Tuesday, December 31, 2003
ASTRIS ENERGI TO BEGIN PILOT PRODUCTION OF ALKALINE
FUEL CELL POWERSTACK TM
Business Editors
MISSISSAUGA, ONTARIO, CANADA, December 31, 2003 -- Astris Energi Inc. (OTC
Bulletin Board - ASRNF), the world‚s leading alkaline fuel cell (AFC)
technology company, announced that it has completed in-house testing of the
prototype POWERSTACK TM MC250 fuel cell power module, clearing it for pilot
production. Astris also announced that it has secured the necessary funding to
begin phasing in pilot production of the POWERSTACK in January 2004 in its
Vlasim, Czech Republic facility.
These announcements follow the Company‚s unveiling earlier this month of its
latest AFC generator, the 2.4 kW model E8, powered by the POWERSTACK. The E8
generator has now been delivered to the Czech facility for demonstration.
"We are very pleased with the performance of the product. In tests on the
bench and in the new generator the POWERSTACK performed up to 60% over and above
the original design specification. We may want to upgrade the performance
specifications but, as prudent engineers, we will do so only when we have all
the long term-test results home," said President and CEO Jiri Nor, P. Eng.
The POWERSTACK MC250 exceeded efficiency of 57% at full-rated power in the bench
tests. Mr. Nor comments: "We sacrificed some 10 percentage points on the
efficiency figure when we weaned our cells from platinum catalyst in the early
nineties. Now, after a decade of development and engineering improvement we have
pretty much regained the lost ground." High efficiency also means the
greatest bang-for-the-buck in terms of fuel usage; that is, the highest amount
of energy extracted from a given quantity of fuel (hydrogen), with the lowest
wastage.
Astris‚ major technology breakthrough has been its use of inexpensive material
for fuel cell construction and elimination of expensive platinum which is
heavily relied on by the competing proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells as
well as AFCs made by others. Astris‚ direct material costs for its cell per kW
now stands at less than US $230, the lowest in the fuel cell industry.
Astris expects to be able to produce the POWERSTACK MC250 at a cost of US $1,000
per kW based on 2000 kW pilot production annually, vs US $4,000 per kW price for
pre-production units. Through further development and production economies of
scale, it expects to achieve further significant cost reductions.
Astris has budgeted US$2.9 million for the start-up and operation of the pilot
plant over a three year period, and plans to secure the balance required in the
course of the first half of 2004. The Company currently has commitments for
approximately $500,000 toward the pilot plant. The Company seeks commitments
from investors and partnerships with prospective customers. The development of
the POWERSTACK was funded jointly by Astris and the Czech Republic.
A considerable expense will be tooling for high volume molding of plastic
electrode frames as well as jigs and fixtures designed to handle the full pilot
production rate. This, as well as machinery for increased volume production of
electrodes will be installed in the recently acquired building in Vlasim.
To-date, Astris fuel cell and fuel cell systems have been made in company‚s
prototype labs and shop in Benesov, Czech Republic and Mississauga, Canada.
Corporate Profile
Astris is a late-stage development company committed to becoming the leading
provider of affordable fuel cells and fuel cell generators internationally. It
is the only public company focused on the alkaline fuel cell. Over the past 20
years, Astris has spent more than $16 million to develop an alkaline fuel cell
that is relatively low cost, starts up rapidly, has a long operating life, can
operate in sub-zero temperatures and overall is highly competitive with other
fuel cells. The company plans to begin pilot production at its Czech Republic
subsidiary in 2004, pending successful funding arrangements.
Independent research sources project that the demand for fuel cells will
increased steeply to nearly Cdn$46 billion annually worldwide by 2011, and $20
billion in North America, from an estimated $968 million and $317 million,
respectively, in 2003.
NOTE: Any statements in this release that are not
statements of fact may be considered "forward-looking statements" as
that term is defined in federal security law. Forward-looking statements are
only predictions and may differ materially from actual events or results.
