BOC and Hydrogen Safety, LLC to conduct hydrogen safety training program at NHA hydrogen conference.

Business Editors

MURRAY HILL, N.J., U.S.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 23, 2004

Hydrogen fuel experts from BOC (NYSE:BOX) and Hydrogen Safety, LLC will present the opening paper of the Hydrogen Safety session and conduct their Hands-On H2TM safety training program at the National Hydrogen Association (NHA)'s annual hydrogen conference.

The training session will be held from 9 a.m. to noon on Monday, April 26 and the paper will be presented on Tuesday, April 27 at the Renaissance Hotel in Hollywood, California. There is still room available for the Hands-On H2 safety training session. People who are interested in attending can enroll on the conference website, www.hydrogenconference.org. Course registrations will also be accepted at the door before the session.

Michael McGowan, marketing manager, hydrogen energy, BOC, and co-author Robert Weir, principal and director of risk assessments, Hydrogen Safety, LLC, based in Newington, Connecticut, will discuss the technical and commercial issues the emerging hydrogen energy industry must address in order to properly manage and mitigate risk as the use of hydrogen fuel expands.

McGowan says, "We expect that hydrogen soon will emerge to compete with gasoline and diesel as an automotive fuel. Since that will involve widespread handling of hydrogen, and the use of liquid and gaseous hydrogen by consumers, public acceptance of hydrogen-powered vehicles will depend on the perceived safety of accessing hydrogen fuel at public refueling stations. These infrastructure issues are critical for realizing full commercialization of these vehicles."

BOC will also be participating in the hydrogen and fuel cell technology career seminar on Monday April 26 from 3-6 p.m., and McGowan will moderate the supply chain issues session on Wednesday, April 28. John Carolin, BOC's global director, hydrogen energy, will moderate the hydrogen for power production session on Tuesday, April 27.

As a sustaining member of NHA, BOC will have a number of hydrogen experts on hand to discuss the full range of hydrogen supply, application and safety issues. The BOC experts can be found in Booth # 2 in the convention hall.

BOC is a leader is supporting hydrogen energy projects around the world. The company:

-- Is a silver member of the California Hydrogen Business Council, a non-profit group that links hydrogen-technology developers, businesses, energy leaders, government, and infrastructure providers.

-- Is a member of the board of directors of the National Hydrogen Association, a membership organization of industry, university, research and small business members that is leading the transition to a hydrogen-based energy infrastructure.

-- Participates in the Compressed Hydrogen Infrastructure Program, a 700-bar hydrogen fuelling demonstration in Surrey, British Columbia.

-- Has an equity stake in the Burnaby, British Columbia-based QuestAir Technologies, which has developed proprietary gas purification technology that is being applied to industrial hydrogen production and stationary and automotive fuel cells.

-- Is a member of the board of directors of Fuel Cells Canada, a non-profit industry association aimed at accelerating Canada's fuel cell and hydrogen industry.

-- Is a member of the Chrysalix Energy Limited Partnership, a venture capital firm that focuses on fuel cell & related fueling technology companies. Chrysalix is a private equity joint venture between Ballard Power Systems, BASF Venture Capital, The BOC Group, The Boeing Company, Duke Energy, Mitsubishi Corporation and Shell Hydrogen.

The BOC Group (NYSE:BOX), the worldwide industrial gases, vacuum technologies and distribution services company, serves two million customers in more than 50 countries. It employs 44,500 people and had annual sales of over $7 billion in 2003. Further information about The BOC Group may be obtained on the Internet at www.boc.com.