Sustainable Energy Announces Major Fuel Cell Milestone

CALGARY, AB -- - Sustainable Energy Technologies Ltd. has introduced a unique grid-interactive power inverter for stationary fuel cells. Their first commercial inverters have been delivered to Nuvera Fuel Cells, a leading designer and developer of fuel cell power systems, fuel processors, and fuel cell stacks.

The inverter, which was developed in collaboration with RWE Piller GmbH, meets a need for a more efficient, and less complex method of converting the power output of fuel cells into electricity that can be delivered to the utility grid.

Highlights of the Release

- Delivery of the inverters to Nuvera represents a major milestone for Sustainable Energy in its drive to increase earnings and shareholder value;

- The Company's patented technology offers a new approach to power conversion that will enhance reliability, improve efficiencies, and reduce the cost, of clean energy technologies;

- RWE Piller's collaboration in developing the power inverter platform validates the value of Sustainable Energy's technologies for the alternative energy industry;

- Sustainable Energy's software configurable hardware platform will support a range of product offerings for a variety of technologies and applications with minimal redesign time and cost - the industry's first "universal" inverter;

- The alternative energy industry will see dramatic growth over the next five years, creating outstanding potential market opportunities for the Company's products.

"Delivery of the inverters to Nuvera is a major milestone in the growth of Sustainable Energy," said Michael Carten, President and CEO of the Company. "The power inverter platform is easily configurable primarily with software changes and will support a range of product offerings for the alternative energy industry, including different fuel cell technologies, solar photovoltaics and wind power - making it the industry's first "universal" inverter.

"The support from RWE Piller is an important validation of the value of our technologies and the approach that we have taken to power conversion for the alternative energy industry. The remarkably simple design of Sustainable Energy's power inverter platform will enable developers of alternative energy systems to deliver the lower costs and higher reliability that are needed to make clean energy alternatives more economical."

The opportunities within the alternative and renewable energy industries are substantial. According to a recently released report by Allied Business Intelligence ("ABI"), the market for stationary fuel cells will increase to near 16,000 megawatts (MW) by 2012 from a mere 45 MW in 2002. Within five years, ABI estimates that between 3,000 MW and 5,000 MW per year will be installed. Clean Edge, Inc. says solar photovoltaics will grow from a US$3.5 billion global industry in 2002 to more than US$27.5 billion by 2012. It is estimated that the US solar market alone has been growing over the last two years at a rate of more than 60 percent per year.

Alternative energy technologies, especially fuel cells, have uniquely different power characteristics that are not easily addressed by traditional power electronics. Sustainable Energy's inverter offers a new approach to power electronics design and system integration that directly links the fuel cell to the electrical utility grid. A single power conversion step and bi-directional control of the power flow results in high reliability and efficiency by eliminating much of the complex circuitry and controls now needed to operate stationary fuel cell systems in grid-connected applications.