Maxwell Technologies to Supply PowerCache(TM) Ultracapacitors to General Motors For Hybrid Electric Vehicles

3 January 2001
Maxwell Technologies to Supply PowerCache(TM) Ultracapacitors to General Motors For Hybrid Electric Vehicles
   Company Sees Potential Annual Transportation Market Demand of 1 Million
                   Cells in 2003, 100 Million Cells in 2008

   CONFERENCE CALL - JANUARY 4, 2001, 11:00 AM EST - SEE BELOW FOR DETAILS

    SAN DIEGO, Jan. 3 Maxwell Technologies, Inc.
announced today that it has signed an agreement to supply
ultracapacitor energy storage cells to General Motors and GM's Allison
Transmission division, a leading developer of low-emission, fuel-efficient
hybrid electric powertrains for buses and trucks.
    Carl Eibl, Maxwell's president and chief executive officer, said that the
agreement with General Motors is the first of what the company expects to be
multiple opportunities for its ultracapacitors to address the energy storage
and burst power needs of the transportation industry.
    "General Motors and Allison evaluated the entire gamut of available energy
storage options, including numerous battery alternatives, and chose Maxwell's
PowerCache(TM) ultracapacitors for their hybrid vehicles," Eibl said.  "We
believe that at a target price of $30 or less per cell in 2003, total
transportation market demand could reach one million cells in 2003, and ramp
rapidly to more than 100 million cells in 2008."
    David Piper, Allison's director of engineering, said that ultracapacitors'
efficient electrical energy storage and rapid discharge/recharge capabilities
are integral to Allison's and General Motors' industry-leading development
programs for low emission, fuel-efficient, hybrid powertrains and advanced
electrical drive systems.
    "By supplementing the primary engine with an electric motor that assists
initial acceleration and recaptures and reuses braking energy, we can reduce
fuel consumption by more than 50 percent, reduce particulate emissions by
90 percent and reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by 50 percent as compared to
conventional diesel engines," Piper said.  "Evidence suggests that Maxwell's
ultracapacitors satisfy our storage, release and recharge requirements better
and provide greater reliability and longer service life than batteries or any
other energy storage component we tested."
    Richard Balanson, president of Maxwell's Electronic Components Group, said
that Maxwell has begun filling GM's initial purchase order, and has
significantly increased production capacity to meet anticipated demand for all
of its PowerCache products.
    "The requirements for these transportation applications are quite similar
to those driving our opportunities in consumer and industrial electronics,
alternative energy generation and other markets," Balanson noted.  "Most
energy-consuming applications demand both steady-state power and the ability
to deliver bursts of higher power, such as for acceleration of a vehicle or
the flash of a camera.  Our products are unique in their ability to "cache"
power for those bursts, recharge rapidly and perform reliably over hundreds of
thousands of cycles."
    Allison Transmission, a division of General Motors, is a world leader in
the design, manufacture and sale of automatic transmissions for trucks, buses,
off-road and military vehicles, and is responsible for GM's development and
deployment of hybrid electric technologies for medium- and heavy-duty buses
and trucks.
    Maxwell Technologies applies industry-leading capabilities in power and
computing to develop and market products for customers in multiple industries,
including telecommunications, e-commerce consumer electronics, transportation,
energy, space, defense, medical products and bioprocessing.  PowerCache, a
part of Maxwell's Electronic Components Group, designs, develops and
manufactures a family of large- and small-cell ultracapacitors.
    Maxwell will conduct a conference call and simultaneous webcast to discuss
the Allison supply agreement and other opportunities for its PowerCache
ultracapacitor products and answer analysts' questions at 11 a.m. (eastern)
tomorrow, January 4, 2001.  The call may be accessed by calling
(212) 896-6046; the live webcast and subsequent replay may be accessed at the
company's web site, http://www.maxwell.com , by clicking on Investor Relations, then
clicking on Audio Presentations.

    This news release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to
risks and uncertainties.  These include development and acceptance of products
based on new technologies, demand for original equipment manufacturers'
products reaching anticipated levels, cost-effective manufacturing of new
products and the impact of competitive products and pricing.  These and other
risks are detailed from time-to-time in the Company's SEC reports, including
the report on Form 10-K for the short fiscal year ended December 31, 1999.
Actual results may differ materially from those projected.  These
forward-looking statements represent the Company's judgment as of the date of
this news release.  The Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update
these forward-looking statements.