PLUG Plug Power Inc

LATHAM, N.Y., Dec. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ:PLUG) and Vaillant Group of Germany have been selected by the European Commission to receive a grant for the international development and demonstration of three high temperature combined heat and power proton exchange membrane (HT-PEM) fuel cell system prototypes. "This grant helps Plug Power and its partners accelerate the application of fuel cell systems as heat and power sources for commercial and residential structures," said Dr. Roger Saillant, Plug Power's CEO. "Moreover, the project sets an exciting precedent for the future of fuel cell development as a response to the increasing global demand for transformational clean energy products." The European Commission will provide euro 2.5 million in funding for the project, which is estimated to have a total value of more than euro 11 million over a two-year period. In October, the U.S. Department of Energy awarded $3.6 million to support the international collaboration. This is the first cooperative program in fuel cell technology between the two government entities. "Vaillant Group and Plug Power have successfully developed and tested three generations of micro combined heat and power fuel cells for more than six years. The project is a consequent further step in our partnership and offers a great potential to improve technology based on HT-PEM," said Dr. Michel Brosset, Vaillant Group's Managing Director. "We are looking forward to this very interesting international collaboration." Plug Power's operations in the Netherlands will be instrumental in coordinating the transatlantic collaboration. In addition to Plug Power and Vaillant Group, other companies and organizations participating in the development project are PEMEAS, Domel Elektromotorji, the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Gaia Group and the Imperial College of London. About Plug Power Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ:PLUG), an established leader in the development and deployment of clean, reliable, on-site energy products, currently integrates fuel cell technology into backup power products for telecommunications, utility and uninterruptible power supply applications. The Company is actively engaged with private and public customers in targeted markets, including the United States, Europe, Middle East, Russia, South Africa and South America. For more information about how to join Plug Power's energy revolution as an investor, customer, supplier or strategic partner, please visit http://www.plugpower.com/. About Vaillant Group Headquartered in Remscheid, Germany, Vaillant Group is an internationally successful group that focuses on heating and air-conditioning technology. As one of the world's market and technology leaders, the company develops and produces tailor-made products, systems and services for domestic comfort. In 2005, Vaillant Group, which has been family-owned since its founding in 1874, achieved sales totaling euro 1.8 billion with about 8,600 employees. This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We believe that it is important to communicate our future expectations to our investors. However, there may be events in the future that we are not able to accurately predict or control and that may cause our actual results to differ materially from the expectations we describe in our forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, the risk that possible strategic benefits of the Smart Hydrogen transaction do not materialize, Plug Power's ability to develop commercially viable on-site energy products; the cost and timing of developing Plug Power's on-site energy products; market acceptance of Plug Power's on-site energy products; Plug Power's ability to manufacture on-site energy products on a large-scale commercial basis; competitive factors, such as price competition and competition from other traditional and alternative energy companies; the cost and availability of components and parts for Plug Power's on-site energy products; Plug Power's ability to establish relationships with third parties with respect to product development, manufacturing, distribution and servicing and the supply of key product components; Plug Power's ability to protect its intellectual property; Plug Power's ability to lower the cost of its on-site energy products and demonstrate their reliability; the cost of complying with current and future governmental regulations; the impact of deregulation and restructuring of the electric utility industry on demand for Plug Power's on- site energy products and other risks and uncertainties discussed under "Item IA-Risk Factors" in Plug Power's annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2005, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on March 14, 2006, and the reports Plug Power files from time to time with the SEC. Plug Power does not intend to and undertakes no duty to update the information contained in this press release. DATASOURCE: Plug Power Inc. CONTACT: Cynthia Mahoney White of Plug Power Inc., +1-518-782-7700 ext. 1973, Mobile: +1-518-527-1172, ; or Nick Crounse of Sawchuk, Brown Associates, +1-518-462-0318 ext. 143, Web site: http://www.plugpower.com/

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