City of Industry, California, February 1, 2003, Powerzinc Electric, Inc. announced today the appointment of Mr. Robert (Bob) S. Kripowicz as the Chairman of the Board of Powerzinc. Mr. Kripowicz will be responsible for the company’s investment strategy in the global market, project finance, and corporate development with an initial focus on products and services in US and/or China markets. With his distinguished service record in the private as well as public sectors, we look forward to Mr. Kripowicz’s leadership in quickly transforming Powerzinc from a start-up company to a large, commercially successful, global company that can eliminate pollution in urban areas caused by conventional transportation equipment with zero emission vehicles powered by Powerzinc’s Zinc Air Fuel Cell battery technology.

Mr. Kripowicz has recently completed a distinguished 30-year US government career. Most recently he was the Senior Advisor to the Under Secretary, Department of Energy (DOE) for policy studies in the fossil energy and global climate change areas, as well as advising him on developing the budget in all energy technology areas as well as Science, Environmental Management, and Nuclear Waste Management. From 1996 to 2002, he served as the Acting Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy in DOE while holding the position of Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary on a permanent basis. During his tenure he was responsible for the complete reorganization and consolidation of the office’s research and development activities, the initiation of long-range strategic planning activities, and the execution of the Administration’s Clean Coal Technology Initiative, a $2 billion Presidential initiative. He was instrumental in initiating, structuring, and implementing the US-China Protocol on Cooperation in Fossil Energy Technology with China’s Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST). In 1997, he inaugurated the US/China Energy and Environmental Technology Center (EETC)’s Beijing office at Tsinghua University. Prior to joining the Fossil Energy program in DOE, Mr. Kripowicz was the Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for House Liaison, and the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Buildings Technology in the Office of Energy efficiency and Renewable Energy.

Prior to serving in DOE, Mr. Kripowicz was a staff member of the Interior and Related Agencies Subcommittee of the House Committee on Appropriations, responsible for DOE programs in energy efficiency and fossil energy, as well as energy, scientific and land management programs at the Department of the Interior. He also was the Staff Director of the Energy Subcommittee of the House Science and Technology Committee, responsible for energy efficiency, fossil energy and the basic science programs of DOE. He also has had experience in the utility sector, the nuclear industry, and in small research and development companies.

Mr. Kripowicz received his undergraduate B.S. degree in Chemistry cum laude from Lafayette College and his MBA from the University of Pittsburgh.