Bye Bye OPEC- Rotary Power Int to Develop A Hydrogen Fueled Rotary Engine Genset

WOOD-RIDGE, N.J., Nov. 28 -- Ron McKeown, President and CEO of Rotary Power International, Inc. (``RPI'') (OTC Bulletin Board: RPIN - news) announced today that RPI is planning to proceed with the development of a hydrogen fueled rotary engine generator set. RPI is considered the world leader in the development of large-scale rotary engines, a possible solution in the quest to find a substantial power source fueled by liquid and gaseous hydrogen and hydrogen blends. This decision by RPI to develop a hydrogen fueled rotary engine was reached as a result of preliminary inquiries from several hydrogen producers. Two major applications, fuel cells and the direct use of hydrogen as an engine fuel, are currently being developed to provide power from hydrogen. As an example, in the automobile industry Ford and Honda are working to develop fuel cell technology and BMW and Mercedes Benz are working to develop a car that will use liquid hydrogen as fuel in internal combustion engines to directly power their vehicles. Other storage systems developed for automobiles include. hydrogen storage utilizing metal hydrides.

Past research by Mazda has demonstrated satisfactory operation of a rotary engine on hydrogen fuel. RPI's research indicates the geometry of the rotary engine, particularly its ability to prevent the pre-ignition of highly flammable fuels with rapid combustion characteristics and high sensitivity to surface ignition; and the engine's ability to ignite and burn extremely lean mixtures, make it an ideal choice for hydrogen use.

John Mack, Vice President and Chief Engineer of RPI, who will be responsible for the development of a hydrogen fueled rotary engine generator set, made the following statement: ``We have great confidence in the ability of our RPI rotary engines, based on our current gaseous fueled engines, to operate very successfully on hydrogen while experiencing a minimum of power reduction compared with their natural gas rating. The applicability of rotary engines to hydrogen fuel has been demonstrated repeatedly, as published by Mazda and several other researchers.''

John Mack has over 40 years of engineering experience in all aspects of internal combustion engines and he is acknowledged as one of the senior engine designers in the industry. Mr. Mack's association with the industry includes his tenure with Curtiss-Wright Corporation and John Deere Technologies, Inc., both predecessor owners of RPI's rotary engine business, during which times he received recognition for a number of rotary engine design improvements.

Mr. McKeown stated: ``Over the past two years, since the restructuring of RPI began, we have carefully determined the best commercial applications for what had been primarily military sponsored research and development. A hydrogen fueled rotary engine is one of the applications selected. For over forty years Curtiss-Wright, John Deere Technologies and RPI worked to develop a rotary engine that could compete with existing technology through superiority of design. This was accomplished by making an engine that is lighter, more durable, more compact and capable of running on a wide variety of fuels-a scaleable engine capable of being built to 3000 HP. RPI engines of 500 HP with gaseous fuels and 1000 HP with liquid fuels are already available. Current market forces are fast tracking hydrogen fuel and we are pleased that this industry has shown interest in our technology.''