LATHAM, N.Y., Nov. 13, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Plug Power Inc. (Nasdaq:PLUG) has received funding from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to demonstrate the viability of replacing diesel generators with hydrogen fuel cells for powering transport refrigeration units (TRUs) on trailers hauled by trucks that deliver perishable goods.
Plug Power was selected by NYSERDA to develop a fuel cell and interconnect hardware, which provides connection to refrigeration unit equipment, based on its GenDrive® fuel cell architecture. The Plug Power TRU fuel cell will power a Carrier Transicold refrigeration unit for the Sysco Corp. distribution center in Long Island, NY, for 12 months. Hydrogen will be supplied by Air Products.
Successful completion of this trial is expected to open the door to hydrogen fuel cell expansion into the refrigerated transport market – employing clean energy to regulate cold temperatures for fresh and frozen foods, such as produce, dairy products, meats, ice cream and other items while enroute to grocery warehouses, distribution centers and retail destinations.
Most of the 300,000 TRUs in operation across the U.S. today are powered by diesel, which is expensive and environmentally hazardous due to the emission of particulate matter and nitrogen oxides (NOx). In the course of one day, a typical TRU can consume about 10 gallons of diesel and emit 101 kg of carbon dioxide (CO2). This is in stark contrast to Plug Power hydrogen fuel cells, which have zero CO2 emissions, and release only a small amount of heat and water.
Plug Power received $500,000 from NYSERDA to pursue this demonstration project.
"The NYSERDA opportunity is crucial to Plug Power, as we move forward with development of fuel cell solutions for TRU deployments," said Andy Marsh, CEO of Plug Power. "Along with a similar, recently announced TRU project funded by the U.S. Dept. of Energy, this contract enables us to execute on our strategy to implement hydrogen fuel cells in markets adjacent to the material transport industry."
Transportation in the United States is responsible for 75 percent of the country's oil use, resulting in 40 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions produced.
Plug Power recently announced it had also won a $650,000 contract from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratories via the Dept. of Energy to develop fuel cells for the TRU market.
About Plug Power Inc.
The architects of modern fuel cell technology, Plug Power is revolutionizing the industry with cost-effective power solutions that increase productivity, lower operating costs and reduce carbon footprints. Long-standing relationships with industry leaders forged the path for Plug Power's key accounts, including Walmart, Sysco, P&G and Mercedes. With more than 4,000 GenDrive units deployed to material handling customers, accumulating over 12 million hours of runtime, Plug Power manufactures tomorrow's incumbent power solutions today. Additional information about Plug Power is available at www.plugpower.com.
Plug Power Inc. Safe Harbor Statement
This communication contains statements that are not historical facts and are considered forward-looking within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. These forward-looking statements contain projections of our future results of operations or of our financial position or state other forward-looking information. We believe that it is important to communicate our future expectations to our investors. However, there may be events in the future that we are not able to accurately predict or control and that may cause our actual results to differ materially from the expectations we describe in our forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned not to unduly rely on forward-looking statements because they involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from those discussed as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to: the risk that we continue to incur losses and might never achieve or maintain profitability, the risk that we expect we will need to raise additional capital to fund our operations and such capital may not be available to us; the risk that we do not have enough cash to fund our operations to profitability and if we are unable to secure additional capital, we may need to reduce and/or cease our operations; the risk that a "going concern" opinion from our auditors, KPMG LLP, could impair our ability to finance its operations through the sale of equity, incurring debt, or other financing alternatives; the recent restructuring plan we adopted may adversely impact management's ability to meet financial reporting requirements; our lack of extensive experience in manufacturing and marketing products may impact our ability to manufacture and market products on a profitable and large-scale commercial basis; the risk that unit orders will not ship, be installed and/or converted to revenue; the risk that pending orders may not convert to purchase orders; the risk that our continued failure to comply with NASDAQ's listing standards may result in our common stock being delisted from the NASDAQ stock market, which may severely limit our ability to raise additional capital; the cost and timing of developing, marketing and selling our products and our ability to raise the necessary capital to fund such costs; the ability to achieve the forecasted gross margin on the sale of our products; the actual net cash used for operating expenses may exceed the projected net cash for operating expenses; the cost and availability of fuel and fueling infrastructures for our products; market acceptance of our GenDrive systems; our ability to establish and maintain relationships with third parties with respect to product development, manufacturing, distribution and servicing and the supply of key product components; the cost and availability of components and parts for our products; our ability to develop commercially viable products; our ability to reduce product and manufacturing costs; our ability to successfully expand our product lines; our ability to improve system reliability for our GenDrive systems; competitive factors, such as price competition and competition from other traditional and alternative energy companies; our ability to protect our intellectual property; the cost of complying with current and future federal, state and international governmental regulations; and other risks and uncertainties discussed under "Item IA—Risk Factors" in Plug Power's annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on April 1, 2013 and as amended on April 30, 2013 and the reports Plug Power filed from time to time with the SEC. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which the statements were made and are not guarantees of future performance. Except as may be required by applicable law, we do not undertake or intend to update any forward-looking statements after the date of this communication.