LATHAM, N.Y., March 16, 2006 /PRNewswire-FirstCall

 

Plug Power Inc. (Nasdaq: PLUG), a leader in providing clean, reliable on-site energy, today announced two new agreements with Honda R&D Company, Ltd. of Japan to continue expanding the companies' collaborative efforts.

The first of the new agreements covers the fourth consecutive phase of joint development of the Home Energy Station. The Home Energy Station is a fuel cell system that provides electricity and heat to a home or business, while also providing hydrogen fuel for a fuel cell vehicle. The companies completed the previous phase in November 2005 with the successful commissioning of the third-generation Home Energy Station at Honda R&D Americas' facility in Torrance, Calif. This third-generation system is 30 percent smaller in size than its predecessor, with 25 percent more power output, more hydrogen storage capacity, higher efficiency and significantly faster startup time. The continued phase-over-phase improvement trend is expected to continue with Phase 4. Under this new agreement, Honda R&D will continue to fund Plug Power's work on the Home Energy Station.

The second new agreement is focused on fundamental research and development work that Plug Power is conducting under funding from Honda. This agreement is focused on the advancement of technology for future Home Energy Stations, as well as more generalized applications, which are expected to benefit other Plug Power products. The system is expected to be more environmentally friendly than traditional energy devices due to its higher efficiency and lower emissions.

"We are excited to announce the completion of these contracts and the achievement of our public milestone related to our continuing relationship with Honda," said Mark Sperry, Plug Power Chief Marketing Officer. "We are honored to be working with Honda on such important initiatives and look forward to the benefits of our ongoing and growing collaboration."

A model of the Home Energy Station was on display in Honda's booth this week at the National Hydrogen Association Annual Hydrogen Conference in Long Beach, Calif.

About Honda:

Honda began operations in North America in 1959 with the establishment of American Honda Motor Co., Inc., Honda's first overseas subsidiary. Using domestic and globally sourced parts, Honda began assembling motorcycles in America in 1979, with U.S. automobile manufacturing starting in 1982. Honda designs, manufactures and markets its products in North America and worldwide. Honda currently builds products in 12 manufacturing plants in North America, with three major R&D centers in the U.S.

About Plug Power

Plug Power Inc. is an established leader in the deployment of clean, reliable, on-site energy products. More than 600 Plug Power fuel cell systems have been delivered to customers worldwide in commercial, public sector, telecommunications, utility and uninterruptible power supply markets. For more information about how to join Plug Power's energy revolution as an investor, customer, supplier or strategic partner, please visit www.plugpower.com.

This press release may contain statements, which are not historical facts and are considered forward-looking within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements contain projections of Plug Power's future results of operations, Plug Power's product development expectations or of Plug Power's financial position or state other forward-looking information. In some cases you can identify these statements by forward-looking words such as "anticipate," "believe," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "should," "will" and "would" or similar words. You should not rely on forward-looking statements because Plug Power's actual results may differ materially from those indicated by these forward- looking statements as a result of a number of important factors. These factors include, but are not limited to, Plug Power's ability to develop commercially viable on-site energy products; the cost and timing of developing Plug Power's on-site energy products; market acceptance of Plug Power's on-site energy products; Plug Power's ability to manufacture on-site energy products on a large-scale commercial basis; competitive factors, such as price competition and competition from other traditional and alternative energy companies; the cost and availability of components and parts for Plug Power's on-site energy products; the ability to raise and provide the necessary capital to develop, manufacture and market Plug Power's on-site energy products; Plug Power's ability to establish relationships with third parties with respect to product development, manufacturing, distribution and servicing and the supply of key product components; Plug Power's ability to protect its intellectual property; Plug Power's ability to lower the cost of its on-site energy products and demonstrate their reliability; the cost of complying with current and future governmental regulations; the impact of deregulation and restructuring of the electric utility industry on demand for Plug Power's on-site energy products; fluctuations in the trading price and volume of Plug Power's common stock and other risks and uncertainties discussed under the heading "Factors Affecting Future Results" in Plug Power's annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2005, dated March 14, 2006, and filed with the Securities Exchange Commission on March 14, 2006, and the reports Plug Power files from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Plug Power does not intend to and undertakes no duty to update the information contained in this press release.

SOURCE Plug Power Inc.

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