Millennium Cell
(Nasdaq:MCEL)
EricDavid & Sons Text Interview with Millennium Cell. 
    President Adam Briggs 

Dear Readers,

As promised here is tonights text CEO interview with Millennium Cell. It is not Science fiction it is real, I was there in person, I saw the products. They are real and they are beautiful. Great read below on a great new Technology that will change the world.

EDS: Please explain the advantages of a hydrogen battery vs. traditional. 

Adam Briggs: There are several differences between hydrogen batteries and traditional battery chemistries.  First, because the chemistry contained in our hydrogen batteries has a higher energy density than most battery chemistries,  hydrogen batteries can deliver 2 – 3 times more runtime in the same size or weight of traditional batteries.   

Also, the amount of energy in hydrogen batteries can be easily customized depending on the needs of the device it powers.  For a traditional battery to supply energy for a longer time, the size of the entire sealed battery system must increase. A hydrogen battery system sized for a particular power can supply energy as long as it is refueled, keeping the size of the power module constant.  

On a cost basis, the cost of obtaining additional energy from a hydrogen battery is simply the cost of the fuel. The cost of additional energy when using traditional primary batteries is that of purchasing more batteries, which can be many times the cost of the fuel.   Generally speaking, the chemicals that provide the energy for hydrogen batteries costs only about 1 cent per watt hour as compared to the 15-20 cents per watt hour that consumers pay for alkaline batteries. 

Finally, a hydrogen battery can be “recharged” virtually instantaneously by supplying additional fuel; traditional battery recharging can take considerably longer, and is impossible in the absence of an auxiliary source of electrical power.  

EDS: At the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) you announced the completion of the HydroPak portable power generator. This generator uses disposable cartridges activated by water. Can you give us more technical specifics on the generator such as what chemicals are used within the cartridge and the average wattage it can output? 

Adam Briggs: The $400 generator provides 25 watts of continuous power, with peak power capability of 50 watts for 10 minute bursts.  The $20 disposable/recyclable cartridges that fuel the generator utilize Millennium Cell’s proprietary Hydrogen on Demand® technology and will be shipped with dry chemicals in the sealed cartridges.  Our chemical formulation includes sodium borohydride and other chemicals which when activated by water can provide approximately 270 watt hours of energy and is non-flammable below 500 degrees Celsius.   

The HydroPak™ generator provides a safe, clean and quiet alternative to lead acid batteries and generators for consumers who require emergency or remote power for their small electronic devices and lighting appliances.  We are very excited about the value proposition of this product. 

EDS: When will the HydroPak be in production? How much will it and its cartridges cost and what will be the desired market for them? 

Adam Briggs:  The HydroPak is scheduled to be in production in late summer 2008.  This timing is based on the expected process for achieving Underwiter’s Laboratory listing as a safe device.  The generator is expected to be sold at retail for $400 and disposable/recyclable cartridges will sell for $20 each.   

We believe this product will be very attractive for emergency, recreational and remote power applications.  For instance, for apartment dwellers in disaster prone locations (where hurricanes and earthquakes are common), this generator can provide clean, quiet power and long run times to ensure power for critical portable devices such as cell phones, computers, portable lighting and televisions during outages.   

We also believe first responders, campers, construction and surveying professionals among others will be very interested in this product. 

EDS: Are there any dangers associated with hydrogen fuel cells? 

Adam Briggs: No, this is one of the differentiating attributes of Millennium Cell’s Hydrogen on Demand® technology.  The system generates hydrogen only when needed and the liquid fuel is not flammable or stored under pressure.  Like any other chemical solution, it should be handled with care but our fuel is safe when used appropriately.  The fuel cell in the system that converts the hydrogen to electricity cannot deliver dangerous high currents or thermally runaway as Lithium Ion batteries can.

 
EDS: Is a hydrogen battery environmentally friendly? 

Adam Briggs: Yes, this is contains no environmentally dangerous components.  After the hydrogen cartridge is discharged a by product remains that is a blend of minerals called Borates which are commonly found in the world’s oceans and soils.  Consequently, these by products are approved for disposal by consumers along with their other household waste and do not need special handling.  However, these materials are also used as a feedstock for the production of fiberglass and pyrex.  Therefore, recycling of large quantities is a likely evolution. 

