Nissan and UTC Fuel Cells Will Develop Fuel Cell Technology

    TOKYO and SOUTH WINDSOR, Conn., Feb. 5 -- Nissan
Motor Co. and UTC Fuel Cells (UTCFC), a part of United Technologies
Corporation's UTC Power unit, today announced the signing of an
agreement to jointly develop proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell
technology.
    Under terms of the agreement, Nissan will obtain rights to UTCFC's
technology, and the two companies will continue to jointly develop this
technology for automotive applications.  UTCFC will continue its separate
development efforts with other auto companies.  Financial terms of the
agreement were not disclosed.
    UTCFC will also have rights to any intellectual property jointly developed
by the two companies for use in non-automotive applications, including
commercial stationary power plants.  UTCFC is currently developing commercial
power plants based on PEM technology.
    "Our efforts with Nissan over the past two years have proven extremely
successful," said Jan van Dokkum, president of UTC Power, noting the December
unveiling of Nissan's X-TRAIL fuel cell vehicle powered by a UTCFC fuel cell
power plant.  "This agreement builds upon our prior efforts and continues our
work in advancing this game-changing technology."
    A fuel cell combines hydrogen and oxygen to create electricity efficiently
and without emissions.  UTCFC's fuel cell power plants use proprietary
technology that better manages the water produced by the fuel cell.  The
result is a simpler, lower cost system that is quieter, significantly more
fuel efficient and easier to install into a vehicle than other fuel cell
technologies.
    UTC Fuel Cells and UTC Power are based in South Windsor, and United
Technologies Corp. is headquartered in Hartford, Connecticut.  UTCFC is a
leader in fuel cell production and development for commercial, transportation,
residential and space applications.