Altair Nanotechnologies' Fuel Cell Powers Electric Motor

Altair Development Team Fabricates Monolithic Fuel Cell Structures And Solves Material Mismatch Problem

RENO, Nev., June 13 Altair Nanotechnologies Inc., a provider of nanomaterials technology and a manufacturer of inorganic ceramic materials, announced a successful series of its advanced solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) test demonstrations. The first series of tests of the company's SOFC were held on March 28, 2002 and produced electricity. The second series of successful tests, held earlier this month, were repeated several times and both voltage and current were produced. The Altair solid oxide fuel cell produced enough power to operate an electric motor driving a six-inch impeller.

In this series of challenging tests, the monolithic fuel cell was stressed through several start-up/shut-down cycles without deterioration in power performance or adverse effects to the structure. The SOFC was operated over a wide temperature range, including peak operating temperatures of over 900 degrees centigrade. Altair believes this test demonstrates that a monolithic fuel cell, a stack of fuel cells fabricated in one monolithic structure, is feasible and can be fabricated in a single firing. The entire fuel cell, including connectors, electrolyte, anode and cathode, was constructed of micron and nano-sized materials produced by Altair scientists starting with materials costing less then $20 per kilowatt and using their patented proprietary process.

The advantages of Altair's nanomaterial derived fuel cells include 1) lower material cost, 2) reduced fabrication cost and 3) finally, the possibility of using traditional hydrocarbon fuels in fuel cell power generators. While the present demonstration was conducted with hydrogen as the fuel, the stability of Altair's fuel cell components with carefully matched thermal expansion properties was clearly shown; the use of proprietary, advanced nanomaterials technology was demonstrated; and the ability to fabricate fuel cells from tapes in a monolithic stack was confirmed.

Photos of the test stand with an operational motor driven impeller powered by Altair's solid oxide fuel cell SOFC and fabrication tapes used in its construction can be found by accessing the following links:

http://www.altairnano.com/main_content/DevProj_SOFC.html

"Altair has convincingly demonstrated that its nanomaterials can solve the classic materials mismatch problem that has been experienced by other fuel cell manufacturers and now will focus its efforts on incorporating catalysts currently being developed by MIT," commented Dr. Rudi E. Moerck, President of Altair Nanotechnologies. "I wish to thank Dr. Bruce Sabacky, who led the SOFC development team, for developing and proving the materials and fabrication concepts."

"We will continue our efforts to evolve our fabrication techniques for incorporating numerous cells into monolithic stacks and further expand our know-how of the fabrication methodology," continued Moerck. "The ability to use commercial tape casting techniques, for fabrication of fuel cells, along with the ability to fabricate fuel cells in a single monolithic structure, will provide the basis for future mass production of solid oxide fuel cells employing Altair's techniques and nanomaterials."

About Altair Nanotechnologies Inc.

Nanotechnology is rapidly emerging as a unique industry sector. Altair Nanotechnologies is positioning itself through product innovation within this emerging industry to become a leading supplier of nanomaterials worldwide. Altair owns a proprietary technology for making nanocrystalline materials of unique quality both economically and in large quantities. The company is currently developing special nanomaterials with potential applications in pharmaceuticals, batteries, fuel cells, solar cells, thermal spray coatings, catalysts, cosmetics, paints and environmental applications. For additional information on Altair's nanoparticle materials, visit www.altairnano.com .