Electro Energy Taking Orders For 18650 Rechargeable Lithium-Ion Batteries

Electro Energy Inc. (EEEI) announced that it has begun receiving orders for its 18650BX rechargeable Lithium-Ion cells. EEEI has spent the past twelve months setting up their Gainesville, Florida manufacturing facility to produce 18650 size lithium batteries. The company claims that the Gainesville plant is the largest manufacturing facility for 18650 type cells outside Asia and has the capacity to produce over 30 million cells per year.

EEEI’s 18650BX cells have 2400mA capacity and their nominal voltage is 3.6V. The weight of each cell is 46 grams. The volumetric energy density is 525 Wh/l and the specific energy is 188Wh/kg. The cells can operate at a temperature range of -30C to 60°C. This is the first of a family of 18650 cells for a variety of applications. EEEI has also developed and manufactured cells with capacities of 2200mAh (18650AX) and high rate 1900mAh (18650HRX) cells. These cells have different discharge characteristics and will soon be commercially available.

Michael Reed, Electro Energy’s President and CEO, said "Today, 18650 Lithium-Ion cells are primarily sourced from Asia. Domestic commercial and military customers rely on a long and complex supply chain and often carry large inventories to protect their business. In recent months, there have been major supply disruptions related to laptop battery recalls and facilities fires at major manufacturing facilities at Panasonic in Japan and LG Chemical in Korea. There is currently a major shortage of the 18650 cell as EEEI enters the market. Our highly automated Gainesville facility requires little labor to operate, making it competitive with Asian suppliers."