FuelCellsWorks

BOTHELL, Wash.– Neah Power Systems, Inc. (’Neah’) (OTCBB:NPWZ)  the Company developing fuel cells for the military and portable electronic devices, announced today that it has reached agreement with Optimus Energy Capital Partners, LLC (’Optimus’), an investment fund, under which Optimus may purchase up to $10 million of Neah Power’s Series B Preferred Stock between today’s date and July 27, 2010 at Neah Power’s sole discretion.

Dr. Chris D’Couto, Neah CEO, said, “The confidence shown by the financial community in Neah’s patent-protected technology and our commercial engagements is truly gratifying. This major commitment to the company should enable us to quickly complete manifold renewable energy solutions for our customers and meet our corporate goals including listing on the AMEX. We are enthused by this further endorsement of Neah’s IP-protected, differentiated product, management team, and, we believe, the untapped market opportunity ahead of the company.”

About Neah Power

Neah Power Systems, Inc. (NPWZ) is developing long-lasting, efficient and safe power solutions for the military and for portable electronic devices. Neah uses a unique, patented, silicon-based design for its micro fuel cells that enable higher power densities, lower cost and compact form-factors. The company’s micro fuel cell system can run in aerobic and anaerobic modes.

WILMINGTON, Del., and BRUNNTHAL, Germany–DuPont and SFC Smart Fuel Cell AG today announced that they have received a follow-up order from the U.S. Army for the development of the M-25 fuel cell – a small, lightweight, portable power supply that can extend soldier mission times to 72 hours or more. The project cost is approximately $3 million.

The M-25 is part of an integrated body-worn power source that can be carried by the soldier that combines DuPont’s direct methanol technology with SFC’s commercially proven fuel cell systems, products and integration expertise. Enabling a significant weight reduction when compared to conventional battery systems for multi-day missions, the M-25’s standard design, when worn by soldiers in the field for extended missions, is up to 80 percent lighter than conventional power sources, yet capable of powering a wide range of soldier equipment. In addition to its light weight for powering digital communication and navigation equipment, the M-25 delivers quiet and continuous energy, and offers independent standalone functions such as remote area battery charging and power.

The agreement is the latest step in the M-25 program, which was awarded $1 million by the U.S. Department of Defense Wearable Power Prize in October 2008.

“This technology is a decisive advantage and DuPont is proud to partner again with SFC to address the need for lightweight, long endurance power system for soldiers,” said John D. Colven, global business manager – DuPont Fuel Cells. “The integration of our membrane electrode assembly technology within SFC direct methanol fuel cell systems will further the success of fuel cell power solutions in defense applications.”

“The new U.S. Army order reconfirms the success of our cooperation, and DuPont’s and SFC’s expertise in integrating the latest technologies into solutions with superior user benefits for our customers,” said Peter Podesser, CEO – SFC Smart Fuel Cell AG. “Based on this, there is a significant potential for portable and vehicle-based autonomous power applications that require full systems solutions combining fuel cells and batteries as a system. Fuel-efficient, lightweight, silent and emission-free power sources are a unique way to achieve customer requirements and ultimate customer satisfaction.”

About SFC Smart Fuel Cell AG

SFC Smart Fuel Cell is market leader in fuel cell technologies for mobile and off-grid power applications serving the leisure, industrial and defense markets. As one of Germany’s technology pioneers, SFC has won numerous innovation awards. SFC has alliances with leading companies in a wide range of industries. Unlike most other fuel cell manufacturers, who are in the research and development phase or run subsidized demonstration projects, SFC has shipped over 14,000 fully commercial products to industrial and private end users for five years, and has created a convenient fuel cartridge supply infrastructure. SFC is DIN ISO 9001:2000 certified. SFC is based in Brunnthal, Germany, and has a U.S. sales and technical service office in Atlanta.

About DuPont

DuPont produces proven, science-based life-protection solutions, including some of the world’s most trusted brands. Among these are DuPont™ Kevlar® and Nomex® advanced fibers and Tyvek® nonwovens used in protective apparel and equipment worn by military, law enforcement, firefighting and other emergency and defense personnel.

