Press releases

ISE Research-ThunderVolt and Siemens Enter into Strategic Marketing Agreement Targeting U.S. Hybrid-Electric Bus Industry

LAS VEGAS, NV, September 23, 2002 — ISE Research-ThunderVolt (ISE) today announced that it has concluded a strategic marketing agreement with Siemens Transportation Systems, Inc. under which the two companies will team up to supply hybrid-electric drive systems and components to the U.S. transit bus industry. The announcement was made at the Annual Meeting of the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), currently being held in Las Vegas. Under the terms of the five-year ISE-Siemens agreement, ISE will be a U.S. distributor and the "Preferred Systems Integrator" of Siemens' ELFA® hybrid-electric drive products in the United States. Siemens ELFA® products, including electric motors, inverters, and generators, have been utilized in hundreds of buses throughout Europe and have accumulated more than 30 million miles, exceeding the usage of all other heavy-duty hybrid vehicle systems combined.

"The Siemens ELFA® products form the hub of ISE's new and improved hybrid-electric drive system," said ISE's President David Mazaika. Although ISE has used and offers one of the industry's broadest selections of hybrid-electric and electric drive products, extensive testing has shown the superiority of series hybrid-electric drive systems based on Siemens' ELFA® technology. ISE will integrate the ELFA® products into its proprietary ThunderVolt Vehicle Conversion Platform, which replaces standard vehicle transmissions with a much higher efficiency, lower emission propulsion package that includes motive drive, onboard power generation, and energy storage. The ThunderVolt Vehicle Conversion Platform and the ELFA® components are flexible products that can accommodate several different types of onboard power generation, including conventional internal combustion engines, microturbines, and fuel cells. Many different types of onboard energy storage can also be utilized with the ThunderVolt-ELFA® system, including advanced batteries and ultracapacitors.

ISE recently demonstrated the superior capabilities of the ThunderVolt-ELFA® system in one of the most challenging vehicle applications imaginable - a 30-foot heavy-duty transit bus using a new technology hydrogen fuel cell supplied by United Technologies. In addition to being a virtually silent, zero emission vehicle, this unique hybrid-electric fuel cell bus has achieved fuel economies approaching 10 miles per gallon - at least double the fuel economy of conventional buses of this type. In other demonstration projects, ISE is installing ThunderVolt-ELFA® hybrid drive systems into larger 40-foot buses using both gasoline and clean diesel fuel. In recent testing, ISE's first gasoline-hybrid bus, using an ultra low-emission Ford engine, produced twenty times less nitrous oxide (NOx) than equivalent buses using conventional natural gas or diesel-hybrid drive. Gasoline and diesel hybrid buses using the ThunderVolt-ELFA® hybrid drive system will be in regular service with major transit agencies from New Jersey to California by the middle of next year.

Siemens' selection of ISE to represent the firm in its sales of ELFA® products in the U.S. catapults ISE into the same league as other major suppliers of hybrid-electric drive systems and components. "The ThunderVolt-ELFA® system is designed to cost less, be easier to integrate, offer greater flexibility, and produce lower emissions than competing hybrid-electric drive systems," according to Michael Simon, Chairman of ISE. "Siemens' selection of ISE to market and support its ELFA® products in the U.S. is a ringing endorsement of our ability to offer these benefits to transit operators and society in general, through sales of the ThunderVolt Vehicle Conversion Platform and ISE integration support," added Simon. These sentiments were echoed by Oliver Hauck, President and CEO of Siemens Transportation Systems, who stated, "We are confident that our partnership with ISE will help Siemens become one of the major suppliers of hybrid-electric drive products to the U.S. transit industry."

Siemens ELFA® products and the ThunderVolt Vehicle Conversion Platform can also be used in large trucks, tractors, and other heavy-duty vehicles. In fact, ISE has even utilized this propulsion system in a prototype yacht, and plans to expand the sales of these products in the trucking and maritime industries as demand grows. Of the nearly half a million heavy-duty vehicles sold in the U.S. each year, almost all are candidates to eventually adopt ThunderVolt-ELFA® systems, with the potential to greatly reduce air pollution and U.S. dependence on foreign oil.

ISE Research-ThunderVolt, based in San Diego, is a privately-held firm specializing in development of technologies and products for electric, hybrid-electric, and fuel cell vehicles, with a focus on heavy duty vehicles such as buses, trucks, and tractors.

For more information on ISE Research-ThunderVolt and its high-performance, environmentally friendly vehicle products, please contact Mr. Tom Bartley, Director of Marketing at phone/fax (619) 287-8785/8795 or visit the company's Web site at www.iseresearch.com.