FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 16, 2008

Hydrogen Association Wraps up Hugely Successful Conference and Expo

Washington, DC - Participants flooded the Sacramento Convention Center from March 30 to April 3, 2008 eager to learn about the latest advancements in hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. At this year's NHA Annual Hydrogen Conference with Hydrogen Expo US, commercialization took center stage as many participating companies are in the process of bringing new products to market, scaling up manufacturing and preparing for the mass markets on the horizon. Representatives from every market segment were present to see innovative products on display, close deals and attend thought-provoking conference sessions led by world-renowned experts.

"From our perspective, this is the most important hydrogen conference in the world," stated James Heathcote, CEO for ITM Power. With more than 1,200 attendees and 500 companies from 30 countries, the event was an undeniable success. The impressive lineup of keynote speakers included Phil Baxley, President of Shell Hydrogen, LLC, Assistant Secretary William Anderson of the US Air Force, Deputy Assistant Secretary Steve Chalk from the Department of Energy and Administrator Paul Brubaker of the Department of Transportation.

The much-anticipated keynote speaker, Larry Burns, GM's Vice Present for Planning and R&D, discussed the recently released White Paper which shows that a hydrogen infrastructure is feasible and economically viable.  His remarks concluded with a call to action urging industry to expand the infrastructure to serve hydrogen vehicles.  Burns' comments sparked more discussion regarding the ongoing challenge of aligning industry priorities and ensuring that appropriate numbers of vehicles and stations are placed in the same cities at the same time. 

A number of newsworthy projects were unveiled at the event, including the opening of the Sacramento Municipal Utility District's new renewable hydrogen fueling station. This state-of-the-art facility contains an impressive canopy of solar PV cells, capable of producing 80 kW of power and generating 12 kg of hydrogen per day, enough to fuel eight vehicles -a glimpse of what the future could look like.

Significant traffic in the Expo indicated growing interest in the hydrogen and fuel cell industry. Exhibitor booths not only displayed the latest information, research and technology, but many had products for sale. As Dan Rabun from Air Products put it, "This is not just a conference anymore; we're doing business and making important business deals." Many companies are targeting the markets for materials handling vehicles and stationary backup power as key growth areas where they can do business today.

All the big industry players were represented at the Expo, including automakers, energy companies, hydrogen producers and fuel cell manufacturers. Twenty hydrogen vehicles were present from nine of the top manufacturers, including American Honda, BMW, Daimler, General Motors, Toyota, Ford, Hyundai, Nissan and Volkswagen, all of whom plan to have more hydrogen vehicles hit the road in the near future.  

Both professional attendees and the general public eagerly lined up to test-drive new hydrogen vehicles at the 2008 Ride & Drive. The experience started and ended with a ride in an AC Transit hydrogen fuel cell bus between the Convention Center and WyoTech Automotive College. At the WyoTech Ride & Drive Course, participants were able to experience a variety of vehicles powered by hydrogen engines and hydrogen fuel cells. Participating vehicles included the Mercedes F-cell, Chevy Equinox, Ford Focus, Toyota Highlander, Kia Sportage, Nissan X Trail, VW Touran and the BMW Hydrogen 7.

Hydrogen powered fuel cells played a significant role by providing power for both fun and essential services at the NHA Conference and Hydrogen Expo. Two Nintendo Wii video game consoles with flatscreen TVs were possibly the most popular exhibits among Expo attendees.  One console was powered by Jadoo's handheld XRT fuel cell system at the California Fuel Cell Partnership booth.  The other was powered by Altergy's much larger 10-kilowatt FreedomPower^TM system which also powered the Altergy booth with power to spare.

Plug Power also played a significant role by powering the entire registration area for four days with their 5-kilowatt GenCore® fuel cell system on prominent display right inside the convention center entrance. Their hydrogen pallet truck, identical to those used by Wal-Mart, was also on hand to help set up the Expo and provide demonstrations throughout the event.

#  #  #