EDS: On the technology overview page of your website you state that “a hydrogen battery provides instant recharge”. Can you define instant recharge and how it works? 

Adam Briggs: When the HydroPak fuel cartridge is depleted, the user can insert a fresh cartridge and immediately will have 270 watt hours of energy at their disposal.  This is an advantage over rechargeable batteries which sometimes require as long as several hours in order to recharge and they also require the grid to be online.  Because the HydroPak cartridges are inexpensive at $20, we expect many consumers will choose to store more than one extra cartridge to ensure uninterrupted power for their devices during an emergency or in recreational use. 

EDS: Do you believe in the future we might see rechargeable hydrogen fuel cells where the user could add water and electricity to replenish the hydrogen themselves?  

Adam Briggs:  Reversible fuel cells are definitely possible but it is unclear when and if they will be practical and economical for use in many applications.  

EDS: What consumer devices (cell phones, laptops) do you plan on making fuel cells compatible with and what will be the advantages versus the consumer batteries used today? 

Adam Briggs: Fuel cells are just like batteries and therefore are compatible with just about any device they are designed for.  One interesting advantage of fuel cells over batteries is their ability to maintain a constant voltage as long as they have hydrogen.  What this means is you could power a flashlight with a fuel cell and there will be no change in the brightness of this light even when down to the last few seconds of hydrogen supplied.  With batteries, a major problem is that voltage will decay as the battery is discharged so that same flashlight will grow dimmer and dimmer as the battery is used until the battery cannot even provide the minimum amount of voltage required for the light to turn on.  The implication of this is that people will never be able to get all the energy out of a battery before their devices stop working well. 

EDS: How did this relationship with Singapore based Horizon Fuel Cell develop?  

Adam Briggs: Horizon Fuel Cell recognized that Millennium Cell had the best hydrogen storage technology available for portable applications and decided that they wanted to develop products based on their fuel cells and our hydrogen technology.  Therefore, they licensed our technology in August 2007.   

When the two parties began working together, we realized quickly that the combination of our technologies and our engineering teams was very potent and wanted to work more closely together.  In order to facilitate a closer collaboration that shares the benefits and costs of developing products, we decided to exchange $5 million of equity in one another in October 2007.   

Since then, we have been working on the HydroPak and are excited to launch this product in the second half of 2008. 

EDS: Horizon Fuel Cell owns 12% of your outstanding shares. Do you feel that they will continue to buy more shares of MCEL and increase their position? 

Adam Briggs: We believe there are many ways for our relationship to grow.  There are no current plans to exchange further equity but it is possible in the future.  We certainly would consider increased investment from Horizon, they have been a fantastic partner thus far. 

EDS: When we spoke last week you mentioned that MCEL will be using the Horizon Fuel Cell Shanghai China manufacturing facility for both the MCEL products along with the Partnership products. Can you tell us why the Company would rather use a China facility vs a Domestic facility? 

Adam Briggs:  Most rechargeable batteries are made in Asia and in order to compete on a cost basis, it is a requirement that we manufacture offshore.  One of the main knocks on fuel cells is that they have traditionally been much too expensive to bring to consumers.  This product will be different and will make people’s lives better.  Of course, being a US company we would prefer to manufacture here but Horizon has already made investments in manufacturing and has proven it can make high performance, inexpensive products and we are relying on their experience to get a product to market quickly.  Millennium Cell may choose to manufacture products in the US in the future, particularly for the US military. 

EDS: The NASDAQ has sent the Company a notice of non compliance with the $1.00 bid rule. Do have a deadline date in which the 180 day time limit expires for you? Will you ask the NASDAQ for a hearing date if the Company is still in non compliance after this period?    

Adam Briggs:  Our intention is to retain our listing on NASDAQ to maximize the liquidity of our investors’ investment.  We are not in a position at this time to make further statements about this process other than we will take whatever steps are necessary to achieve this goal. 

EDS: We want to thank you both this insightful interview. We will be in contact with you again for more updates in the near future 

Adam Briggs: My pleasure, thanks for the opportunity to share our enthusiasm around our upcoming HydroPak product launch later this year and to educate your readers about the advantages of our hydrogen batteries in general.   

Interview Conducted by EDS Princeton Technology Consultant Michael Weiss and EDS SR Market Analyst Steven Weiss.