| Commercialization
schedule that will put products in the consumer marketplace in 2009
ALBANY, N.Y.--
MTI MicroFuel Cells Inc. (MTI Micro), developer of the award-winning Mobion®
micro fuel cell ("Mobion® MFC") technology for handheld electronic
devices and a subsidiary of Mechanical Technology Incorporated (MTI) (Nasdaq:
MKTY - News), today announced a continuing collaboration with its Korean
partner and MTI Micro's plans to commercialize and market Mobion® MFC
technology for mobile phone and mobile phone accessories.
MTI Micro's previous agreement expired
on its own terms on July 31, 2007, and the new collaboration extends until
the end of 2009, or six months after MTI Micro's first commercial product
launch should MTI Micro accelerate its timeline.
Under the continuing non-exclusive
collaboration with its Korean Partner, MTI Micro will prepare Mobion®
MFC products for mobile phone applications leading to commercialization
in 2009. MTI Micro will continue to refine the Mobion® baseline product
design up until its projected December 2008 design freeze. MTI Micro will
also share development updates with its Korean partner and loan them prototypes
for evaluation. They may also request changes to product specifications
until December of 2008 and may purchase commercial DMFC samples as soon
as they are available.
As part of its commercialization
schedule, MTI Micro will prepare for the manufacturing of its Mobion®
baseline product from the third quarter of 2008 through the second quarter
of 2009, with a production decision anticipated at the start of the third
quarter of that year. The suggested commercialization timeline is as follows:
"We have worked closely with our
Korean partner and gained a great deal of insight into the mobile phone
and mobile phone accessories market," said Peng Lim, CEO of MTI. "This
collaboration shows further interest in MTI Micro's Mobion® MFC technology,
and in this next phase, we expect to develop the baseline Mobion® product
design while preparing for manufacturing readiness in 2008 and a consumer
product launch in 2009."
Under the terms of the Company's
initial Alliance Agreement with its Korean partner, Mobion®, MTI Micro's
patented 100% methanol fuel feed, passive water management technology was
chosen to power a series of prototypes designed for mobile cell phone and
cell phone accessories. MTI Micro delivered two rounds of prototypes in
a short period of time demonstrating significant size reductions, the latest
of which contains Mobion® chips, a power module with patent pending
fluid conditioning technology that allows its fuel cell system to run in
a wide environmental range including temperatures from 0oC to 40oC at any
humidity level - an industry standard in consumer electronics and a requirement
of many OEMs.
This non-exclusive collaboration
allows MTI Micro to pursue its goal of providing a DMFC power source to
different consumer electronics customers with a wide range of portable
consumer electronic products, from digital cameras to mobile phones to
handheld entertainment devices. MTI Micro has focused on developing key
partnerships in all aspects of its business including materials, manufacturing,
and distribution.
"As we move forward, we continue
to see strong interest from numerous OEMs in the benefits that micro fuel
cells can provide including longer run-time and instant recharge," said
Lim. "Our goal is to make our Mobion® technology available to these
OEMs as soon as possible and bring products to market that will have great
benefits to consumers."
About MTI MicroFuel Cells
MTI MicroFuel Cells Inc., a subsidiary
of Mechanical Technology Incorporated, (Nasdaq: MKTY - News), is the developer
of the award winning Mobion® direct methanol micro fuel cell technology.
The Company has a world-class team of entrepreneurial business executives,
researchers and scientists; a number of system prototypes demonstrating
size reductions and performance improvements; significant related intellectual
property; and has received government awards and developed strategic partnerships
to help accelerate commercialization. More information is available at
www.mtimicrofuelcells.com.
About our Korean Partner
The company is a global leader in
semiconductor, telecommunication, digital media and digital convergence
technologies. Employing approximately 128,000 people in over 90 offices
in 51 countries, the company consists of five main business units: Digital
Appliance Business, Digital Media Business, LCD Business, Semiconductor
Business and Telecommunication Network Business. Recognized as one of the
fastest growing global brands, the company is a leading producer of digital
TVs, memory chips, mobile phones, and TFT-LCDs.
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