ExxonMobil and Electrovaya Launch Electric Car Program in Baltimore

EDITOR'S NOTE: ExxonMobil released a press release about their involvement in this program as if it's a significant sign of their commitment to improving the human condition. Their total involvement in this very limited venture is something less than one million dollars. ExxonMobil made a profit of $40 billion last year.

HOUSTON - June 23, 2009: ExxonMobil has announced the sponsorship of an all-electric car-sharing and rental program, called AltCar, at the Maryland Science Center in Baltimore, MD.

The new electric vehicles at the science center, called the Maya-300, are powered exclusively by enhanced lithium ion battery technology. They are one of the first fleets of all-electric vehicles using this technology in a consumer car-sharing and rental program in North America. ExxonMobil’s battery separator film enables the use of Electrovaya’s Lithium Ion Superpolymer® battery in the vehicle.

Under the program, Baltimore residents and tourists can rent these vehicles at the science center in the Baltimore Inner Harbor during the day to drive around the city to experience the feel of an electric vehicle. The five-door, five-passenger urban vehicle is equipped with the safety, performance and convenience features common to cars.

“This program is a perfect example of the important role innovative companies and organizations, such as ExxonMobil, Electrovaya and the Maryland Science Center, will play in addressing the world’s need for safe, low emission, fuel-efficient vehicles,” said Sankar Das Gupta, president and chairman, Electrovaya.

Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon, and Malcolm Woolf, director of the Maryland Energy Administration, also were in attendance at today’s event, expressing their gratitude and support to Electrovaya and ExxonMobil, for their support of the Maryland Science Center.

In addition to the car-sharing program and to help raise awareness among Baltimore residents and science center visitors about the future of energy efficient transportation, ExxonMobil also has developed a state-of-the-art exhibit for the science center that includes hands-on activities for children and a full-scale car that showcases clean transportation technologies currently being used in the automotive industry.

ExxonMobil has invested more than half a million dollars in the car-sharing program and exhibit, including the purchase of the vehicles and development of the exhibit.

“Through innovations like these showcased in this innovative program and world-class exhibit, ExxonMobil is helping make vehicles more efficient,” said Jim Harris, senior vice president, polymers, ExxonMobil Chemical Company. “We believe that advances in technology are the solution to many of the toughest energy challenges. Our scientists and researchers are committed to finding and applying those technologies where we can, including on the car you drive.”

The battery separator film, which is produced at a plant in Nasu, Japan together with Japanese affiliate TonenGeneral, enables battery manufacturers to significantly increase the power, capacity, mechanical strength and safety margins of today’s lithium ion batteries. In addition to the film, ExxonMobil also is working on a number of additional innovative transportation technologies. These include a new blend of synthetic rubber and nylon that enables tires to retain air pressure longer, as well as new lightweight plastics that enable auto manufacturers to improve a car’s performance while maintaining affordability and reducing fuel consumption.

In the past five years, ExxonMobil has invested more than $1.5 billion to increase energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gases.

EDITOR'S NOTE, again: So let's see if I got this right: Last year alone ExxonMobil made a $40 billion profit. Over the last 5 years they have invested about $1.5 billion on increasing energy efficiency and reducing harmful greenhouse gases in the product that they push on the public. WOW, I'm surprised no one has suggested that they receive a Nobel Prize for this incredible humanitarian effort.

About Electrovaya
Electrovaya is the developer and manufacturer of the proprietary Lithium Ion SuperPolymer® battery technology. Its mission is to accelerate clean transportation as a commercial reality with its advanced power systems for all classes of zero-emission electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. For more information on the Maya 300 visit www.mayaelectric.com.

About Maryland Science Center
The Maryland Science Center at Baltimore's Inner Harbor is visited by more than 500,000 people each year. The science center’s focus is on remaining a vital community resource and economic development engine now and in the future by showcasing the latest and greatest in science and technology. For more information about the science center visit www.marylandsciencecenter.org.

* The AltCar program being launched today involves five cars with a further five cars to be made available to the public in the next few weeks. Depending on battery size each car can travel a distance of up to 60 or up to 120 miles.