The NSF SBIR grant was awarded following competitive merit-based reviews by a panel of experts from academia, industry and government labs. The work performed under this six-month program will build upon patent-pending technology already developed by Millennium Cell and could result in a Phase II award, which would be a two-year effort. The Company will subcontract a portion of the work to Professor Michael A. Matthews' research group at the University of South Carolina. Professor Matthews is an expert in the area of chemical kinetics for hydrogen generation reactions.

"We are delighted to collaborate with the University of South Carolina in developing this innovative technology, with funding support from the National Science Foundation. This effort fits nicely into Millennium Cell's plan to continuously increase the energy density and safety while reducing the cost of hydrogen batteries so that we can meet the needs of the military, industrial, medical and consumer electronics markets," commented Adam P. Briggs, Millennium Cell President. "This program will fund the development of the fourth generation borohydride chemistry invented by our research team. We expect that the resulting products will provide a competitive advantage to our licensees for years to come."

The Company already has disclosed plans to deliver its third generation portable hydrogen storage technology based on the hydrolysis of solid sodium borohydride to its licensees for evaluation by the end of 2006. The approach funded by the NSF SBIR could lead to a next generation hydrogen storage technology for our licensees to leverage in the future.