Axion Power Gets ALABC Grant to Pursue Its PbC(TM) Technology Tests

Industry Consortium Funds Testing on HEV Apps and Corrosion Abatement

NEW CASTLE, Pa., Feb. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Axion Power International, Inc (OTC Bulletin Board: AXPW), a leading developer of battery technologies and advanced energy storage devices, announced today that it has received a pair of prestigious grants from the Advanced Lead-Acid Battery Consortium, the leading industry association made up in part by the largest companies supplying the world’s battery market. The pair of grants total approximately $380,000, and will help support further research into two key areas: (1) the lead sulfate corrosion that tends to accumulate on non PbC lead-acid anodes, shortening the useful life of batteries in most cases; and (2) the use of non-corroding PbC(TM) batteries in HEVs (hybrid electric vehicles). These grants follow by days the announcement of a grant from the State of Pennsylvania to advance demonstrations of the same battery in HEVs, PHEVs (plug-in electric vehicles) and EVs. Both new grants address work on energy storage, energy density, inexpensive battery technology options, and the diminution of carbon emissions.

Axion Power CEO Thomas Granville commented, “The prestige of this ALABC grant is an important boost to us at Axion Power. ALABC is comprised of the largest battery companies in the world – you name the company, and they are members. It is generally conceded these days that carbon added to lead-acid batteries may be the key to eliminating corrosion, and this grant recognizes that our research into this phenomenon, together with our substantial patent portfolio in the area, is authoritative. We are pursuing these same initiatives on our own, and are also being assisted by grants from the State of Pennsylvania, and the US Department of Energy and Department of Defense.

“We believe,” Granville said, “that our PbC and lead-carbon technologies are the keys to making electric vehicles affordable, dependable and safe. Clearly we have the attention of the world’s leading battery companies, and that is rewarding in and of itself. It takes on added significance when you consider that our long range business plan calls for us to eventually sell our proprietary negative electrodes to these same lead-acid battery companies. This next step will occur as we begin to max out our own battery production capabilities.”

Granville continued, “For the most part, the media is fixated on newer applications of more exotic and more expensive batteries that have, mainly, been adapted from smaller applications – such as cell phones and computers. Our US-developed and US- manufactured batteries are a natural evolution of time-tested automotive technology, and as a direct result can be made anywhere in the world, with readily available and inexpensive raw materials, and on standard lead-acid battery lines. They are also much more affordable than the exotic and expensive batteries that are imported from the Far East.”

The grants are administered through the Durham, NC-based International Lead Zinc Research Organization acting on behalf of the ALABC. The first grant seeks to identify “the mechanism by which the optimum specification of carbon, when included in the negative active material of a valve-regulated lead-acid battery, provides protection against accumulation of lead sulfate during high-rate partial-state-of-charge operation.” The second grant seeks simply to characterize “Axion’s Proprietary PbC(TM) Battery in HEV-Type Duty-Cycle Testing.”

Work on the grant objectives is set to begin in the next couple of weeks.

About Axion Power International, Inc

Axion has developed and patented a next generation energy storage device that won the prestigious Frost & Sullivan Technology Award for North America in the field of lead-acid batteries. According to Frost & Sullivan, Axion’s new PbC(TM) batteries have “the potential to revitalize the lead-acid battery industry by breathing new life into an established technology that is not well suited to the requirements of important new applications like hybrid electric vehicles and renewable power.”

Axion Power International, Inc is the industry leader in the field of lead-acid-carbon energy storage technologies. Axion believes this new battery technology is the only class of advanced battery that can be assembled on existing lead-acid battery production lines throughout the world without significant changes to production equipment and fabrication processes. It also believes it will be able to manufacture carbon electrode assemblies in volume at low cost using standard automated production methods that are commonly used in other industries. If and when its electrode manufacturing methods are fully developed, Axion believes it will be able to sell carbon electrode assemblies as virtual plug-and-play replacements for lead-based negative electrodes used by all other lead-acid battery manufacturers. Axion’s goal is to become the leading supplier of carbon electrode assemblies for the lead-acid battery industry. For more information, visit www.axionpower.com.

Forward-looking Statements

Certain statements in this Press Release are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Act of 1995. These statements include, without limitation, statements concerning the Company’s ability to expand its manufacturing capabilities and bring its new PbC(TM) based battery products to market, the Company’s belief that its completed products will be the only class of advance battery of its kind and that it will be a viable replacement for older generation lead-acid batteries. These forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations and beliefs and are subject to a number of risk factors and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include the risk for the Company to complete its development work, as well as the risks inherent in commercializing a new product (including technology risks, market risks, financial risks and implementation risks, and other risks and uncertainties affecting the Company), as well as other risks that have been included in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, all of which are available at www.sec.gov. We disclaim any intention or obligation to revise any forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, financial estimates, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

    Contacts

    Axion Power International
    Kelly Gubish
    kgubish@axionpower.com
    (724) 654 9300

    Allen & Caron Inc
    Rudy Barrio (Investors)
    r.barrio@allencaron.com
    (212) 691-8087

    Brian Kennedy (Media)
    brian@allencaron.com
    (212) 691-8087

SOURCE Axion Power International, Inc