For further information: please contact: Anthony Durkacz, Vice President of
Finance, Astris Energi Inc., Phone: (905) 608-2000, Fax: (905) 608-8222, E-mail:
Anthony@astrisfuel.com
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Tuesday, December 16, 2003
ASTRIS LAUNCHES ADVANCED ALKALINE FUEL CELL GENERATOR
Business Editors
• Model E8 generator to verify performance of Astris’ new POWERSTACK MC250
alkaline fuel cell (AFC)
• Superior electrical efficiency
• Pilot production of AFC planned for 2004, pending funding and marketing
milestones
MISSISSAUGA, ONTARIO, CANADA, December 16, 2003 -- Astris Energi Inc. (OTC
Bulletin Board - ASRNF), the worldÕs leading alkaline fuel cell (AFC)
technology company, today unveiled the latest in its series of AFC generators,
the 2.4 kW model E8. This new demonstrator is a completely self-contained
portable unit, quiet and emission free which, unlike its gasoline counterparts,
can be safely and comfortably operated in an indoor environment.
The E8 generator is powered by AstrisÕ new POWERSTACK MC250 fuel cell, which
has been designed, built and extensively tested over the past two years. MC250
fuel cells performed 30%-60% above the original design specification in these
tests. Astris Energi plans to phase the POWERSTACK MC250 into pilot production
in its Vlasim, Czech Republic facility in the first half of 2004.
ÒThis is an important milestone in our strategy to become the leading provider
of affordable fuel cells and fuel cell generators,Ó said Jiri Nor, President
and Chief Executive Officer. ÒWe have significantly reduced material costs,
increased the power and life span of the fuel cell, and believe we have a clean
energy source that will be economically competitive when produced in volume.
ÒThe start-up of pilot production awaits further funding, and also partnerships
with prospective customers who will determine the first commercial application
of our fuel cell,Ó Mr. Nor said. ÒWe have had strong private investor
interest, and David Ramm, who joined Astris in September and is one of the
industry leaders in renewable energy, is in discussion with potential partners
in different countries.Ó
The new generator, which serves as a platform to prove and verify performance of
the MC250 POWERSTACK in a real life application, performed well in trials
conducted over the past month. Last week, it was operated at the 2.8 kW power
level, which is well above the nominal power of 2.4 kW. ÒPOWERSTACK MC250 has
surpassed our expectations,Ó said Mr. Nor. ÒIt could be operated at a higher
power level. But the power electronics were not built to handle that much excess
power.Ó
The model E8 generator provides 48 V DC power at 50 amperes of current, and will
handle overload up to 60 amps. It is fuelled by compressed hydrogen at 6 Ð 200
bar (100 Ð 3000 psi). At full power, fuel consumption is 1600 liters/hour.
Electrical efficiency of the entire generator is above 50%, a figure unequalled
by any other device in its class, and several times higher than the efficiency
of conventional generators fuelled by gasoline. Photos of the E8 will be
available on the Astris website in mid-January.
The pilot production facility for the POWERSTACK MC250 will be in the Czech
Republic, which funded half of the approximately $500,000 development cost of
the first prototype, and where the production overheads are relatively low.
Astris has a strong team at its subsidiary, headed by Radek Kotoucek, Dipl.
Eng., an accomplished chemical engineer. The new building in the town of Vlasim,
approximately 60 km south of Prague, has 8000 sq. ft of office and manufacturing
space. With sufficient land for future expansion, it will allow Astris to grow
through the pilot production phase and beyond.
Corporate Profile
Astris is a late-stage development company committed to becoming the leading
provider of affordable fuel cells and fuel cell generators internationally. It
is the only public company focused on the alkaline fuel cell. Over the past 20
years, Astris has spent more than $16 million to develop an alkaline fuel cell
that is relatively low cost, starts up rapidly, has a long operating life, can
operate in sub-zero temperatures and overall is highly competitive with other
fuel cells. The company plans to begin pilot production at its Czech Republic
subsidiary in 2004, pending successful funding arrangements.
Independent research sources project that the demand for fuel cells will
increased steeply to nearly Cdn$46 billion annually worldwide by 2011, and $20
billion in North America, from an estimated $968 million and $317 million,
respectively, in 2003.
NOTE: Any statements in this release that are not
statements of fact may be considered "forward-looking statements" as
that term is defined in federal security law. Forward-looking statements are
only predictions and may differ materially from actual events or results.
For further information: please contact: Anthony Durkacz, Vice President of
Finance, Astris Energi Inc., Phone: (905) 608-2000, Fax: (905) 608-8222, E-mail:
Anthony@astrisfuel.com