BOULDER, Colo., Dec. 13, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Energy Conservation Technologies, Inc. (Pink Sheets:ENYC), landmark technology company ("Econ"), will be meeting with the National Mexican Power Authority (NMPA) and a well-established ballast manufacturer in Mexico City, Mexico, the week of December 13-17.
The Mexico City trip is the follow-up to licensing talks held over the past year. The trip's purpose is two-fold. First, Econ will present its new production-ready HID electronic ballast prototype to NMPA and the Mexican manufacturer, which will test and evaluate the ballast. This ballast, substantially smaller, lighter and more energy-efficient than conventional magnetic ballast designs, is designed for the 250-watt high-pressure sodium and metal halide lamps in wide use in Mexico and around the world in street-light and high ceiling applications. Econ and the manufacturer also expect during the meeting to negotiate and sign a letter of intent outlining a license of the Econ technology for the Mexican market.
Fazle Quazi, Econ's Chairman and Director of Engineering, said, "This Mexican trip is a key part of our master strategy to launch this revolutionary electronic HID ballast technology. Once the Mexican license is completed, our next step will be to license the technology to a major lighting manufacturer for U.S. production, following which we will concentrate on European and Asian markets." Mr Quazi added that, "Based on my decade-long and productive relationship with the Mexican ballast manufacturer and the excellent laboratory test results of our electronic HID ballast, both Econ and the manufacturer are confident of signing a letter of intent outlining a licensing deal as a prelude to executing a definitive licensing agreement early next year."
Upon signing of a definitive licensing agreement, Econ would expect to receive a significant technology transfer fee, as well as substantial ongoing production royalties of several million dollars over 2-3 years just from the Mexican market.
The Mexican market for Econ's electronic HID ballasts is large, with over 1,000,000 needed for Mexico City alone. Econ estimates that replacing existing magnetic ballasts for those lights with the new Econ electronic ballasts will save US$52,000,000 in energy costs annually just in Mexico City, in the process saving over 50 million watts of energy every day. Another plus is that lab tests have shown the Econ HID electronic ballast capable of handling the considerable power fluctuations common throughout Mexico, a vital capability for any ballast intended for Mexican installation. Based on energy savings alone, Econ's ballast will pay for itself in less than a year.
The management of the Mexican manufacturer, with whom Mr. Quazi has enjoyed a decade-long relationship, has already agreed to visit Econ's Colorado facilities in January to sign the formal agreement. It is expected that volume manufacturing of Econ's electronic ballast in Mexico will begin in the third quarter of 2005.
About Energy Conservation Technologies, Inc.
Energy Conservation Technologies, Inc. holds a patent for "Control Circuit for power factor corrected electronic ballasts and power supplies," patent No: 6,359,395, granted on March 19, 2002 developed by its founder, Fazle Quazi. The current patent covers power factor corrections and controlling energy into bulbs and power supplies such as: computer servers, copy machines, compact fluorescent lamps, power supplies to the telecom industry, inverters used to convert DC power to AC power (120 Volts), automobiles specialty lighting, solar and wind power generators, and fuel cells.
New patent applications involving the lighting industry are now being drafted after extensive testing. These new designs will revolutionize the HID lighting industry, annually a $2 billion market in the United States and over $10 billion on an international basis. Econ's HID electronic ballasts will be available at costs comparable to magnetic ballasts, reducing ballast weight by a factor of 10 and saving an estimated 35 percent of electrical energy over magnetic ballast usage. Discussions are now in progress with a major lighting manufacturer in Mexico and with a Fortune 500 company regarding licensing our patents and future patent filings.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENT DISCLAIMER:
Statements describing objectives or goals or our future plans are forward-looking statements and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, including among other factors our financial performance, our ability to license or market our new designs and the performance of those designs, the market for ballasts, and other technological developments in ballasts and lighting in general, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in this release.
For more information, please contact: Jay Lutsky, President, Energy Conservation Technologies, Inc. 3027 N 75tr Street Boulder, CO 80301 303-948-4424 www.econpower.com