Orion, MI April 19, 2005 -- Cobasys announced today it has joined General Motors (GM) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in sponsoring Challenge X: Crossover to Sustainable Mobility. Challenge X is a new three-year engineering competition series that challenges student teams from seventeen North American universities to explore advanced vehicle solutions that reduce energy consumption and decrease emissions. Launched for the 2004-2005 academic year, the program is a joint effort among academia, government and industry partners that aims to introduce energy-efficient technologies into the marketplace to help reduce our nation�s dependence on foreign oil. .
Demonstrating a commitment to the development of advanced automotive technologies, Cobasys will award Cobasys NiMHax� battery packs to five of the seventeen participating universities. Cobasys will provide its high power hybrid vehicle NiMHax 288-60 battery packs to the Challenge X participants and will provide technical support to the students as needed. The plug and play NiMHax packs offers longer life and more power in a smaller, lighter package than typical lead acid batteries and include battery monitoring, electronics, CAN communications and thermal management.
�We are delighted to have Cobasys on board as an industry sponsor for Challenge X,� said Bob Larsen, Director of the Center for Transportation Research at Argonne National Laboratory. �Their support will provide students hands-on experience with leading edge technologies, and the opportunity to learn how to apply these technologies to the real-world challenge of improving energy efficiency. Challenge X provides the next generation of leaders of the automotive industry with the tools and experience they need to guide us to a sustainable transportation future.�
�Our battery packs will provide the students with a valuable tool to succeed in the competition and in designing the advanced vehicles of tomorrow�, said Erik Hansen, Manager of Transportation Sales for Cobasys. �We look forward to being a part of the Challenge X competition series.�
The students will follow a real-world engineering process based on GM�s global vehicle development process at each phase of a three-year competition. Students will re-engineer a 2005, Chevy Equinox using cutting-edge advanced automotive technologies, including advanced propulsion systems, hybrid designs, lightweight materials, and alternative fuels.
The first year of Challenge X will emphasize vehicle simulation, powertrain testing, and engineering trade-offs that occur in the early stages of vehicle design. Each team will receive its Chevy Equinox vehicle at the end of the first year, and will build upon the models and simulation efforts to bring the designs to life in years two and three. Competitions are held at the end of each academic year to showcase the teams� learning and vehicle development. Cobasys will help judge the teams� progress in each year�s competition.
Cobasys designs and manufactures advanced Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) battery system solutions for transportation markets, including HEV, Electric Vehicles (EV) and 42 volt applications in addition to Stationary Back-Up power supply systems for large Uninterruptible Power Supply systems (UPS), Telecom and Distributed Generation markets.
Cobasys is a joint venture between ChevronTexaco Technology Ventures, an operating unit of ChevronTexaco Corporation (NYSE: CVX) and Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ: ENER). For more information about Cobasys' products contact Ray Wagner, Vice President of Marketing at 248-620-5765 or visit our website at www.cobasys.com.
Additional information about Challenge X: Crossover to Sustainable Mobility is available on the Web at www.challengex.org.
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