H Power to Develop Fuel Cell Range Extenders With PSA Peugeot Citroen
CLIFTON, N.J.--Jan. 3, 2002--H Power Corp. , a leading fuel cell development company, today announced it has formed a joint development agreement with PSA Peugeot Citroen, the world's sixth largest car maker, to develop low power fuel cells that will be used in light duty vans.These 7 kW fuel cells will be employed as "range extenders," an on-board device that increases the current range of an electric power car through an alternative energy source.
The minimum revenue to H Power expected to be generated from this joint development agreement will be $2.0 million over three years. Based on the results of these efforts, both companies will jointly seek to identify additional fuel cells applications. During the first year of the agreement H Power will receive $1 million for the development and delivery of two separate generations of fuel cell systems.
The joint development agreement is based on an existing relationship whereby PSA Peugeot Citroen previously tested two of H Power's 5.5 kW fuel cell stacks, as well as other fuel cell stacks from several different fuel cell manufacturers. The fuel cell stacks were tested solely for range extender purposes in light duty vans. Following these tests PSA Peugeot Citroen identified H Power's fuel cell stacks as providing the most efficient and reliable performance measures required for application in PSA Peugeot Citroen's vehicles.
H. Frank Gibbard, Chief Executive Officer of H Power, commented, "We welcome the opportunity to further our relationship with PSA Peugeot Citroen, a preeminent European automaker. Based on PSA Peugeot Citroen's past successes with the testing and employment of our fuel cell stacks, we believe that we will once again be able to provide PSA Peugeot Citroen with superior fuel cell technologies that meet their stringent requirements."
Mr. Gibbard concluded, "We view this agreement as a compelling application and natural extension of our portable and mobile line of products. We believe that using our fuel cell stacks to extend the range of an electric vehicle is an effective and realistic application of current fuel cell technology. We will also be able to realize additional benefits by extending our total product offerings under this category. We look forward to continuing this very exciting relationship with PSA Peugeot Citroen."
Pascal Henault, Vice President Research and Innovation of PSA Peugeot Citroen, stated, "We are pleased to be once again working with H Power, having previously been very impressed with their commitment to our needs. Furthermore, we believe that H Power's advanced fuel cell technologies and products will further complement our efforts focusing on the development of alternative and secondary fuel sources for our vehicles. We are eager to continue our collaborative work with H Power as we identify realistic solutions to meet our requirements."
About H Power Corp.
H Power Corp. is a leading fuel cell development company and one of the first providers to complete a commercial sale of a proton-exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell system. PEM fuel cells generate electricity efficiently and cleanly from the electrochemical reaction of hydrogen and oxygen. Hydrogen is typically derived from conventional fuels such as natural gas or propane, and oxygen is drawn from the air. H Power's fuel cells are designed to provide electricity for a wide range of stationary, portable and mobile applications including residential cogeneration products for rural, remote homes, and backup power units for mobile applications. For additional information, please visit our website at www.hpower.com.
About PSA Peugeot Citroen
PSA Peugeot Citroen is the world's sixth largest car maker with more than 3 million vehicles sold in 2001. The Group is the second-largest car manufacturer on the European market with a 15% market share at the end of November 2001. At this time, the Group is first in the French, Spanish, Belgian and Danish markets, and second in the U.K., Portugal, the Netherlands and Greece. Sales have grown 50% in the last four years. The Group includes 195,000 employees worldwide.
Certain expectations and projections regarding the future performance of H Power discussed in this news release are forward-looking and are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These expectations are based on currently available competitive, financial and economic data along with the Company's operating plans and are subject to future events and uncertainties. Management cautions the reader that the following factors, amongst others, may cause H Power's plans to differ or results to vary significantly from those expected, including the impact of competition, technology development, pricing, market demand and marketplace acceptance, and other risks set forth from time to time in H Power's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, but not limited to the risks set forth in H Power's Annual Report on Form 10-K. H Power undertakes no obligation to publicly release the results of any revisions to forward-looking statements, which may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. The events highlighted herein should not be assumed to be items that could affect the future performance of the Company.