In 1988 TRACER, under its trade name of ECO Energy Conversion, began as an OEM supplier of
Li/SOCl2 cells and battery-packs using these cells. The
TRACER cell line includes standard DD, CC, C and AA size cells (2 - 45 A-hr
discharge capacity) made following a proprietary modified bobbin design, as
wells as specialty annular or cylindrical cells made following a proprietary
modified multi-layer electrode design (up to 100 A-hr discharge capacity). These
cells are all hermetic; TRACER uses laser (Nd:YAG) welding in the manufacture of
all its cells. The cells employ a glass-to-metal insulated terminal, and a
stainless steel cylindrical body. TRACER cells are used safely and reliably in
extreme temperature and pressure environments found in down-hole oil and gas
exploration.
In 1997 Tracer began the manufacture of prototype lithium secondary (lithium
metal and lithium-ion) cells using winding machines designed and built to its
specifications; with these winding machines TRACER has expanded its capabilities
from the manufacture of (AA-, 9 V- and D-size) lithium secondary cells to
include products which utilize Li/CFx and lithium-manganese
dioxide chemistry.
Since January 1993, TRACER has worked with the U.S. Navy under Contract No.
N60921-93-C-0022 to develop Li/SOCl2 cells with extremely
low magnetic signature. These cells have been used in making five different
battery systems designed for powering Navy mines [MK117, MK132, MK141, MK143,
and MK146(130)]. This technology was used by TRACER to develop in 1997 a
proprietary battery pack for marine seismic measurement systems which has
increased the time between battery switchout by over a factor of four.
In addition TRACER manufactures battery packs which use lithium (Li/SOCl2 and Li-ION) and Ni-MH chemistries; these packs are used in
fields diverse as heart pumps, portable tools, oil/gas exploration and lap-top
computers.
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