50,000 Indian villages to receive HERMES

BOTHELL, USA: Neah Power Systems, the company leading development in fuel cells for the military and portable electronic devices, will develop methanol fuel cell battery chargers to enable the building, by EKOVEHICLES of Bangalore, India, of hybrid electric renewable micro energy stations (HERMES), bringing renewable, green energy to thousands of villages in India.

This innovative technology will use a combination of clean solar and wind power, fuel cells and batteries to replace the very polluting diesel generators that currently provide electricity for the more than 50,000 Indian villages located 200 miles or more off the grid.

Neah has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with EKOVEHICLES, India's number one producer of two-wheeled electric vehicles, to supply methanol fuel cell battery chargers, for renewable distributed energy stations, in addition to developing and providing on-board methanol fuel cell battery chargers for their line of battery-powered electric scooters, based on Neah's novel direct methanol fuel cell.

"Being able to bring clean, renewable, non-polluting power to thousands of Indian villages is a great privilege, and quite in alignment with Neah's business plan. We have always been focused on improving the quality of life through the creative use of our advanced technology," Dr. Chris D'Couto, Neah's CEO, said. "This distributed energy offering is an attractive solution where power is needed for off-the-grid applications."

Anil Ananthakrishna, Chairman and CEO of EKOVEHICLES Pvt Ltd., said: "EKOVEHICLES, India's pioneering manufacturer of Electric Vehicles, is introducing various alternatives to the existing petrol powered two wheelers, as well as introducing clean energy based power generation solutions.

"EKO's mission is to improve the lives of our customers in India and throughout the world with our pollution-free products. This is indeed a breakthrough for India, and eventually all countries that desire clean, renewable energy in rural areas."