LATHAM, N.Y., Oct. 20, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Plug Power Inc. (Nasdaq:PLUG), a leader in providing clean, reliable energy solutions, announced today that Whole Foods Market, the world's leading natural and organic foods supermarket, will be using 61 GenDrive(TM) fuel cell-powered forklifts in its Landover, Maryland distribution center in 2010. Whole Foods Market is partnering with Plug Power and GENCO Supply Chain Solutions, North America's second largest third party logistics provider, to complete this installation. The funding for the fuel cells is part of a $6.1 million award made to GENCO in April of 2009 by the US Department of Energy (DOE) through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Alliance Material Handling, a Maryland-based Crown lift truck supplier, will supply the fork lifts for this site. The fleet will consist of 45 class-3 pallet jack and 16 class-2 standup reach trucks, all powered by GenDrive fuel cells. The decision to move from lead-acid batteries was facilitated by the opportunity to improve the Company's productivity in their Maryland operations, while also achieving environmental and economic benefits.
Joe Strong, Facility Team Leader at Whole Foods, states, "Whole Foods Market is committed to healthy food and a healthy planet. We are fulfilling that commitment by choosing to use greener technology in our own operations that will improve our productivity and lower our long-term costs."
While GenDrive fuel cell units provide customers with increased economic value through productivity increases, they also allow customers to reduce their carbon footprint by reducing the amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with the use and charging of lead-acid batteries used in material handling equipment. Conversion to GenDrive fuel cell power units and green hydrogen can reduce material handling fleet GHG emissions up to 80% on-site which is roughly the equivalent of removing two passenger vehicles from the road per year for each forklift truck powered by fuel cells.
"Whole Foods Market is a company whose core values strongly align with Plug Power's. We are excited to be supplying fuel cells to a company that is fulfilling their mission through the purchase of GenDrive as a clean energy alternative," said Tom Hoying, Vice President of Sales for Plug Power.
About Plug Power Inc.
Plug Power Inc. (Nasdaq:PLUG), an established leader in the development and deployment of clean, reliable energy solutions, integrates fuel cell technology into motive and continuous power products. The Company is actively engaged with private and public customers in targeted markets throughout the world. For more information about how to join Plug Power's energy revolution as an investor, customer, supplier or strategic partner, please visit www.plugpower.com.
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Plug Power Inc. Safe Harbor Statement
This communication contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including but not limited to statements regarding the number of GenDrive and GenSys units we expect to ship in 2010 through 2012, our projected revenues for 2010 through 2012, and our expectations for achieving profitability and positive cash flow in 2012. We believe that it is important to communicate our future expectations to our investors. However, there may be events in the future that we are not able to accurately predict or control and that may cause our actual results to differ materially from the expectations we describe in our forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, our ability to reduce product and manufacturing costs; our ability to improve system reliability for both GenDrive and GenSys; our ability to successfully expand our product lines; the risk that unit orders will not ship, be installed and/or convert to revenue, in whole or in part; our ability to develop commercially viable products; the cost and timing of developing our products and our ability to raise the necessary capital to fund such development costs; market acceptance of our GenDrive and GenSys systems; our ability to manufacture products on a large-scale commercial basis; competitive factors, such as price competition and competition from other traditional and alternative energy companies; the cost and availability of components and parts for our products; our ability to establish and maintain relationships with third parties with respect to product development, manufacturing, distribution and servicing and the supply of key product components; the cost and availability of fuel and fueling infrastructures for our products; our ability to protect our intellectual property; the cost of complying with current and future governmental regulations; the impact of deregulation and restructuring of the electric utility industry on demand for Plug Power's energy products; and other risks and uncertainties discussed under "Item IA-Risk Factors" in our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2008, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on March 16, 2009, and the reports we file from time to time with the SEC. We do not intend to and undertake no duty to update the information contained in this communication.