Major engine order for Cummins Westport … Plug Power in New York project … ESW gets retrofit contract

Diesel Progress North American Edition, Feb, 2005

Cummins Westport Inc. said it has received an order for 450 B-series natural gas engines for transit service in Beijing Public Transport Holdings Ltd. (BPT). BPT currently operates more than 2200 CWI engines in its transit fleet. The engines order will be delivered in 2005. In another venture concerning China, Westport Innovations, one of the CWI joint venture partners, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Guangxi Yuchai Machinery Co. Ltd. (Yuchai) to work together on exploring business opportunities to develop, market and sell gaseous-fueled vehicles in China using Westport's portfolio of direct-injection technologies. Yuchai, one of China's largest engine manufacturers for light-, medium- and heavy-duty buses and trucks, had 2003 sales of 172,000 units. Westport maintains technology development alliances with Ford, MAN, BMW and Isuzu, and an ownership interest in Clean Energy, the largest provider of vehicular natural gas in North America.

Plug Power Inc. said it will install two GenSite hydrogen generators under two recently awarded programs sponsored by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. Under the first program, Plug Power will partner with American Honda Motor Co., Inc., Air Products and Chemicals Inc. and Homeland Energy to provide the refueling infrastructure necessary for fuel cell vehicles, including two Honda FCXs recently leased by the state of New York. The program calls for Plug Power to install a GenSite hydrogen generator at the company's Latham location capable of directly fueling furl cell vehicles and the Air Product's HF150 mobile refueler which will be located at the state's Harriman Campus in Albany.

As part of the second project, Plug Power will partner with Albany NanoTech a leading global center for nanotechnology research and development based at the University at Albany, State University of N.Y., to integrate a GenSite system into the existing hydrogen infrastructure. The NanoTech Center utilizes hydrogen in research and development of semiconductors and this project will enable the partners to explore the applicability of on-site hydrogen generation within the semiconductor industry while gaining critical applications knowledge. Plug Power and project partners expect the hydrogen generators to be installed later this year once final contract negotiations are complete.

Plug Power was also recently awarded a $1.8 million contract by the U.S. Dept. of Defense for the Common Core Power Production Program. Under this program, a total of 15 GenCore systems will be placed in both fielded demonstration programs and laboratory test programs to develop and validate application requirements for integration into infrastructure support systems. Plug Power expects to receive approximately $1.8 million in cash during this one-year program.

Environmental Solutions Worldwide Inc. (ESW) said that the company's proprietary Level II diesel Particulate Reactor has been selected for an advanced retrofit initiative with the New York City Dept. of Sanitation (DSNY) and Clean Air Communities in Queens, N.Y The initiative involves dose coordination with ESW's North American retrofit distribution partner, Fleetguard Emissions Solutions (FES). Fifty heavy-duty catalytic converter mufflers will be installed onto waste hauler trucks (model Year 2000 and newer) serving Sanitation Districts 1 and 3 in northwest Queens. ESW's catalyzed Particulate Reactor substrates will be integrated into custom-designed catalyst/muffler housings by FES, creating the finished product. The completed units will be installed as direct-fit replacements to the trucks existing OEM mufflers in the original muffler location. Cummins Metropower, a New York-based distributor of FES products, has assisted in the consultation of this project and will be involved in supporting the final installations and training.

ESW also announced that the company's wholly owned subsidiary, ESW Canada Inc., has finalized a long-term lease for expansion of the company's manufacturing capabilities. When complete, this new high-tech manufacturing plant will have the potential to produce in excess of 1 million proprietary catalyzed substrates per year. These catalyzed substrates, used in diesel, gas and CNG/LPG catalytic converters, will be sold to the company's OE and retrofit customers globally. The new plant will be located in Concord, Ontario, Canada.