$0.5m contract extention
02/06/2009 7:00am
UK Regulatory
TIDMPTX TIDMPTXU
RNS Number : 1417T
Protonex Technology Corporation
02 June 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 2, 2009
PROTONEX RECEIVEs Additional $500,000 to Extend Capabilities of Unmanned Aerial
Vehicle Propulsion Systems
DATELINE: SOUTHBOROUGH, MA; Protonex Technology Corporation (LSE: AIM: PTX and
PTXU), a leading provider of advanced fuel cell power systems for portable,
remote and mobile applications, today announced that it has received an
additional $500,000 contract award from the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL)
for advanced development of high power fuel cell systems for small unmanned
aerial vehicles (UAVs). This award is an extension of an existing contract with
the NRL and will focus on incorporating and testing Protonex' advanced fuel cell
power system within a tactical UAV.
Development work under this program will concentrate on advancing the technical
readiness of the company's UAV fuel cell platform through design improvements
and stringent testing. The advanced system will be integrated into a new NRL air
vehicle designed specifically for long endurance. The resulting UAV, powered by
the Protonex fuel cell system, will be targeted at tactical missions and is
expected to provide high efficiency and a very low noise profile.
This program expands upon a series of efforts by Protonex to transition its fuel
cell power systems into fieldable UAVs. At present, battery-powered electric
UAVs are limited to one to three hours of flight. Protonex power systems,
integrated into other small UAVs, have already demonstrated up to four times the
flight endurance capability of advanced batteries. With the introduction of
cutting-edge fuel cell propulsion systems from Protonex, critical missions such
as persistent surveillance, search and rescue, chemical-biological monitoring,
and other long-endurance specialty missions can be achieved by smaller, more
flexible, and cost-effective UAVs.
"We've had great success in our previous collaborations with the NRL, and the
expansion of this UAV program validates those results," stated Dr. Paul Osenar,
Chief Technology Officer, Protonex. "Protonex looks forward to transitioning
these advanced systems into fielded military products in conjunction with the
NRL and other unmanned aircraft system integrators."
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Enquiries
Protonex Technology Corporation Tel: +1 508 490 9960
Scott Pearson, Chief Executive Officer
Margaret Dorsheimer, Director of Marketing
Redleaf Communications Limited Tel: +44 (0)20 7566 6700
Press and Investor Relationsprotonex@redleafpr.com
Samantha Robbins
Paul Dulieu
Piper Jaffray Ltd. Tel: +44 (0)20 3142 8700
Nominated Adviser
Michael Covington
James Steel
Notes to Editors
About Protonex Technology Corporation
www.protonex.com
Protonex Technology Corporation develops and manufactures compact, lightweight
and high- performance fuel cell systems for portable power applications in the
100 to 1000-watt range. The Company's fuel cell systems are designed to meet the
needs of military, commercial and consumer customers for off-grid applications
underserved by existing technologies by providing customizable, stand-alone
portable power solutions and systems that may be hybridized with existing power
technologies. The Company is headquartered in Southborough, Massachusetts.
This announcement includes statements which are, or may be deemed to be,
"forward-looking statements". All statements other than statements of historical
facts included in this announcement, including, without limitation, those
regarding Protonex' financial position, business strategy, plans and objectives
of management for future operations (including development plans and objectives
relating to Protonex' products and services) are forward-looking statements. By
their nature, such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other important factors that could cause the actual results,
performance or achievements of Protonex to be materially different from future
results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such
forward-looking statements. These factors include but are not limited to those
described in the Admission Document issued in connection with the Company's
admission to AIM.
Forward-looking statements may and often do differ materially from actual
results. Any forward-looking statements in this announcement speak only as at
the date of this announcement and are subject to risks relating to future events
and other risks, uncertainties and assumptions relation to Protonex' operations,
results of operations, growth strategy and liquidity.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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