PLUG Plug Power Inc

Sale marks significant step in adoption of fuel cells for material handling applications VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Oct. 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ:PLUG), through its wholly owned subsidiary Cellex Power Products, Inc., today announced a purchase order for GenDrive(TM) fuel cell power units from Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT) for use in lift trucks at one of the company's distribution centers. This is Plug Power's largest single GenDrive order to date, although the specific terms are confidential. The order follows a successful beta trial at two Wal-Mart distribution centers in Ohio in late 2006. During the trial, the 12 fuel-cell-powered pallet trucks ran in live, working conditions for more than four months, logging more than 18,000 hours and 2,100 indoor fuelings by pallet truck operators. The Cellex Power fuel cells demonstrated environmental and operator benefits. The new units will power pallet trucks used at Wal-Mart's food distribution center in Washington Court House, Ohio, replacing the lead- acid batteries that are traditionally used in such applications. "This is a significant event for Plug Power and a solid step forward with the widely respected leader in distribution and logistics," said Tom Hoying, Plug Power's vice president of sales and customer operations, Motive Power Division. "We believe Wal-Mart's state-of-the-art distribution centers make an excellent proving ground for the commercial application of GenDrive." This fuel cell order aligns with Wal-Mart's strategy to integrate innovative technologies into its business plan that reduce operating cost and help the environment. The purchase of these fuel cell power units is equivalent to removing approximately 60 cars from the highway in southeastern Ohio in terms of CO2 and greenhouse gas emissions. "We've seen how fuel cells can improve efficiency in our distribution centers while enabling us to be more responsible global citizens," said Johnnie Dobbs, Wal-Mart's executive vice president of logistics and supply chain. "Wal-Mart is focused on finding ways to improve our relationship with the environment throughout our operations. Our hope is that our investment in fuel cell technology will encourage its development as a viable option to existing technologies." For pallet trucks and similar industrial vehicles operating in large, around-the-clock fleet operations, lead-acid battery systems can be more expensive to operate and require more valuable space when compared with fuel cell power units. Lead-acid batteries also require documentation demonstrating proper disposal and present other safety issues in terms of care and handling. Plug Power's GenDrive product eliminates the need to change, charge, maintain and handle batteries in these high-throughput distribution centers, which could result in cost improvements and productivity gains. Plug Power, which acquired Cellex Power in April 2007, considers material handling applications to be an attractive near-term market for proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell power and has targeted this sector as a central component of the company's revenue growth strategy. "We view Wal-Mart's purchase order as an important indicator of the progress that fuel cells are making as reliable and clean alternatives to incumbent technologies in a variety of industries," said Roger Saillant, Plug Power's President and CEO. About Plug Power Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ:PLUG), an established leader in the development and deployment of clean, reliable on-site energy products, integrates fuel cell technology into backup and primary power products for telecommunications, material handling, utility and uninterruptible power supply applications. The Company is actively engaged with private and public customers in targeted markets throughout the world, including North America, Europe, the 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/. Safe Harbor Statement This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including but not limited to our 2007 milestones and statements regarding our growth plans. 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 the anticipated synergies of the Cellex Power and General Hydrogen acquisitions are not realized, that unit orders will not ship, be installed and/or convert to revenue, in whole or in part. 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, 2006, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on March 16, 2007, 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: Media, Mark Sperry of Plug Power Inc., +1-518-782-7700 ext. 1510, or Investor Relations, Cathy Yudzevich of Plug Power Inc., +1-518-782-7700 ext. 1448 Web site: http://www.plugpower.com/

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