Westwood MA, May 17, 2005 --Acumentrics Corporation, a leading developer of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells and Uninterruptible Power Supplies for the distributed generation market, announced today the installation and commissioning of a 5 killowatt Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) System in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park near Cleveland, Ohio. This system represents the nineteenth SOFC unit to be shipped by Acumentrics as part of its beta field-testing program. This particular SOFC unit is being sponsored by the U. S. Department of Defense, the National Park Service, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and First Energy, the local electric utility in the Cuyahoga area.
Acumentrics SOFC systems have an advantage over hydrogen fueled systems since they can run directly and efficiently on fossil fuels such as natural gas without the need for external reforming. The Cuyahoga unit is being installed outside a lodge building at the environmental education center in the National Park. The unit will be operated in a grid parallel mode but will have the additional capability of operating in an independent island mode. This latter mode will allow electric power critical needs of the educational facility to be met in the event of any power loss. It is planned to add another 5-kilowatt unit in the spring of 2006 to bring the total installed capacity to 10 kilowatts.
" This project at Cuyahoga will demonstrate the versatility of our SOFC system in a real world situation." said Gary Simon, the CEO of Acumentrics. "Our system is efficient and environmentally friendly and will eventually be used in ways that will alter how electric power is delivered and consumed. We are glad to be a part of this effort by the DOD, the National Park Service, EPRI and First Energy to bring this SOFC technology closer to commercialization."
About Acumentrics:
Acumentrics Corporation, a privately owned company founded in 1994 and based in Westwood, Massachusetts. It is a leading solid oxide fuel cell developer of 1 to 10 kilowatt residential and industrial distributed electricity and heat generation products. Acumentricsí unique and patented high temperature tubular solid oxide fuel cell generation units are designed to run directly from natural gas, propane and other hydrocarbon fuels (such as coal-derived hydrogen based fuels) at standard delivery pressures. This unique and distinguishing feature is based on a highly simplified in-tube fuel reforming method that negates the need for complex external or co-packaged high-cost reformation systems. Acumentricsí fuel cells produce essentially zero harmful emissions, noise or vibration, and are being designed for outdoor long-term continuous duty as well as cyclical use. Acumentrics investors and distribution partners include ChevronTexaco (NYSE:CVX), Northeast Utilities (NYSE:NU), General Dynamics (NYSE:GD), NiSource (NYSE:NI), and Sumitomo (TSE: 8053, OTC:SSUMY), Connecticutís Clean Energy Fund, and the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative.
Acumentrics is one of only six companies in the United States to be awarded and begin work under the U.S. Department of Energyís Solid-State Energy Conversion Alliance (SECA) industry program. Advancements made by Acumentrics under the SECA program are included in the 5 kWatt SOFC system built for Cuyahoga. The Acumentrics SECA program is scheduled for 9 years duration. It targets small-scale 3-10 kilowatt SOFC units with a manufacturing cost of $400 per kilowatt at completion. Information on SECA can be found at www.seca.doe.gov
Acumentrics also manufactures a line of battery based uninterruptible power supplies that are designed to enhance power quality. These products are unique in their ability to be deployed in harsh physical and electrical environments and are used extensively for various military and heavy-duty industrial applications.
More information about the company can be found on its website: www.acumentrics.com