Subject: UFTO Note — HYSTOR-Nickel Hydrogen Battery
Date: Tue, 22 Oct 1996 13:13:19 -0700
From: Ed Beardsworth
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| * UFTO * Edward Beardsworth * Consultant
| 951 Lincoln Ave. tel 415-328-5670
| Palo Alto CA 94301-3041 fax 415-328-5675
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This press release came out today. They’re making good progress in the EV field, but my own view is that they could be terrifically valuable in stationary applications.

UFTO first mentioned Ergenics in December 1995, repeated in “DU 1.0”.

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Ergenics Demonstrates Advanced Electric Vehicle Battery

RINGWOOD, N.J., Oct. 21 /PRNewswire/ via Individual Inc. — Ergenics announced today that it has achieved a major milestone in its rechargeable battery development program with the demonstration of its first Hy-Stor(TM) multi-cell bipolar advanced battery for electric vehicles. The outstanding performance of the Hy-Stor battery is made possible by coupling the established know-how of high energy storage density of metal hydrides with the unmatched high cycle life capabilities of nickel-hydrogen batteries, which have been used successfully in orbiting satellites for over two decades.

The Hy-Stor battery offers safety, performance and economic advantages over lead-acid, nickel cadmium and nickel metal hydride batteries. Ergenics is initially targeting its application to the market for electric and hybrid electric vehicles, where it provides much longer cycle life, much greater range between charge cycles, a greater temperature range of operation and substantial cost efficiencies.

Unlike space batteries, which store their required hydrogen in pressurized containers, the Hy-Stor battery stores its hydrogen, in even higher densities, in a chemical bond with powdered metal at ambient temperatures and ambient, or slightly lower, pressures, thereby eliminating the safety hazards associated with highly pressurized gas tanks, etc. Furthermore, the manufacture of the Hy-Stor battery is a very “clean” process, as is its subsequent operation. Since it involves no heavy metals or toxic substances, it is environmentally friendly.

The Hy-Stor battery will provide an electric vehicle with more than double than the range between recharges of currently available lead acid batteries and 20% greater range than nickel metal hydride batteries, at equivalent levels of acceleration performance. At the same time, the Hy-Stor battery will retain its stored energy when not in use, i.e., it will not “self discharge” as happens with other types of batteries when idle, and will last far longer, longer than the average life of an automobile today, due to its extraordinarily high cycle life. Hence, its overall economics should prove most compelling.

Ergenics, believes that, eventually, the hybrid electric vehicle will prove to be the most popular and, indeed, effective means of achieving energy saving and pollution control objectives. It will have a base load, highly efficient internal combustion engine, and use a battery for purposes of acceleration and to store power from regenerative braking. In that case, the Hy-Stor battery should prove an ideal application with its life of 2,000 cycles at 100% discharge, 100,000 cycles at 15% discharge and high power pulse capacity.

Ergenics’ Vice President for Research & Development, Mark Golben, comments, “This milestone is the final step leading us to fabrication of a full size electric vehicle battery.” With cutting edge innovative technology, Ergenics has been granted over 25 U.S. patents and corresponding foreign patents. Privately owned, Ergenics, Inc., with its headquarters and principal manufacturing operation in northern New Jersey, is a world leader in the development and commercialization of metal hydride technology.
CONTACT: Philip A. Burghart, Senior Vice President, Ergenics, Inc.
201-962-4480, or fax, 201-962-4325