DANBURY, Conn. and BROOMFIELD, Colo., May 14, 2002 - FuelCell Energy, Inc. (Nasdaq: FCEL) has signed an agreement with MWH Energy Solutions, Inc. to distribute FuelCell Energy's ultra-low emission Direct FuelCell(R) (DFC(R)) power plants in municipal, utility support, commercial and industrial applications. Initial focus will be on wastewater treatment facilities throughout the United States.
"MWH Energy Solutions, with a proven track record of delivering a variety of distributed generation solutions to the on-site generation market, will complement our distribution partnership network in a number of ways," said Jerry D. Leitman, president and CEO of FuelCell Energy, Inc. "MWH, the parent company of MWH Energy Solutions and one of the largest engineering, procurement and construction firms in the power generation and wastewater treatment markets, brings us additional technical expertise and market knowledge in the design and development of large-scale power generation and related infrastructure projects, as well as in the integration on-site generation to wastewater treatment facilities."
"Adding FuelCell Energy's DFC power plants to our portfolio of energy solutions provides us with a clean, efficient and reliable baseload power generation product in a size range where few on-site generation options exist today" said Steve Chippas, President of MWH Energy Solutions. "This will significantly augment our power generation opportunities in the markets where emissions are a critical factor in siting."
Many industries, such as pharmaceuticals, food processors and breweries, utilize wastewater treatment facilities in their manufacturing processes. Marubeni Corporation, FuelCell Energy's Asian partner, announced the siting of a 250-kilowatt DFC power plant for an industrial wastewater treatment facility at the Kirin Brewery outside of Tokyo, Japan, that will be delivered later this year. In addition, there are over 500 municipal wastewater treatment facilities in the U.S. with anaerobic digesters capable of providing methane to fuel DFC power plants of 250 kilowatts or larger. FuelCell Energy will also be delivering a 1-megawatt DFC power plant later this year to run on municipal wastewater digester gas in King County, Washington, a partnership with the county and the Environmental Protection Agency.
Wastewater treatment facilities are a unique application as they generate anaerobic digester gas, an excellent hydrogen-based fuel for DFC power plants. Wastewater treatment facilities consume large amounts of electricity and heat, allowing for the DFC power plant to operate at maximum electrical and heat output on a continuous basis without needing to export power. As long as the wastewater treatment plant is operating, fuel for the DFC power plant is available.
About Direct FuelCells(R)
Direct FuelCells generate electricity with no combustion. They are, in-effect like large, continuously operating batteries that generate electricity as long as fuel, such as natural gas is supplied. Since the fuel is not burned, there is negligible pollution commonly associated with the combustion of fossil fuels (like NOx, SOx, particulates). The high efficiency leads to more electric power from less fuel.
About FuelCell Energy
FuelCell Energy, Inc. (http://www.fuelcellenergy.com), Danbury, Conn., is a world-recognized leader for the development and commercialization of high efficiency fuel cells for electric power generation. The Company is developing Direct FuelCell(R) technology for stationary power plants with the U.S. Department of Energy through the National Energy Technology Laboratory, whose advanced fuel cell research program is focused on developing a new generation of high performance fuel cells that can generate clean electricity at power stations or in distributed locations near the customer, including hospitals, schools, universities and other commercial and industrial applications.
About MWH Energy Solutions and MWH Global
MWH Energy Solutions is a subsidiary of MWH Global. MWH is a private, employee-owned firm with over 6,000 employees worldwide. The firm provides engineering design and remediation, construction, procurement, program management, and technology solutions for the environmental, land, water, wastewater, energy and power markets of the Americas, Europe, Middle East, India, Asia and the Pacific Rim.
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding each company's plans and expectations regarding the development and commercialization of fuel cell technology. All forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Factors that could cause such a difference include, without limitation, the risk that commercial field trials of each company's products will not occur when anticipated, general risks associated with product development, manufacturing, changes in the utility regulatory environment, potential volatility of energy prices, rapid technological change, and competition, as well as other risks set forth in each company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements contained herein speak only as of the date of this press release. Each company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any such statement to reflect any change in each company's expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.
SOURCE FuelCell Energy, Inc.; MWH Energy Solutions, Inc.