Oorja Protonics Reduces Refueling Time for Material Handling Vehicles to Less than a Minute

FREMONT, Calif.--Oorja Protonics, the leader in ultra-powerful liquid methanol fuel cell technology, today announced general availability of its Model H OorjaPac™ on-board battery charging system. The Model H can be refueled in less than one minute, 60% faster than its predecessor. By achieving a significant engineering achievement and eliminating waste water generated by the fuel cell, Oorja has succeeded in doubling the fuel (methanol) storage capacity. Additionally, the Model H is 25% smaller than previous models, enabling it to be retrofitted easily on a wider range of material handling vehicles. The Model H substantially increases shift productivity and accelerates return-on-investment.

“OorjaPac considerably reduces the refueling time for forklifts, pallet loaders and other material handling vehicles, immediately increasing productivity and reducing downtime associated with battery changing,” said Sanjiv Malhotra, Founder and CEO of Oorja Protonics. “With the Model H, we are excited to continue leading the next generation of fuel cell technology for the material handling industry.”

OorjaPac addresses low vehicle runtime and operational cost challenges facing material handling fleet managers, OorjaPac eliminates the time and labor costs associated with battery swapping and reduces the number of batteries required, resulting in significant productivity and equipment savings. Continuously trickle-charging the on-board battery in a material handling vehicle, OorjaPac ensures the battery never reaches a state of deep discharge. Battery charge and power are maintained at high levels and the battery is not subject to heat damage caused during recharging, increasing battery life and reducing battery maintenance needs.

OorjaPac’s reduction of electricity costs, battery and forklift maintenance, green house gas emissions, and accidents from battery acid spills leads to an array of infrastructure, maintenance, environmental and safety savings.

The Model H has been evaluated by a number of leading customers during the early part of 2009 and it is currently being sold commercially and shipped to several customers in the food and beverage and automotive industry. For more information on the Model H OorjaPac, visit www.oorjaprotonics.com.

About Oorja Protonics

Oorja Protonics designs, develops, and manufacturers the most powerful direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC) in the world. In development for three years and on its fifth generation of technology, Oorja’s products are customer proven, reliable, affordable, and available today. Oorja’s customers include Fortune 50 companies in retail, automotive, logistics, and food processing. Founded in 2005, Oorja is a privately-held company and is backed by venture capital firms Sequoia Capital and DAG Ventures. For more information, visit www.oorjaprotonics.com.