Astris Energi Reports Alkaline Fuel Cell Progress to International Conference.Business Editors PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 26, 2000 The substantial advantages of alkaline fuel cells over any type of these revolutionary power sources were highlighted here today at the International "Fuel Cell 2000" conference by Jiri K. Nor, president of Astris Energi Inc. (OTC OTC See: Over-the-counter. OTC See over-the-counter market (OTC). :ASRF ASRF Adam Smith Research Foundation (University of Glasgow, UK) ASRF Advanced Size Reduction Facility ASRF Automation Sciences Research Facility ASRF Aircraft Survivability Research Facility ), a fuel cell pioneer based in Mississauga, Ontario For the First Nation, see . Mississauga (pronounced: [ˌmɪsɪˈsɑgə] listen , Canada. Speaking before an international audience of scientists, engineers and managers involved in the burgeoning fuel cell industry, Nor explained that Astris decided some years ago to concentrate on development of alkaline fuel cells (AFC (1) (Application Foundation Classes) A class library from Microsoft that provides an application framework and graphics, graphical user interface (GUI) and multimedia routines for Java programmers. ), the type used in all NASA NASA: see National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA in full National Aeronautics and Space Administration Independent U.S. and Russian manned space vehicles, rather than the proton exchange membrane A proton exchange membrane (PEM) is a semipermeable membrane generally made from ionomers and designed to conduct protons while being impermeable to gases such as oxygen or hydrogen. (PEM (Privacy Enhanced Mail) A standard for secure e-mail on the Internet. It supports encryption, digital signatures and digital certificates as well as both private and public key methods. Not widely used, work on PEM later evolved into S/MIME. See MIME. ) concept adopted by other entrants in the field. "Operating efficiencies of AFC's exceed those of any other competing system," he said, "and they are inherently lower in cost because they do not need the expensive platinum catalyst required in PEM systems." He added that a variety of lower-cost metals and metal oxides can serve as AFC catalysts, and the systems can be built from inexpensive carbon and plastic materials. "A major AFC advantage is its wide temperature range including sub-zero operation, while the PEM system cannot be operated below freezing. We felt this would be an application-limiting factor." Nor noted that some developers have passed over AFC systems because of claims that they would operate only with ultra-pure hydrogen and oxygen. "This simply is not true," he declared. "We at Astris have operated AFC's for thousands of hours on ordinary industrial-grade hydrogen -- and on ordinary air as the source of oxygen." Astris has specialized to date in development of kilowatt-sized systems to power golf carts, airport ramp The airport ramp or apron is part of an airport. It is usually the area where aircraft are parked, unloaded or loaded, refueled or boarded. Although the use of the apron is covered by regulations, such as lighting on vehicles, it is typically more accessible to users than , in-plant delivery, retirement community and similar vehicles. However, Nor added, the Astris technology is expandable into the multi-kilowatt range. The company has also developed and built a four-kilowatt system to provide electricity, heat and hot water that would be suitable for residences, which is currently undergoing evaluation at a technical university in the Czech Republic, where Astris' affiliate facility is located. NOTE: Any statements in this release that are not statements of fact may be considered "forward-looking statements" as that term is defined under U.S. Federal security laws. Forward-looking statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual events or results. |
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