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VIASPACE to Demonstrate New System for Chemical, Explosive and Toxic Gas Detection to U.S. Army

Posted on: Monday, 4 May 2009, 07:30 CDT

Under $750,000 Phase II Contract

PASADENA, Calif., May 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- VIASPACE Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: VSPC) a clean energy company with subsidiary operations in security-related systems and technology, has scheduled a mid-May 2009 field demonstration of its new detection and analysis system for identifying hazardous chemicals, explosives, industrial toxic gases, and the chemical components of improvised explosive devices (IEDs). The demonstration is part of a phase II contract awarded by the U.S. Army in August 2008. The contract provides up to $750,000 in funding over a two-year period.

Through its subsidiary Ionfinity, VIASPACE is developing a new chemical-agent sensor in joint collaboration with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, General Dynamics, Sionex, and Imaginative Technologies. The program, entitled "Advanced Robotic Detection of Chemical Agents, Toxic Industrial Gases, and IEDs for Force Health Protection," was awarded by the U.S. Army's Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program. The objective of the program is to develop and demonstrate a prototype--an enhanced version of General Dynamics' JUNO(TM) hand-held chemical agent detector incorporating VIASPACE's chemical-agent sensor--that can be mounted onto unmanned ground vehicles for missions involving combat-casualty care and protection of medical personnel.

Ionfinity also has a $786,000 contract with the U.S. Navy entitled "Miniature Electronic Sniffer for Navy Vertical Take off Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (VTUAVs)"

Ionfinity Chairman, Chief Operating Officer and Principal Investigator James Weiss said: "We believe this and other security-related systems being developed at Ionfinity and through VIASPACE's collaborations will be able to meet the ongoing needs for improved capabilities to detect a range of hazardous chemicals and gases, explosives and other dangerous substances and materials. Due to the nature and number of these threats, detection systems also have to be easy-to-use, provide timely and accurate readings, and be compact and durable."

In addition to the security industry, in which approximately $55 billion is spent annually, Weiss sees potential for this new detection system to be applied in chemical analysis and monitoring for defense and homeland security, and commercial applications in environmental monitoring, agriculture and medicine.

According to Company information, the chemical-sensor system includes: 1) a powerful new detector called a Differential Mobility Spectrometer; 2) a non-radioactive ionization method that does not fragment or multiply-ionize sampled specimens; and 3) a micro-gas chromatograph for confirmation and enhanced detection capability. The system will detect chemicals at anywhere from parts-per-trillion (ppt) to parts-per-billion (ppb) levels within 6 seconds.

About VIASPACE Inc.

VIASPACE is a clean energy company providing products and technology for renewable and alternative energy that reduce or eliminate dependence on fossil and high-risk-pollutant energy sources. The Company provides raw material for cellulosic biofuels and develops and markets fuel cell cartridges, products and technology. VIASPACE subsidiary Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Corporation owns a portfolio of fuel cell patents licensed from Pasadena-based California Institute of Technology (Caltech), which manages NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where the direct methanol fuel cell was invented. VIASPACE subsidiary Ionfinity has operations in security-related systems and technology for military, defense and commercial applications. For more information, please see http://www.viaspace.com/ or contact Dr. Jan Vandersande, Director of Communications, at 800-517-8050 or IR@VIASPACE.com.

Safe Harbor Statement: Information in this press release and interview includes forward-looking statements which relate to future events or future performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Such factors include, without limitation, risks outlined in our periodic filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008, as well as general economic and business conditions; changes in demand for the Company's products; competition from larger companies; technological change; and other factors over which VIASPACE has little or no control.

SOURCE VIASPACE Inc.

Source: PR Newswire

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