SFC Smart Fuel Cell AG: Fuel Cells integrating SFC technology win Important Competition of U.S. Government for Reliable Mobile Power Supply


SFC Smart Fuel Cell AG / Miscellaneous

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• Portable M-25 Fuel Cell Prototype wins 1st place and 1 Mio. US$ prize money against 170 competing systems
• Commercial portable Jenny 600S fuel cell wins 3rd place and 250,000 US$ prize money
• SFC expands into the United States with the opening of a sales and technical service office

Brunnthal/Munich, Germany, October 5, 2008 – SFC Smart Fuel Cell, leading supplier of fuel cell products for mobile and off-grid power applications today announced that two portable fuel cell systems integrating SFC technology won first and third prizes in the U.S. Defense Department’s Wearable Power Competition. The Department of Defense Research and Engineering established the Wearable Power Competition in 2007 to en-courage innovation in energy systems carried by personnel during field missions. At-tached to a standard military vest, the systems were required to provide 20W of average electric power for 96 hours, meet brief peak-power demand of up to 200W and weigh no more than 4 kg (8.8 pounds) and pass a simulated field use.

The two fuel cells integrating SFC technology competed with nearly 170 entries in the inaugural Wearable Power Competition. In a team effort with DuPont, the new ground-breaking SFC electrical power system, the M-25 Portable Fuel Cell, won the $1 million first prize. The company’s JENNY fuel cell, entered SFC’s partner Capitol Connections LLC of Middleburg, Va., won $250,000 for third prize in the competition. The M-25, which combines DuPont’s direct methanol technology with SFC’s commercially proven fuel cell systems, products, and integration expertise, was deployed for limited use in the field for the U.S. Army earlier this year.

In both systems, the hybrid battery was still fully charged, with substantial amounts of fuel left in the cartridge at the end of the demanding 96-hour test protocol. This shows that both systems had still plenty of capacity even in these harsh test scenarios.
'We are extremely proud our portable power systems have performed so well in this rigorous Department of Defense competition against so many competing technologies,' said Dr. Peter Podesser, CEO of SFC Smart Fuel Cell. 'Fuel cells are the portable and off-grid power sources of the future, and SFC has established its leadership in providing systems that meet a wide range of defense, industrial and consumer applications.'
SFC further expands U.S. market position
In addition to the two prizes in the Department of Defense Competition SFC has further strengthened its presence in the U.S. with the opening of a sales and technical service office in Atlanta, Georgia. With this office the company is reacting to the growing interest of U.S. industry and defense customers.

'The United States is a key and fast-growing market for SFC and our new office is in-tended to be our first step towards establishing full U.S. operations. Establishing a team of SFC experts on the East Coast will enable us to work even more closely with our de-fense and commercial partners,' said Podesser. 'The new headquarters in the U.S. will serve to further enhance our collaboration with our technology partners as well as help us to increase our market penetration into the U.S.'
About SFC Smart Fuel Cell AG 
SFC Smart Fuel Cell AG (www.sfc.com) is market leader in fuel cell technologies for mobile and off-grid power applications serving the leisure, industrial and defense markets. As one of Ger-many’s technology pioneers, SFC has won numerous innovation awards. SFC has alliances with leading companies in a wide range of industries. Unlike most other fuel cell manufacturers, who are in the research and development phase or run subsidized demonstration projects, SFC has shipped more than 10,000 fully commercial products to industrial and private end users for more than four years, and has created a convenient fuel cartridge supply infrastructure. SFC is DIN ISO 9001:2000 certified. SFC is based in Brunnthal, Germany, and has a U.S. sales and technical ser-vice office in Atlanta, USA.

SFC Investor Relations
Barbara v. Frankenberg 
Investor Relations Manager
SFC Smart Fuel Cell AG
Eugen-Sänger-Ring 4
D-85649 Brunnthal 
Tel. +49 89 673 592-378
Fax. +49 89 673 592-369
barbara.frankenberg@sfc.com
www.sfc.com


06.10.2008  Financial News transmitted by DGAP

 
Language:     English
Issuer:       SFC Smart Fuel Cell AG
              Eugen-Saenger-Ring 4
              85649 Brunnthal
              Deutschland
Phone:        +49 (89) 673 592 - 100
Fax:          +49 (89) 673 592 - 169
E-mail:       info@sfc.com
Internet:     www.sfc.com
ISIN:         DE0007568578
WKN:          756857
Listed: Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr in Berlin, München, Düsseldorf, Stuttgart  
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