ECD Ovonics' Hydrogen Storage Technology Provides a Bridge to Future Fuel Cell Vehicles

SACRAMENTO, Calif., April 20 -- As California moves forward to make its vision of a Hydrogen Highway Network a reality, one of the crucial elements will be safe and efficient hydrogen storage on-board vehicles and at refueling stations. Texaco Ovonic Hydrogen Systems (TOHS), an ECD Ovonics joint venture, is showing how this can be achieved today by demonstrating the use of its breakthrough low-pressure, metal-hydride hydrogen storage system in a modified hydrogen-electric hybrid Toyota Prius.

When used with hybrids, ECD Ovonics' hydrogen storage technology promises to deliver the same kind of range, driving experience, and refueling convenience we've come to expect from the vehicles we drive today. ECD Ovonics' system can also be used in conventional internal combustion engine vehicles, as well as with fuel cell vehicles. While most agree that the ultimate goal is to bring highly-efficient, hydrogen powered fuel cell vehicles to our highways, some of the key enabling technologies for fuel cell vehicles are still years away from being cost-competitive and ready for the mass market.

In the meantime, hydrogen powered hybrids and internal combustion hydrogen vehicles can be available much sooner and at a fraction of the cost of fuel cell vehicles. Importantly, these more conventional hydrogen vehicles could share the same refueling equipment and follow the codes and standards intended for implementation when fuel-cell vehicles arrive on the scene. In effect, operating a growing fleet of these more conventional hydrogen vehicles could pave the way for fuel cell vehicles, creating a demand for hydrogen refueling and accelerating hydrogen infrastructure development.

ECD Ovonics' metal-hydride system, engineered by Texaco Ovonic Hydrogen Systems, comprises powdered metallic alloys capable of rapidly absorbing hydrogen. In operation, a metal hydride is formed when gaseous H2 molecules dissociate into individual hydrogen atoms and bond with metal atoms in the storage alloy. This results in the hydrogen being stored in a solid state. Removing heat drives this absorption process, while adding heat reverses the chemical reaction, causing the hydrogen atoms to reform as H2 molecules inside the storage vessel, once again providing ready fuel for a vehicle.

The metal-hydride system offers several advantages in powering hydrogen-fueled vehicles over other types of systems. Storage density is significantly higher than high-pressure gaseous or liquid alternatives, which generally translates to greater driving range. Additionally, the metal-hydride system is fully scalable, which means it can be adapted for a variety of mobile tanks as well as larger scale systems for filling-station storage.

This hydrogen hybrid Prius project has led to an expanded program at Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide, which worked with Texaco Ovonic Hydrogen Systems to develop the initial hydrogen hybrid Prius. Through a program funded by California's South Coast Air Quality Management District, five additional Prius sedans will be converted to run on hydrogen-hybrid power using the Texaco Ovonic Hydrogen Systems metal-hydride storage system.

About ECD Ovonics

ECD Ovonics is the leader in the synthesis of new materials and the development of advanced production technology and innovative products. It has invented, pioneered and developed enabling technologies in the fields of energy and information leading to new products and production processes based on amorphous, disordered, and related materials. ECD Ovonics' proprietary advanced information technologies include Ovonic(TM) phase-change electrical memory, Ovonic(TM) phase-change optical memory, and the Ovonic(TM) Threshold Switch. The Company's portfolio of alternative energy solutions includes thin-film amorphous solar cells, modules, panels, and systems for generating solar electric power; nickel-metal hydride batteries; hydride storage materials capable of storing hydrogen in the solid state for use as a feedstock for fuel cells or internal combustion engines or as an enhancement or replacement for any type of hydrocarbon fuel; and fuel cell technology. ECD Ovonics designs and builds manufacturing machinery that incorporates its proprietary production processes, maintains ongoing research and development programs to continually improve its products, and develops new applications for its technologies. ECD Ovonics holds the basic patents in its fields. More information is available at www.ovonic.com.

This release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Safe Harbor Provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are based on assumptions which ECD Ovonics, as of the date of this release, believes to be reasonable and appropriate. ECD Ovonics cautions, however, that the actual facts and conditions that may exist in the future could vary materially from the assumed facts and conditions upon which such forward-looking statements are based.

For further information, please contact Dick Thompson, Director, Media Relations of Energy Conversion Devices, Inc., +1-248-293-0440.