H Power And Gaz de France Install First Beta Fuel Cell System For Residential Power; Progress Continues Toward Obtaining CE Codes For Joint Marketing Effort

Business Wire, Dec 20, 2001

Business Editors

CLIFTON, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 20, 2001

H Power Corp. (NASDAQ: HPOW), a leading fuel cell development company, today announced that the Company and Gaz de France have installed the first of six Beta Residential Cogeneration Units (RCU's) at the facilities of Gaz de France, a major European energy company.

This installation is under a previously announced Memorandum of Understanding between the two companies. The remaining five units, designed to meet the needs and specifications of Gaz de France, for field-testing, are to be shipped during the first half of calendar year 2002. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The Beta RCU, which operates independently of the power grid and is powered by natural gas, was installed in a model house on Gaz de France's research and development campus in La Plaine Saint Denis, a suburb of Paris. H Power also announced today that both companies continue to make progress in the process of obtaining the CE codes and standards marking that are necessary for the use and sale of products within any European Union member country.

H. Frank Gibbard, Chief Executive Officer of H Power, commented, "The immediate feedback from Gaz de France is highly positive -- the unit was easy to install and is performing as designed, in accordance with their specifications. Both our companies continue to believe that France and other European countries are an excellent market for H Power's fuel cell products. With this additional positive step, our relationship with Gaz de France continues to evolve, consistent with our efforts to provide the global marketplace with realistic alternative energy solutions."

Jean-Louis Exbrayat, Fuel Cell Project Manager of Gaz de France, stated, "We were very excited to have received our first Beta RCU from H Power following past successes testing H Power's fuel cell system. We were easily able to install the Beta RCU and are very pleased with its performance to date. We believe that this Beta RCU shipment represents a milestone in our continuing relationship with H Power as we work together toward commercializing H Power's fuel cell systems across France, and throughout Europe."

About H Power Corp.

H Power Corp. is a leading fuel cell development company and one of the first providers to complete a commercial sale of a proton-exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell system. PEM fuel cells generate electricity efficiently and cleanly from the electrochemical reaction of hydrogen and oxygen. Hydrogen is typically derived from conventional fuels such as natural gas or propane, and oxygen is drawn from the air. H Power's fuel cells are designed to provide electricity for a wide range of stationary, portable and mobile applications including residential cogeneration products for rural, remote homes, and backup power units for mobile applications. For additional information, please visit our website at www.hpower.com.

About Gaz de France

Gaz de France is a major European gas utility and a worldwide producer of all types of natural gas and associated energy services. The company is involved in exploration, production, trading, transportation, storage and distribution of natural gas. Gaz de France is also an industry leader in liquid natural gas technologies, storage and distribution.

Certain expectations and projections regarding the future performance of H Power discussed in this news release are forward-looking and are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These expectations are based on currently available competitive, financial and economic data along with the Company's operating plans and are subject to future events and uncertainties. Management cautions the reader that the following factors, amongst others, may cause H Power's plans to differ or results to vary significantly from those expected, including the impact of competition, technology development, pricing, market demand and marketplace acceptance, and other risks set forth from time to time in H Power's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, but not limited to the risks set forth in H Power's Annual Report on Form 10-K. H Power undertakes no obligation to publicly release the results of any revisions to forward-looking statements, which may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. The events highlighted herein should not be assumed to be items that could affect the future performance of the Company.