MISSISSAUGA, Ontario, Dec. 1, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Astris Energi Inc. (OTCBB:ASRNF), the world's leading alkaline fuel cell (AFC) technology company, announced today that the presentations made by Astris President and CEO Jiri K. Nor and Vice President, Marketing and Corporate Development Peter Nor at the Hydrogen and Fuel Cells 2004 Conference and Trade Show have been published and are now available to the general public. The papers can be downloaded at the Conference website at: www.scolars.com/fuelcells/program or at the Astris website at: www.astris.ca under the News & Events section.
Jiri Nor's presentation "Alkaline Fuel Cell Technology in the Lead" highlighted the progress achieved at Astris in its development of economical, reliable alkaline fuel cells. Mr. Nor outlined the advantages of Astris' third-generation, alkaline fuel cell, the POWERSTACK(tm) MC250 including: high electrochemical conversion efficiency; low material cost, achieved through the elimination of platinum as a catalyst; instant start and operation at low ambient temperatures, even subzero; and tolerance to CO2 traces. Mr. Nor described Astris' AFC advantages as, "Low system cost, system simplicity, and high system efficiency." According to Mr. Nor, "Astris is on the way to providing the world with alkaline fuel cell technology characterized by good performance at low cost."
Peter Nor's presentation was entitled "Test Equipment for the Fuel Cell Industry" and described the evolution of the hardware and software developed and marketed by Astris for fuel cell and battery testing laboratories. The paper highlights the features of Astris' current models, the TL5 Test Load and TESTMASTER(tm) data acquisition and control software. The TL5 is a passive electronic load with built-in microprocessor intelligence, with the ability to briefly interrupt the current and take resistance-free cell potential readings with programmable delay. TESTMASTER(tm) is a powerful, Windows-based, integrated software suite designed for short-term or long-term testing of fuel cells and batteries. Mr. Nor noted that, "The TL5 Test Load, TLIF (interface module) and TESTMASTER(tm) software suite are considered the best in the world by independent users."
About Astris Energi Inc.
Astris is a late-stage development company committed to becoming the leading provider of affordable fuel cells and fuel cell generators internationally. Over the past 21 years, more than $17 million has been spent to develop Astris' alkaline fuel cell for commercial applications. Astris is commencing pilot production of its POWERSTACK(tm) MC250 technology in 2004. Astris is the only publicly traded company in North America focused exclusively on the alkaline fuel cell. Additional information is also available at the company's website at www.astris.ca.
Forward-Looking Statements
Any statements in this release that are not statements of fact may be considered "forward looking statements" as that term is defined under securities laws in the United States and Canada. Forward-looking statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual events or results.