UQM Technologies Announces Order From Ballard Power Systems for Additional Fuel Cell Compressor Drive Motors

FREDERICK, Colo., Jan. 21, 2004 -- UQM Technologies, Inc. (AMEX:UQM) , a developer of alternative energy technologies, announced today that it has received an order from Ballard Power Systems for additional fuel cell compressor drive motors. The Company has been supplying its custom designed motors to Ballard since early 2001 for use in its fuel cell engines.

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells manufactured by Ballard combine hydrogen fuel with oxygen from air to create electricity without combustion. A compressor driven by an electric motor powers and controls the delivery of compressed air within the fuel cell and consumes a portion of the electricity produced by the fuel cell. Improvements in the efficiency of fuel cell auxiliary systems improve the overall energy efficiency of the fuel cell engine and the automobiles that are powered by them. UQM(R) motors are compact and highly efficient and this particular design application has been optimized to meet the specific operating requirements of Ballard(R) fuel cell engines.

Ballard(R) fuel cell engines have been placed in service in a variety of technology demonstration vehicles from DaimlerChrysler, Ford and Nissan. These fuel cell vehicles are providing Ballard with invaluable learnings in its effort to achieve its targets for durability, reliability, cost and performance.

Commenting on the latest order, William G. Rankin, President and Chief Executive Officer of UQM Technologies, Inc., said, "Ballard continues to expand the deployment of its fuel cell engine for automotive fuel cell applications. Fuel cells are continuing to gain interest as a promising solution to our country's dependence on foreign oil, and we expect our participation in this emerging growth market to continue to expand. In particular, fuel cell powered vehicles operate on the electricity generated by the fuel cell requiring components that are now powered by the rotating shaft of an internal combustion engine to be replaced with electric motor driven systems, including the propulsion system and all of the under-the-hood belt, hydraulic and gear driven auxiliaries such as power steering and air conditioning. UQM(R) products are ideally suited for both primary propulsion and the wide range of under-the-hood auxiliary applications envisioned as fuel cell engines become the clean and energy efficient powerplant of the future."

UQM Technologies, Inc. is a developer and manufacturer of power dense, high efficiency electric motors, generators and power electronic controllers for the automotive, aerospace, medical, military and industrial markets. A major emphasis of the Company is developing products for the alternative energy technologies sector including power systems for battery hybrid and fuel cell electric vehicles, 42 volt under-the-hood power accessories and other vehicle auxiliaries and distributed power generation applications. The Company's headquarters, engineering and product development center and motor manufacturing operation are located in Frederick, Colorado. Its electronic products manufacturing facility is located in St. Charles, Missouri. For more information on the Company, please visit its worldwide website at www.uqm.com.

Ballard Power Systems is recognized as the world leader in developing, manufacturing and marketing zero-emission proton exchange membrane fuel cells. Ballard is commercializing fuel cell engines for transportation applications and fuel cell systems for portable and stationary products. Ballard is also commercializing electric drives for fuel cell and other electric vehicles, power conversion products, and is a Tier 1 automotive supplier of friction materials for power train components. Ballard's proprietary technology is enabling automobile, bus, electrical equipment, portable power and stationary product manufacturers to develop environmentally clean products for sale. Ballard is partnering with strong, world-leading companies, including DaimlerChrysler, Ford, EBARA, ALSTOM and FirstEnergy, to commercialize Ballard(R) fuel cells. Ballard has supplied fuel cells to Honda, MGE UPS SYSTEMS INC., Mitsubishi, Nissan and Volkswagen, among others.

Ballard, the Ballard logo and Power to Change the World are registered trademarks of Ballard Power Systems, Inc.

This press release contains statements that constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act. These statements appear in a number of places in this press release and include statements regarding our plans, beliefs or current expectations, including those plans, beliefs and expectations of our officers and directors with respect to, among other things, the development of markets for our products. Important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements include our ability to be profitable, our ability to obtain additional financing, our reliance on major customers and suppliers, our ability to commercialize our products, our ability to manage growth and the possibility that product liability insurance may become unavailable to us.