IMPCO Awarded Major $2.6M DOE Contract for Next Generation Hydrogen Storage Tank Technology
5 June 2000
IMPCO Awarded Major $2.6M DOE Contract for Next Generation Hydrogen Storage Tank Technology
IRVINE, Calif., June 5 IMPCO Technologies, Inc.
announced today that its Advanced Technology Center located in
Irvine, California, has been awarded a major contract by the US Department of
Energy, Golden Field Office, to develop and demonstrate the next generation
high performance hydrogen storage tank technology designed for use on internal
combustion engine vehicles and fuel cell vehicle applications. The total
project cost is valued in excess of $2.6 million with the Department of
Energy and IMPCO each sharing a portion of the costs. The technology
resulting from this project will produce one of the world's lightest hydrogen
fuel storage tank technologies while meeting or exceeding applicable
government regulations for on-board vehicle high-pressure gas containment.
Under the terms of the DOE contract, IMPCO will design, develop, prototype
and produce ultra-lightweight production hydrogen tanks for demonstration on
two vehicle programs in close association with the DOE's Lawrence Livermore
National Laboratory. The IMPCO hydrogen storage tanks will be demonstrated on
a fuel cell public transportation bus in Las Vegas, Nevada, and two sport
utility vehicles (SUVs) participating in the Future Truck Competition.
Syed Hussain, Vice President and General Manager of IMPCO's Technology and
Automotive OEM Division said: "This is an important program and critical to
near term mass commercialization of fuel cell vehicles. It is evident that
the DOE supports and endorses on-board vehicle hydrogen storage as the best
solution for fuel cell vehicles. We are very pleased to be working closely
with such a prominent government agency as the DOE Golden Field Office."
For more information on this project, please contact:
Alan Niedzwiecki, Executive Director, Business Development, IMPCO Advanced
Technology Center, Tel: (949) 399-4552
Mary Hartford, Contracting Officer, US Department of Energy, Golden Field
Office, Tel: (303) 275-4762
Doug Hooker, Technical Representative, US Department of Energy, Tel:
(303) 275-4780
Fred Mitlitsky, Program Manager, Energy Storage and Propulsion Systems,
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Tel:(925)423-4852
IMPCO is a leading designer, manufacturer and supplier of fuel storage,
fuel delivery and electronic control systems that allow internal combustion
engines and fuel cells to operate using clean fuels such as hydrogen, propane,
natural gas and methanol. IMPCO's advanced fuel system technologies are
designed to optimize efficiency and performance by electronically sensing and
regulating the proper proportion of fuel and air used by internal combustion
engines and fuel cell systems. IMPCO supplies its products and fuel system
integration to original equipment manufacturers of motor vehicles, truck,
buses, forklifts, material handling equipment and small portable to large
stationary engines. IMPCO also supplies these products and services to the
global aftermarket as well.
Headquartered in Cerritos, California, IMPCO has more than 400
distributors and dealers and 14 offices and facilities worldwide including:
United States, Australia, Japan and Mexico, IMPCO operates in the Netherlands,
France, Germany and the United Kingdom as IMCO-BERU Technologies, B.V.
IMPCO's website is: http://www.impcotechnologies.com
Certain matters discussed in this press release contain forward-looking
information that involves risks and uncertainties that could cause actual
results to differ materially from current trends. These include the company's
ability to design and market advanced fuel metering, fuel storage or
electronic control products, the company's ability to meet OEM specifications,
and other such risks as cite din the company's 1999 annual report on Form 10-K
and other documents field with Securities and Exchange Commission.