Altair Nanotechnologies' Name Change Becomes Effective; Altair Nanotechnologies' President Provides Corporate Update.

Business Editors & Health/Medical Writers

RENO, Nev.--(BW HealthWire)--Aug. 7, 2002

Altair Nanotechnologies Inc. (Nasdaq:ALTI) today announced that its name change is now effective.

Additionally, the company announced that the corporate charter continuance under the Canada Business Corporations Act ("CBCA") has been certified. Redomiciling the corporate charter to CBCA allows the company to increase the number of U.S. citizens on its board of directors.

"We thank the stockholders for their support of the name change which better reflects the company's focus on nanotechnology," commented Dr. Rudi E. Moerck, president of Altair Nanotechnologies.

"In keeping the lines of communications open," said Moerck, "I would like to provide an update of our business development programs to our stockholders and members of the investment community and to address investors' questions that relate to Altair's reporting of corporate financial results."

Marketing Status

Batteries

Altair's agreement with a large multinational Japan-based company, to introduce and market battery electrode materials worldwide has been successful and now has been extended by mutual agreement. The company has introduced Altair products to several of the largest Japanese battery companies and one automobile manufacturer. Reported testing of samples has been positive and two groups have requested additional, larger sample quantities.

Water Purification

During May 2002, Altair began a program with the University of Nevada, Reno, for the development of a material to remove arsenic from drinking water. Laboratory work on the materials development program is proceeding on schedule and initial discussions with various commercial and consumer-oriented water filter companies are underway.

Pharmaceuticals

In mid July, the company announced two significant new products pertaining to the pharmaceutical industry. Altair's patent-pending technology was successfully used to make a new drug delivery system for an existing pharmaceutical by applying the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient ("API") to the surface of Altair's commercially available porous ceramic micron and nano-sized particles.

Altair also announced the development of a new pharmaceutical/new chemical entity ("NCE") for the treatment of elevated phosphate levels in kidney dialysis patients. The new phosphate-binding drug was developed for the treatment of hyperphosphatemia (elevated serum phosphate levels) in patients undergoing kidney dialysis. These new ceramic compounds have the added potential advantage of possibly being used to bind phosphate directly in a dialysis device during kidney dialysis.

Altair's initial laboratory tests indicated that its NCE displayed certain advantages when compared with competitive drugs tested. Biological tests will have to be performed to show if these advantages are also significant in animals and humans. Patents covering the composition of matter and the process for manufacture of the new API have been filed. Patents for the production of Altair pharmaceutical dosage form support materials have previously been filed.

Two weeks after the company's pharmaceutical announcement, Altair has signed a confidential disclosure agreement ("CDA") with a major pharmaceutical company. The company is currently in negotiating a CDA with a second major pharmaceutical company, as well as a CDA with a large company specializing in renal dialysis equipment.

Altair is offering evaluation licenses for the new pharmaceutical API for treatment of elevated serum phosphate levels in dialysis patients with end-stage renal disease. The company is targeting large pharmaceutical companies with established markets in the treatment of renal disease and pharmaceutical companies with active research activities in this therapeutic area.

Altair is seeking a partnership with kidney dialysis device manufacturers to develop a technology that would allow the removal of phosphate directly during dialysis without the use of additional medications.

Fuel Cells

In a series of successful test demonstrations, the company's solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) produced electricity to power an electric motor driving a six-inch impeller. The test demonstrates that a monolithic fuel cell, a stack of fuel cells fabricated in one solid-state structure, is feasible and can be fabricated in a single firing.

The entire fuel cell, including connectors, electrolyte, anode and cathode, was constructed using Altair's patented process from micron and nano-sized materials produced by Altair scientists from commercially available feed stocks costing less then $20 per kilowatt.

The advantages of Altair's nanomaterial derived fuel cells include (1) lower material cost; (2) reduced fabrication cost and finally; (3) the possibility of using traditional hydrocarbon fuels in fuel cell power generators.

A large company currently selling materials used in the manufacture of fuel cells has expressed interest in working with Altair specifically in the area of materials for the manufacture of solid oxide fuel cells. Altair is negotiating with this company to form a joint venture pertaining to SOFCs.

Organization and Focus

In June, the board of directors approved the formation of a technical advisory board to be comprised of a variety of respected scientists and technologists from diverse disciplines and industries. The charter for the technical board is to assist management in reviewing potential projects and new technology concepts, as well as providing a wealth of technical and scientific expertise for Altair to draw upon.

The company is very pleased that Professor Jackie Y. Ying has joined the technical advisory board. Ying has been on the chemical engineering faculty at Massachusetts Institute of Technology since 1992, and was promoted to professor in 2001.

Ying, a leader in the fields of nanostructured materials and heterogeneous catalysts, worked previously with Altair Nanotechnologies in the development of a reforming catalyst for its solid oxide fuel cell program.

Altair recently appointed Douglas Ellsworth to the position of vice president of sales and marketing of the company's wholly owned subsidiary, Altair Nanomaterials Inc. Ellsworth will report directly to Moerck.

Prior to this appointment, Ellsworth served as Altair Nanomaterials director of operations. Before joining Altair, Ellsworth managed technical support services for BHP Minerals' Center for Minerals Technology in Reno. Ellsworth joined BHP as chief chemist in 1979. He received his bachelor's degree in chemistry and geology from the State University of New York, Oneonta.

Altair Financial Reporting

Altair Nanotechnologies is a chartered corporation under the Canada Business Corporations Act ("CBCA"); however, a great majority of Altair stockholders are United States citizens and almost all of its business is conducted in the United States.

Accordingly, Altair has elected to present financial statements according to U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP") and in U.S. denominated dollars. U.S. GAAP is a significantly more conservative accounting for exploration costs, which are treated as current expenses under U.S. GAAP, but capitalized on the balance sheet under Canadian GAAP.

The Altair Nanotechnologies board of directors has appointed an audit committee to oversee all financial and accounting functions. The audit committee is comprised of independent directors only. While Altair has a relatively small staff, two highly experienced CPAs manage the accounting function. To assure the highest financial statement integrity, the board has appointed Deloitte & Touche LLP, a widely respected, international accounting firm to provide the corporate audit.

Altair Nanotechnologies Inc.

Nanotechnology is rapidly emerging as a unique industry sector. Altair Nanotechnologies is positioning itself through product innovation within this emerging industry to become a leading supplier of nanomaterial technology and nanomaterials worldwide.

Altair owns a proprietary technology for making nanocrystalline materials of unique quality, both economically and in large quantities. The company is currently developing special nanomaterials with potential applications in pharmaceuticals, batteries, fuel cells, solar cells, advanced energy storage devices, thermal spray coatings, catalysts, cosmetics, paints and environmental remediation.

For additional information on Altair and its nanoparticle materials, visit www.altairnano.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release may contain forward-looking statements as well as historical information. Forward-looking statements, which are included in accordance with the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, may involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the company's actual results and performance in future periods to be materially different from any future results or performance suggested by the forward-looking statements in this release. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, biological testing of the pharmaceuticals may not be successful, the pharmaceuticals may not obtain FDA approval and Altair, without the assistance of a strategic partner, may not be capable of funding the FDA approval cycle. Additionally, the company may be unable to attract additional customers, fund additional research or product development through its sales and branding campaign. The company may never earn sufficient revenues to be profitable; its nanoparticle products may not be integrated into any major market groups and products. In addition, other risks are identified in the company's most recent annual report on Form 10-K, as filed with the SEC. Such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this release. The company expressly disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements found herein to reflect any changes in company expectations or results or any change in events.