AMREL Moves Further Into the Renewable Energy Market With the Acquisition of SOLARMER Energy

EL MONTE, CA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- May 17, 2007 -- AMREL/AMERICAN RELIANCE INC (ARI) continues to expand their core technologies with the acquisition of SOLARMER ENERGY INC (SOLARMER). A privately held Southern California-based startup company, SOLARMER specializes in the development and commercialization of a new generation of polymer solar cells that will significantly reduce solar cell manufacturing costs. The impact of such a cost effective solar solution on potential applications from building materials to portable electronic devices is nearly unfathomable.

Always a visionary and leader in new technology, AMREL's Power Division already has an active presence within the renewable energy market through the development and manufacturing of fuel cell test equipment. The acquisition of SOLARMER significantly strengthens and expands AMREL's growing technical applications, and builds upon the energy-focused business momentum already established by AMREL.

According to Edward Chen, CEO of AMREL, "The acquisition of SOLARMER Energy is a key milestone for AMREL, as it enables us to leverage the technologies we have acquired over the past two decades to address new applications within the renewable energy market. By joining SOLARMER's extremely talented research team with AMREL's well established expertise in engineering and manufacturing, both companies will realize the benefits of this breakthrough technology more rapidly and cost effectively. However, more important than the impact such a breakthrough would have on AMREL and SOLARMER are the implications an unlimited, cost effective source of power would have on the world's growing power crisis, particularly in remote and economically depressed regions of the world."

Woolas Hsieh, SOLARMER's President, said, "SOLARMER has differentiated itself with an ability to increase the efficiency of polymer materials using its patented technologies and know-how. We are thrilled to take our proven model and join forces with AMREL to create one of the most credentialed technology organizations. The quality brand that AMREL offers along with strong customer relationships and a global footprint made AMREL the 'right fit' partner to take the SOLARMER vision to the next level -- providing even greater opportunities for our shareholders, customers and employees."

AMREL/AMERICAN RELIANCE began manufacturing power supplies over thirty years ago, and today is a leading manufacturer of programmable power products and rugged military and industrial mobile computers. SOLARMER's technology will be developed and commercialized utilizing the existing AMREL team, as well as through AMREL's network of business partners.

Contact Information: Contact: Kalvin Chen E-mail kalvinc@solarmer.com Alice Chang 626.443.6818 alicec@amrel.com