Press releases

ISE Corporation Achieves Altoona Testing Milestone, Secures New Equity Financing

SAN DIEGO, CA, September 20, 2004 — ISE, which manufactures "ThunderVolt" hybrid-electric drive systems for heavy-duty vehicles such as buses and trucks, achieved a critical development milestone when a bus equipped with an ISE hybrid system completed 15,000 miles of durability testing at the U.S. Government's bus certification test facility in Altoona, Pennsylvania. A 40-foot New Flyer transit bus powered by ISE's gasoline hybrid drive system completed this testing in early September, demonstrating the ability of the ISE hybrid system to withstand the rigors of operating in a demanding urban transit bus environment. Completion of this testing qualifies ISE's ThunderVolt gasoline hybrid drive system for federally-supported hybrid bus purchases by public transit agencies across the U.S.

The capital investment secured by ISE will help finance the expansion of ISE's business into commercial scale production of its hybrid systems. ISE is experiencing increased demand for its hybrid drive products as the Company has consistently demonstrated the clean, efficient, reliable operation of its hybrid drive technology. Following eight months of Altoona testing - during which ISE experienced no significant drive system-related problems - the New Flyer-ISE gasoline hybrid test bus completed a successful tour involving visits to a dozen different transit agencies between New York and St. Louis.

Earlier this year, a bus using a diesel fueled variant of the ThunderVolt hybrid system made a cross-country tour from San Diego to New Jersey, visiting several transit agencies along the tour without any significant drive system-related problems. Three Nova RTS transit buses operating in New Jersey with ISE diesel hybrid systems have accumulated 50,000 miles of revenue service over the past year, with higher fuel efficiency and comparable reliability to conventional diesel buses.

Versions of the ISE hybrid system that run on pure hydrogen fuel are also in development, including fuel cell systems and systems that use hydrogen-burning internal combustion engines.