The financial details of the investment were not disclosed.

According to Rick Thomas, Chief Executive Officer of NCEMC, “This investment represents
NCEMC’s and the member-cooperatives’ commitment to environmental protection and clean technology. Fuel cells have great potential to benefit customers in rural areas and we want to be part of its development.”

“The recent achievement of our technical milestones confirms Microcell’s ability to scale up to meet larger, multi-kW power requirements for remote locations” said Ray Eshraghi, Microcell’s President and Chief Executive Officer.

Fuel cells are electrochemical devices that convert chemical energy directly into electrical
energy. Unlike batteries, which convert chemical energy stored within the battery, fuel cells
theoretically continue to deliver electrical energy as long as fuel is supplied.

The six-year-old company is already in partnership with Pepco Holdings Inc., Progress Energy and Duke Energy. It was originally funded by Raleigh-based Advanced Energy Corporation.