our batteries is strong," said Arotech Chairman and CEO Robert S. Ehrlich. "The business in moving forward on track and we still expect to be cash flow positive in the second half of the year."
Zinc-air batteries are considerably safer in combat situations and more environmentally friendly than lithium batteries. The BA-8180/U is a 12/24 Volt, 800 Watt-hour, non-rechargeable battery pack; approximately the size and weight of a notebook computer. The battery is based on the new generation of lightweight, 30 ampere-hours cells developed by Electric Fuel over the last five years with partial funding by CECOM. In extensive field-testing, the BA-8180/U battery typically provided four to six times the run time of a BA-5590, a primary lithium battery pack widely used in the military.
Arotech Corporation operates two business divisions Electric Fuel Batteries, developing and manufacturing zinc-air batteries for military and homeland security applications and developing electric vehicle batteries for zero emission public transportation and Arotech Defense, consisting of IES Interactive, which provides advanced high-tech multimedia training systems for law enforcement and paramilitary organizations, and MDT Armor, which provides vehicle armoring for the military, industrial and private sectors.
Arotech is incorporated in Delaware under the name Electric Fuel Corporation and has corporate and sales offices in New York and Denver with research, development and production subsidiaries in Alabama, Colorado and Israel. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
