11th Apr 2006 07:01
PolyFuel Inc.11 April 2006 Not for release, publication or distribution in, or into, the United States,Canada, Australia, Japan, the Republic of Ireland or South Africa 11th April 2006 POLYFUEL, INC. JOHNSON MATTHEY TO USE POLYFUEL MEMBRANES FOR KEY PORTABLE FUEL CELL MARKET INITIATIVE PolyFuel, Inc., one of the world leaders in engineered membranes for fuel cells,announces that it has entered into an agreement to provide Johnson Matthey withthe PolyFuel hydrocarbon direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) membrane intended forfuel cells to power portable devices. Johnson Matthey will use these membranesin the manufacture of catalyst coated membranes (CCMs) and membrane electrodeassemblies (MEAs), which are the part of a fuel cell that actually transformsfuel into electricity. Johnson Matthey is a leader in fuel cell catalysts, in marrying catalysts andmembranes, and in engineering, manufacturing and selling the catalyst coatedmembranes and membrane electrode assemblies. Under the terms of the agreement,Johnson Matthey Fuel Cells will be a PolyFuel "channel partner" and willpurchase PolyFuel's DMFC hydrocarbon membranes to manufacture a variety of CCMand MEA products for the portable fuel cell market. PolyFuel first launched its hydrocarbon membrane technology for the portablefuel cell market in early 2004. It garnered immediate attention worldwide as aresult of the superior chemical, mechanical and electrochemical characteristicsof its membrane, characteristics that PolyFuel believes will, for the firsttime, allow practical, commercial fuel cell designs for the portable market. Jim Balcom, president and CEO of PolyFuel said, "This announcement issignificant on several fronts. First, it serves notice to portable devicemanufacturers and fuel cell manufacturers that high-performance DMFC CCMs andMEAs will soon be available commercially, and from a top industry supplier aswell. This should help to accelerate that market, and encourage a widening ofdevelopment efforts. Second, it signals a close collaboration between PolyFueland Johnson Matthey that should result in impressive new developments inmembrane, catalyst and MEA technology by virtue of their symbiosis. Third, toobservers of PolyFuel, in combination with our recent disclosure that NEC andSanyo are the first publicly announced users of our membranes, this demonstratesthe momentum we are seeing in the market." Balcom elaborated, "Our membrane is being closely evaluated by virtually everysignificant battery, fuel cell, and portable electronic manufacturer out there.Now, for the first time, these companies will have a choice to purchase thismembrane either directly from PolyFuel or integrated into CCMs or MEAs fromJohnson Matthey." Dr. Jonathan Frost, Director of Johnson Matthey Fuel Cells said, "A high-volume,portable fuel cell market will be an important driver in the development andwidespread use of fuel cells in all applications. Strategically, this is animportant business for us. Designers of methanol fuelled portable fuel cellsfeel that PolyFuel's membranes have advantages for their devices and now we canoffer CCMs and MEAs that combine PolyFuel's hydrocarbon membranes with JohnsonMatthey's strengths in catalysts and MEA design." ENDS For further information please contact: Jim Balcom via Hogarth PartnershipChief Executive Officer, PolyFuel Nick Denton/Vanessa Orr 020 7357 9477Hogarth Partnership Stephen Keys 020 7523 8350Collins Stewart Limited Ian Godwin 020 7269 8410Johnson Matthey Plc High resolution images are available for the media to view and download free ofcharge from www.vismedia.co.uk. NOTES TO EDITORS Fuel cells work by using a catalyst to encourage hydrogen atoms, such as thosefound in methanol fuel, to give up their electrons, leaving behind a highconcentration of protons - the "naked" nucleus of a hydrogen atom. A preciselyengineered membrane then keeps the electrons and protons apart until the formercan flow out the terminals of a fuel cell, do useful work such as powering aportable device, and then back in the opposite terminal for a reunion with theprotons. Inside the fuel cell, wafer-thin assemblies of membrane, catalyst, andsupporting materials are stacked together to maximize the surface area of themembrane exposed to the fuel. These membrane electrode assemblies can bemanufactured and sold as discrete units to fuel cell manufacturers, who then arefree to focus on the form factor of the fuel cell, and of the fuel cartridge andintegration of the fuel cell and fuel cartridge into the portable electronicdevice. About Johnson Matthey Johnson Matthey is a £4.6 billion sales, speciality chemicals company withheadquarters in London, UK. It is focused on its core skills in catalysts,precious metals and fine chemicals. The group's principal activities are the manufacture of autocatalysts andpollution control systems, catalysts and components for fuel cells,pharmaceutical compounds, process catalysts and fine chemicals; the refining,fabrication and marketing of precious metals; and the manufacture of colours andcoatings for the glass and ceramics industries. Johnson Matthey has continued to develop its technology for almost 200 years,demonstrating the company's ability to maintain world leadership by adaptingconstantly to rapidly changing customer needs. Rigorous in its own environmentalpolicies, many of Johnson Matthey's products have a major beneficial impact onthe environment and enhance the quality of life for millions around the world. Johnson Matthey has operations in 34 countries and employs around 7,400 people.Its products are sold across the world to a wide range of advanced technologyindustries. The Johnson Matthey Fuel Cells business is based in Swindon UK and suppliescatalysts and MEA's to the growing fuel cell market. About PolyFuel PolyFuel is a world leader in engineered membranes that provide significantlyimproved performance in direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC) and hydrogen fuelcells, particularly for portable electronic and automotive applications. Thestate of the art of fuel cells is essentially that of the membrane, andPolyFuel's best in class, hydrocarbon-based membranes enable a new generation offuel cells that for the first time can deliver on the long-awaited promise ofclean, long-running, and cost-effective portable power. PolyFuel has an unmatched capability to rapidly translate the system-levelrequirements of fuel cell designers and manufacturers into engineered polymernano-architectures. Such capability - based on PolyFuel's over 150 combinedyears of fuel cell experience, world-class polymer nano-architects, and afundamental patent position covering more than 15 different inventions - alsomakes PolyFuel an essential development partner and supplier to any companyseeking to advance the state of the art in fuel cells. Polymer electrolyte fuelcells built with PolyFuel membranes can be smaller, lighter, longer-running,more efficient, less expensive and more robust than those made with othermembrane materials. PolyFuel's target customers are the world's leading portable fuel cell systemdevelopers. Of the 19 such customers currently engaged, 11 are divisions ofhousehold brand name consumer electronics manufacturers, and sixteen of thenineteen are now testing or have tested PolyFuel's fuel cell membrane material.Of the 16, eleven have completed their evaluation testing and all eleven havegone on to purchase PolyFuel's membrane products. Five of the largest Japaneseand Korean consumer electronics companies now rank PolyFuel's membrane as thebest portable fuel cell membrane available in the world today. To date, NEC andSanyo have disclosed they are using PolyFuel membranes. PolyFuel was spun out of SRI International (formerly Stanford ResearchInstitute) in 1999, after 14 years of applied membrane research. The company isbased in Mountain View, California, and is publicly listed on the AIM stockexchange in London. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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