Sona to Acquire Developer of Rechargeable Magnesium Battery

VANCOUVER, British Columbia--April 26, 2005--Sona Development Corp. (OTCBB:SDVC) ("Sona") announced today that it has completed a bridge loan of $500,000 to Idea One, Inc. ("Idea One"), a research and development company that has built the world's first successful lab-tested magnesium rechargeable battery. Sona and Idea One are drafting a definitive agreement to facilitate a merger of the companies no later than September 1, 2005.

The increasing interest in mobile technology, such as portable consumer electronics and electric cars, has generated the need for batteries that provide high energy density and long life. Rechargeable high energy density batteries require the use of electrode materials with a high-charge capacity. Considering electrochemical reasons for the selection of the negative electrode materials, light metals (lithium and magnesium), are favored over conventional and comparatively heavy battery materials (such as zinc, cadmium and lead).

Idea One, through its subsidiary Advanced Technology Upgrading, Ltd. ("ATU"), has formed a partnership with Professor Doron Aurbach of Israel's Bar Ilan University. Professor Aurbach is best known for the primary role he played with Tadiran Batteries Ltd., an Israeli battery manufacturing firm, in the development and first commercial use of the lithium battery. Idea One and Professor Aurbach are now focused, in cooperation with Tadiran and Bar Ilan University, on developing the next generation of battery technology based on a magnesium battery.

Idea One and Professor Aurbach have tested and patented the chemistry for rechargeable magnesium battery systems that can be recycled thousands of times with very low capacity fading. Laboratory tests have verified that the battery can be recharged over 3,000 times and can produce up to 1.1 to 1.3 volts per a single cell, with energy density comparable to existing systems. The battery's overall performance has been independently verified by the U.S. Department of Energy. Moreover, the battery is environmentally non-toxic and non-explosive.

Sona considers magnesium battery technology to be a breakthrough, representing a fourth-generation standard for the global battery industry. Idea One and Professor Aurbach expect the magnesium battery to be commercially available in less than a year for many applications, including uninterruptible electric power for computer networks, electricity storage for power generation plants and utilities, electric vehicles, and portable powered devices.

"Magnesium batteries can be engineered for any electrically powered device which might benefit from the availability of a portable battery able to undergo thousands of charge and discharge cycles," noted Meir Ezra, president and chief executive officer of Idea One. "Such applications could include electric cars, golf carts, electronically powered forklifts, utility vehicles, electrically powered scooters and bicycles, to name a few."

Aurbach and his team are currently looking for ways to increase the energy density of their magnesium batteries. Idea One anticipates that with additional research, the energy density of rechargeable magnesium batteries can be increased by 50%, and believes there may be a possibility of developing magnesium batteries with working potentials higher than 1.5V and a theoretical energy density higher than 200 Wh/Kg making them ideal for use as an electric vehicle battery. "Since magnesium batteries are expected to be non-explosive, non-toxic, have a very low self discharge, can work at high temperatures, and are supposed to have prolonged cycle life, they appear to be a good choice over other existing energy storage systems for some important applications," stated Professor Aurbach. One of Israel's largest battery manufacturers has agreed to collaborate with the team at Bar Ilan on the upscaling of the magnesium battery technology.

Sona expects to introduce this patented technology to commercial markets and will complete a private placement of between $1.5 and $3.0 million dollars before acquiring Idea One. The proceeds of the offering will be designated to fund further research and development of Professor Aurbach's magnesium battery technology and to initiate a comprehensive approach to marketing the product on a worldwide basis.