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Underwriters Laboratories and CSA America Develop New Standard for Micro Fuel Cells Designed to Power Portable Electronics

Northbrook, Ill. and Cleveland - Dec. 1, 2004 - Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL) and CSA America today announced plans to jointly develop and publish a new standard that will set requirements for micro fuel cell power systems and associated fuel cell cartridges. Micro fuel cells are energy devices that have the capability of impacting the battery market by offering improved power to operate portable electronic devices.

The new standard, entitled Handheld or Hand-Transportable Fuel Cell Power Units with Fuel Containers, will be developed and proposed as an American National Standard and will parallel work being conducted within the international standards community. The standard, which has an anticipated completion date of December 2005, will set requirements for minimum safe fueling, design, safety-based performance, installation, and disposal of packaged micro fuel cell power systems and associated fuel cartridges.

"As new uses for alternative energy technologies emerge, it is important that standards are developed to address performance and efficiency through the entire production and life-cycle of the product," said Spencer Grieco, Vice President, Standards, CSA America. "As a recognized leader in the development of fuel cell standards, CSA America welcomes the opportunity to provide its expertise to this collaborative effort and looks forward to working with industry and stakeholders."

Micro fuel cells are expected to be longer lasting than current rechargeable batteries and power packs because of a higher energy density and the elimination of lengthy recharging times due to replaceable or refillable fuel cartridges. With recent technical advancements, developers of micro fuel cells are entering into strategic alliances with battery manufacturers for the future commercialization of micro fuel cells. The energy devices could be used in a wide variety of electronic devices from portable stereos to flashlights.

"We are excited to be at the forefront of standards' development for this emerging technology," said Bill Colavecchio, General Manager of Renewable and Alternative Energy, Underwriters Laboratories Inc. "We are confident that UL's acknowledged technical expertise in fuel cells, as well as in developing standards for new technologies, will facilitate acceptance of these products by the commercial sector."

As part of the collaborative effort, CSA America and UL will use their collective knowledge and expertise to help industry develop requirements for micro fuel cell power systems and associated fuel containers. UL will also continue to chair the Standard Technical Panel responsible for the new standard. This consensus body will include representatives from both CSA America and UL and a cross-section of micro fuel cell industry leaders, government agencies, regulatory authorities, manufacturers, users, and other knowledgeable, interested parties.

Anyone interested in becoming a member of this standard's consensus body should contact Jennifer Henderson at Jennifer.Henderson@csa-america.org or Susan Malohn at Susan.P.Malohn@us.ul.com

For technical questions, contact: Greg Chirdon at Greg.Chirdon@csa-international.org or +1-704-552-2919 or Kent Whitfield at Kent.L.Whitfield@us.ul.com or +1-847-664-1025.

About CSA America
CSA America develops standards for gas equipment, fuel cells and related energy sectors in the U.S. market and participates in other National and International standards activities. CSA America, Inc. is accredited by American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and is a part of CSA Group, which also consists of the Canadian Standards Association, a developer of standards and codes, CSA International for product testing and certification, and QMI for Management System Registration. For more information, visit www.csa-america.org.

About Underwriters Laboratories Inc.
Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL) is an independent, not-for-profit product safety certification organization that has been testing products and writing Standards for Safety for more than 110 years. UL tests more than 18,000 types of products annually, and more then 19 billion UL Marks appear on products each year. Worldwide, UL's family of companies and its network of service providers include 60 laboratory, testing and certification facilities. For more information, visit www.ul.com.

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