Briefing of the International Energy Agency (IEA) Collaborations in Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Science and Technology on Global Investments in our Energy, Economic and Environmental Future July 31, 2009, 10:30-11:30 am in 628 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington D.C.

Directions:
Location:
628 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington D.C. (close to Union Station)

Time: 10:30-11:30 am

Contact:
Questions? Call Mary-Rose de Valladares at 301 634 7423. No R.S.V.P. required.

9650 Rockville Pike Suite 3500 Bethesda, MD USA 20814 301 634 7423 www.ieahia.org

In their most recent experiments with Geobacter, the sediment-loving microbe whose hairlike filaments help it to produce electric current from mud and wastewater, Derek Lovley and colleagues at the University of Massachusetts Amherst supervised the evolution of a new strain that dramatically increases power output per cell and overall bulk power. It also works with a thinner biofilm than earlier strains, cutting the time to reach electricity-producing concentrations on the electrode.

Dr. Hana Yi takes a reading from fuel cells.

“This new study shows that output can be boosted and it gives us good insights into what it will take to genetically select a higher-power organism.” The work, supported by the Office of Naval Research and the U.S. Department of Energy, is described in the August issue of the journal, Biosensors and Bioelectronics, now available online.

Findings open the door to improved microbial fuel cell architecture and should lead to “new applications that extend well beyond extracting electricity from mud,” Lovley says. In the new experiments, the UMass Amherst researchers adapted the microbe’s environment, which pushed it to adapt more efficient electric current transfer methods.

“In very short order we increased the power output by eight-fold, as a conservative estimate,” says Lovley. “With this, we’ve broken through the plateau in power production that’s been holding us back in recent years.” Now, planning can move forward to design microbial fuel cells that convert waste water and renewable biomass to electricity, treat a single home’s waste while producing localized power (especially attractive in developing countries), power mobile electronics, vehicles and implanted medical devices, and drive bioremediation of contaminated environments.

Geobacter’s hairlike pili are extremely fine, only 3 to 5 nanometers in diameter or about 20,000 times finer than a human hair, and more than a thousand times longer than they are wide. Nevertheless, they are strong. Nicknamed nanowires for their role in moving electrons, pili are the secret to this particular microbe’s ability to produce electric current from organic waste and sediment. Geobacter’s pili seem critical for forming the biofilm which aids transfer of the electron products to iron in soil and sediment. In nature, bacteria colonies form gluey biofilms to anchor to a surface such as a tooth or an underwater rock, providing a living environment near a food source.

The Geobacter biofilm’s “fortuitous” electron-transferring skill, the product of natural selection, suggested a pathway to Lovley?a way he might use selective pressure to increase its capacity to produce power. He and colleagues grew Geobacter as usual on a graphite electrode, providing acetate as food and allowing a colony to form the biologically active slime, or biofilm where electron transfer takes place across the nanowires. But for this new experiment they added a tiny, 400-millivolt “pushback” current in the electrode that forced Geobacter to press harder to get rid of its electrons.

The result of providing a more challenging environment, within five short months, Lovley notes, was evolution of a beefed-up microorganism that can press at least eight times more electric current across the electrode than the original strain. “I’m really happy with this outcome,” the microbiologist notes. “It’s exceptionally fast feedback to us and a very satisfying result.” He adds, “I’m still a little amazed that they make electricity, but I’m happy to be exploring how to harness that ability. I’m sure there’ll be applications developed in the future that we can’t even envision right now.”

Lovley’s first experiments with the anaerobic microbe, Geobacter, which he and colleagues discovered in sediment under the Potomac River in 1987, explored its use in decontaminating soil due to its ability to respire iron and other metals the way we breathe oxygen. Geobacter showed promise for a variety of bioremediation tasks, but the microbiologists further discovered in 2002 that it could produce electricity from the organic matter found in soils, sediments and wastewater. This ability appeared to be a feature of the electrically conductive pili, discovered in 2005. Together, these discoveries have led to intense research on how to harness the microbes for producing electricity in microbial fuel cells.

Microbial fuel cells, which convert fuel to electricity without combustion, consist of an electrode known as an anode that accepts electrons from the microorganisms, and another electrode known as a cathode, which transfers electrons onto oxygen. Electrons flow between the anode and the cathode to provide the current that can be harvested to power electronic devices.