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A World Record 145 Miles
for Arotech’s Electric Fuel Zinc Air Bus
Range increased by 14% with new
ultra capacitors and improved energy management
August 12, 2003 - Arotech Corporation
(NasdaqNM: ARTX) announced today that its all-electric bus powered by
the Company's Electric Fuel zinc air fuel cell technology has demonstrated
a record 145-mile range under rigorous urban conditions. In a test conducted
last week a new pack of ultra capacitors was installed on the bus, together
with improved energy management systems, greatly increasing the system's
efficiency. Conducted under the same conditions of an earlier tests,
these improvements increased the bus's range from 127 to 145 miles,
a 14% increase from July 2002 testing and a 43% improvement from the
same test in 2001.
This drive was the last performance
test drive planned under phase III of the Zinc-Air All Electric Transit
Bus program with the Federal Transit Administration. As in previous
drives, the test drive was conducted on the former Griffith Air Force
base near Rome, New York, with the bus traveling under typical city
bus driving conditions, including stop and go, acceleration and constant
speed. The Company believes the 145 miles driven to be a world record.
As a measure of comparison, the average normal full day cycle for New
York City buses is less than 90 miles. The Company believes that these
test results clearly indicate that all-electric buses utilizing Electric
Fuel's Zinc-Air technology have sufficient range to offer a practical
solution for helping to eliminate bus pollution in central cities.
The Electric Fuel All Electric Transit
Bus is designed to operate as a full-size, zero emission 40-foot bus
having a 20-ton gross vehicle weight (including passengers) and operating
all standard bus features, including air conditioning.
“The continued progress in technology
translates into lower future operating costs,” said Robert S.
Ehrlich, Arotech Chairman and CEO. “We will continue our efforts
to find the strategic partners needed for full commercialization.”
About Arotech Corporation
Arotech's corporate mission is to
provide quality defense and security products for the military, law
enforcement and homeland security markets, including advanced zinc-air
batteries, multimedia interactive simulators/trainers and lightweight
armoring.
Arotech Corporation (www.arotech.com)
operates two business divisions: Electric Fuel Batteries — developing
and manufacturing zinc-air batteries for military and homeland security
applications and developing electric vehicle batteries for zero emission
public transportation; and Arotech Defense — consisting of IES
Interactive, which provides advanced high-tech multimedia training systems
for law enforcement and paramilitary organizations, MDT Armor, which
provides vehicle armoring for the military, industrial and private sectors,
and Arcon Security, which provides homeland security consulting and
other services.
Arotech is incorporated in Delaware
under the name “Electric Fuel Corporation” and has corporate
and sales offices in New York and Denver with research, development
and production subsidiaries in Alabama, Colorado and Israel.
Except for
the historical information herein, the matters discussed in this news
release include forward-looking statements, as defined in the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Readers are cautioned not
to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, as they
are subject to various risks and uncertainties that may cause actual
results to vary significantly. These risks and uncertainties include,
but are not limited to, risks relating to: product and technology development;
the uncertainty of the market for Arotech’s products; changing
economic conditions; delay, cancellation or non-renewal, in whole or
in part, of contracts or of purchase orders; significant future capital
requirements; and other risk factors detailed in Arotech’s most
recent Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December
31, 2002, as amended, and other filings (under the name Electric Fuel
Corporation) with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Arotech assumes
no obligation to update the information in this release. Reference to
the Company’s website above does not constitute incorporation
of any of the information thereon into this press release.
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