war/alt power rat EFCX news - Electric Fuel Awarded $2.5 Million U.S. Army Battery Contract
Wednesday December 11, 10:27 am ET
12/24V Zinc-Air Battery Receives Army Designation BA-8180/U
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 11, 2002--Electric Fuel Corporation (NasdaqNM: EFCX) announced today that a contract has been entered into between the Company and the US Army Communications Electronic Command (CECOM) pursuant to 10 U.S.C. ss. 2304c(2), "Unusual and Compelling Urgency," for a delivery order of advanced zinc-air batteries.
The contract calls for order releases during the first three calendar quarters of 2003, with a current order ceiling of $2,543,250.
Under the terms of the contract, Electric Fuel will produce and supply the BA-8180/U Zinc-Air Nonrechargeable Battery. BA-8180/U is the new Army designation for Electric Fuel's Model FC Advanced Zinc-Air Power Pack, as it was previously known during its development phase. In addition, Electric Fuel will supply three types of electrical interface adapters for the BA-8180/U, including equipment-specific adapters for the AN/PRC-119 SINCGARS and SINCGARS ASIP tactical radio sets, and a generic interface for items of equipment that were designed to interface with a BA-5590 or equivalent battery. Each of the three interfaces was also assigned a national stock number (NSN) by CECOM. As previously reported, the BA-8180/U was assigned an NSN in August 2002.
The BA-8180/U is a 12/24 volt, 800 watt-hour battery pack approximately the size and weight of a notebook computer. The battery is based on a new generation of lightweight, 30 ampere-hours cells developed by Electric Fuel over the last 5 years with partial funding by CECOM. In extensive field testing, the BA-8180/U battery typically provided 4 to 6 times the run time of a BA-5590, a primary lithium battery pack widely used in the military. Zinc-air batteries are also safer and more environmentally friendly than lithium batteries.
Electric Fuel Chairman, President and CEO Robert S. Ehrlich said, "This contract is the culmination of five years of effort, in cooperation with CECOM, to develop this ground-breaking new battery. We believe that the BA-8180 can help the Army reduce its procurement costs while providing operational benefits in terms of lighter weight and greater energy capacity for extended missions." |
