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For Immediate Release 18 October, 2004
QuestAir to supply hydrogen purification technology to Asia's largest liquid hydrogen plant
BURNABY, B.C. – QuestAir Technologies Inc. announced today that two of its HyQuestor® hydrogen purifiers have been chosen for inclusion in the largest liquid hydrogen plant in Asia to be constructed in Osaka, Japan.
The plant, which will be owned and operated by HydroEdge Co., Ltd. ("HydroEdge"), a joint venture between Iwatani International Corporation ("Iwatani") and several other partners including Kansai Electric Power group company, will supply liquid hydrogen to the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and a range of industrial customers. It is also anticipated that hydrogen from the plant will be used in the future to supply fuel cell vehicles in Japan.
In the HydroEdge plant, hydrogen will be extracted, or 'reformed', from natural gas using reforming technology supplied by Cosmo Engineering Co Ltd. QuestAir's HyQuestor® units will then purify the hydrogen to meet the standards required by industry, fuel cells and space propulsion. The purified hydrogen product will be liquefied by equipment supplied by Linde AG.
Mr. Jonathan Wilkinson, President and CEO of QuestAir said that the HydroEdge plant will be the largest liquid hydrogen plant in Japan and Asia, and one of only 20 liquid hydrogen plants world-wide.
"The HydroEdge plant is an extremely high profile project for QuestAir, and it extends our already strong relationship with Iwatani, Japan's leading supplier of merchant hydrogen", said Wilkinson. "In addition, the HyQuestor® units that we will supply to HydroEdge are the largest capacity systems that we have sold to date, representing an important extension of our commercial product line into larger capacity industrial hydrogen plants."
Mr. Yoshikatsu Tani, General Manager, Gas Plant Department of Iwatani, said, "QuestAir's HyQuestor® product offers a number of clear advantages for the HydroEdge plant, including compact size, ease of installation, and operational flexibility. We look forward to working with QuestAir and the other partners on this high profile project."
QuestAir's HyQuestor® units will be delivered and operational by the end of 2005. The HydroEdge plant start-up is planned for April 2006.
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About QuestAir Technologies Inc.
QuestAir Technologies, Inc. has developed proprietary gas purification technology that is being applied to several large existing and emerging world markets, including industrial hydrogen production and stationary and automotive fuel cells. QuestAir's proprietary fast-cycle pressure swing adsorption ("PSA") technology allows the developers of fuel cell systems to increase the efficiency of their products, and offers a compact, cost effective gas purification solution to QuestAir's industrial customers and developers of hydrogen fueling infrastructure. QuestAir is a private company based in Burnaby, British Columbia whose shareholders and strategic partners include Shell Hydrogen, Ballard Power Systems and The BOC Group.
About Iwatani International Corporation
Iwatani places greatest emphasis on its original and most competitive businesses---GAS & ENERGY. Founded in 1930, Iwatani has been expanding its activities in 2 core businesses, Energy (represented by LPG) and Industrial Gases. Iwatani is a pioneer in Japan for LPG and hydrogen, with continued leading positions in these industries. Iwatani is classified as a trading firm but is a unique organization with production plants and facilities especially for industrial gases, as well as nationwide distribution networks in Japan and additional capabilities to distribute overseas. Iwatani is a public company based in Osaka and Tokyo.
For more information, please contact:
| QuestAir Technologies Inc. |
Iwatani International Corporation |
| Andrew Hall |
Tomoaki Fukai |
| Director, Corporate Development |
Phone: 81-3-5405-5981 |
| Phone: 604-453-6967 |
Email: fukai@iwatani.co.jp |
| Email: hall@questairinc.com |
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| Web: www.questairinc.com |
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