Ballard to Acquire Carbon Products Division of Textron Systems

    VANCOUVER, B.C.--May 22, 2001--Ballard Power Systems Inc. announced today that it has signed an agreement with Textron Systems of Wilmington, Massachusetts under which Ballard will acquire Textron's carbon products business unit for US$12.8-million.
    The acquisition is expected to close on May 25, 2001.
    This business unit develops and manufactures a variety of carbon materials for automotive and fuel cell applications, including a gas diffusion layer (GDL) for use in proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells. A GDL allows the even diffusion of gases against the membrane at the heart of a PEM fuel cell. A GDL must have good electrical conductivity and be suited to volume manufacturing techniques.
    The acquired business unit, to be known as Ballard Material Products, Inc., will be a wholly owned subsidiary of Ballard Power Systems. It will employ over 50 people and be located in a 137,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility on eight acres in Lowell, Massachusetts (a suburb of Boston). The acquisition includes intellectual property comprising 66 patents issued and pending worldwide, covering 14 distinct inventions.
    Firoz Rasul, Ballard's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, "This acquisition brings to Ballard expertise in carbon materials engineering and automotive component manufacturing, a portfolio of relevant intellectual property and a business unit that can substantially fund all of its research and development expenditures from its current revenues. I want to welcome to the Ballard team our newest members at Ballard Material Products. I know that they will contribute to the commercial success of Ballard."
    In 2000, the acquired business unit had revenues of US$11.8 million from sales of its specialized carbon products to a wide range of customers. The division is a qualified Tier 1 supplier to General Motors on a sole-source basis through the 2003 model year of friction material used in automotive transmissions. The division is both QS9000 and ISO9001 certified.