City of Alameda Becomes First North American City to Use Revolutionary Kummerow Technology for Electric Vehicles.

ALAMEDA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 6, 1997--The Bureau of Electricity of the City of Alameda and Kummerow Corp. of North America (KCNA) Monday signed an exclusive two-year agreement which would equip the city's electric vehicles with KCNA's revolutionary Zoxy Blitz Zinc-Air battery technology.

According to Hans Werner Kummerow, president of the California-based KCNA, a developer and supplier of zinc-air batteries, Alameda is the first city in North America to have access to KCNA's zinc-air technology for electric vehicles (EVs).

"Alameda's goal is to become an internationally recognized center for EV development, demonstration, production and use, " Kummerow said. "We are delighted, therefore, to enter into this joint effort where Alameda will utilize its fleet of electric vehicles to demonstrate our advanced zinc-air battery technology under real world conditions."

Kummerow noted that it was very appropriate to enter into this milestone agreement with Alameda as the city was the site of a test in June 1997 during which a five-passenger vehicle using a Kummerow zinc-air battery set a world distance record of 1,043 miles on a single charge. This surpassed Kummerow's own world record set in February of this year in Springville, Utah, when a mini-van equipped with the company's batteries traveled 478 miles on a charge in sub-freezing temperatures.

Commenting on the joint venture, Alameda Bureau of Electricity, Public Utilities Board President Kenneth Hansen said: "This agreement comes on the heels of the Public Utilities Board's endorsement of the Alameda Electric Vehicle Model City Strategic Plan. The mission of this strategic plan is to encourage the use of EVs in the community and to foster the development of an EV industry in Alameda."

Hansen added that Kummerow's zinc-air battery technology promises greater range for EVs than any other battery types and could greatly help accelerate acceptance of EVs as a viable zero-emission alternative to power automobiles, trucks, buses and other vehicles.

In accordance with the agreement, the bureau has the exclusive rights to use the Kummerow battery technology within its service territory -- making it the first utility in North America to have access to this technology. KCNA will assist in the development of a regenerating infrastructure for use with the bureau's fleet of vehicles.

Under the agreement, both the bureau and city will play an active role in securing funding for ongoing demonstration activities within the city. Both parties emphasized that their joint efforts should further validate the high energy density and long range capability of this fuel system and underscore the technical viability and economic feasibility of the KCNA zinc-air battery technology.

Founded in 1995, KCNA is a subsidiary of Kummerow GMBH of Nuremberg, Germany. In 1993, the company entered into a partnership with Dr. Hans Pauling, a world-renowned electro-chemist and founder of ChemTek in Karlsruhe, Germany, to research and develop the zinc-air technology.

CONTACT: Fisher & Associates Inc., Woodland Hills

Bob Fisher/Lynn Homsy, 818/593-2202