Jayco and SFC Smart Fuel Cell announce research and market development alliance on fuel cells for recreational vehicles at RVIA in Louisville

  • Jayco Inc. and SFC Smart Fuel Cell have established a joint research, market development and testing project on fuel cell products for the North American recreational vehicle market
  • EFOY fuel cells by SFC Smart Fuel Cell are tested in a new generation of lightweight and low energy consumption vehicles
  • Fuel cells provide lightweight, silent, zero-emission off-grid power supply and deliver 24/7 power availability in any season and weather

Brunnthal/Munich, Germany and Middlebury/Indiana, USA, December 2, 2009 – On the occasion of the 47th Annual National RV Trade Show in Louisville, KY, USA, Jayco Inc., largest privately-held manufacturer of recreational vehicles in North America, and SFC Smart Fuel Cell, leading supplier of fuel cell products for mobile and off-grid power applications, announce the establishment of a joint research and market development alliance to study the feasibility of the utilization of fuel cell technology in North American recreation vehicles. In the past months, Jayco has tested the EFOY product series for a new lightweight, low energy consumption series of recreational vehicles. The EFOY fuel cell series, consisting of three models with a charging capacity of 900 to 2,200 watt hours each per day, depending on individual power requirements, ensures 24/7 power availability in any season and weather. Based on the European success - with currently 48 manufacturers offering EFOY in their catalogues and over 15,000 units sold - target of this project is to provide US recreational vehicles users with lightweight, no noise and emission-free power generation for off-grid use.

“We are enthusiastic about this research and market development alliance which has the capability of providing our customers with a reliable power and zero-emission solution for their Jayco RV”, says Derald Bontrager, Jayco’s president and chief operating officer. “Reliable, comfortable and environmentally-friendly power supply is a significant concern for RV owners and the EFOY provides an excellent alternative: The fuel cell does not generate smell or noise, is small and lightweight, fully automatic and always available”.

“We are very proud that Jayco, largest privately-held manufacturer of recreational vehicles in North America, has integrated our EFOY fuel cell in a market testing program”, says Dr. Peter Podesser, CEO of SFC Smart Fuel Cell. “We are excited about this joint project and hope that US RV users will be able to enjoy comfort of the EFOY fuel cells as caravan owners all across Europe in the future”.

This is how the EFOY works: The fuel cell is directly connected to the on-board battery. In operation the fuel cell continuously monitors the battery’s charge state. Once this drops below a predefined level, the EFOY will automatically start operation and recharge the battery. When the battery is full, it will just as automatically return into stand-by. The fuel cell produces off-grid power reliably without requiring maintenance or user intervention and is powered by the liquid fuel methanol which comes in safe 5 and 10 liter (1.3 and 2.6 gallons) cartridges. An EFOY M10 cartridge with 10 liter (2.6 gallons) fuel contains 11.1 kilo watt hours of power. In form of these convenient cartridges RV owners can store a lot of energy at very low weight in their vehicle. The EFOY fuel cell works extremely silently – a decisive advantage over generators which produce a lot of noise, exhausts and disturb to nature. By-products of power generation in the EFOY fuel cell are just water steam and carbon dioxide in amounts equivalent to the breath of a child.

Visitors of 47th Annual National RV Trade Show, Louisville, KY/USA, can experience the EFOY fuel cell live in operation at the Jayco booth 1200 in the South Wing, December 1 to 3, 2009 including an appearance by Dirk Kempthorne, former secretary of the interior and RVer of the year 2007, on December 2, 2009.

Visit www.jayco.com , www.efoy.com and www.sfc.com for more information.

About Jayco

Jayco, Inc. is the largest privately-held manufacturer of recreational vehicles in North America. The company makes and markets Jayco RVs under the Jay Series, Baja, Select, Jay Flight, Jay Feather, Eagle, Octane ZX, Designer, Greyhawk, Precept, Melbourne, Seneca, Embark, and Insignia nameplates. In addition, the company markets Starcraft, R/T, Centennial, Travel Star, Rock Star, Homestead and Lexion RVs through its Starcraft RV division and upscale Aspire, Anthem and Cornerstone motorhomes through the Entegra Coach division.

About SFC Smart Fuel Cell

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 Germany’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 15,000 fully commercial products to industrial and private end users for more than five years, and has created a convenient fuel cartridge supply infrastructure. SFC is DIN ISO 9001:2008 certified. SFC is based in Brunnthal, Germany, and has a sales and technical service office in the U.S.

SFC Press Contact:

Claudia von Junker und Bigato

Public Relations

SFC Smart Fuel Cell AG

Eugen-Saenger-Ring 4

D-85649 Brunnthal

Tel. +49 89 673 592-377

Fax. +49 89 673 592-169

Email: claudia.junker@sfc.com

SFC Investor Relations:

Barbara von Frankenberg

Head of IR and PR

SFC Smart Fuel Cell AG

Eugen-Saenger-Ring 4

D-85649 Brunnthal

Tel. +49 89 673 592-378

Fax. +49 89 673 592-169

Email: barbara.frankenberg@sfc.com