The performance of hydrogen fuel cells using a Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) depends on the moisture level of the membrane. The membrane only conducts protons when it is hydrated or moist. The moisture is provided by water vapor in the incoming air or hydrogen stream. The VIASENSOR HS-1000 humidity instrument will provide real-time measurements of the amount of water vapor in these gas streams.

VIASPACE CEO Carl Kukkonen stated, "We are delighted to add Ballard Power Systems to our growing list of VIASENSOR HS-1000 customers. Ballard has significant facilities for development of hydrogen-based fuel cells, and our demonstration of the HS-1000 several weeks ago at their facility has resulted in this order to more fully evaluate the HS-1000's capabilities. The HS-1000 is a leading edge, laser-based sensor with considerable improvement in accuracy and response time over other available instruments. Their feedback will be of great assistance in our future development of other models of the HS-1000 series instruments. We feel that this device will help Ballard more rapidly optimize fuel cell designs for various government and commercial research programs in which they may be engaged."

About VIASPACE: Founded in 1998 with the objective of transforming proven space and defense technologies from NASA and the Department of Defense into hardware and software solutions that solve today's complex problems, VIASPACE benefits from important patent and software licenses from Caltech, which manages NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

For more information, please visit www.VIASPACE.com, or contact Investor Relations, Dr. Jan Vandersande, Director of Communications at 800-517-8050, or IR@VIASPACE.com. For past press releases, please visit: http://www.viaspace.com/press_release.php.