FREDERICK, COLORADO, OCTOBER 4, 2005 ... UQM TECHNOLOGIES, INC. (AMEX:UQM), a developer of alternative energy technologies, announced today that it has received a $600,000 Phase II contract from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop a 5 kW modular inverter under the Small Business Innovation Research Program. The project is expected to span a two year period.

Power electronic inverters are used to convert direct current (DC) output of power generation equipment such as engine generators, wind turbines, solar panels, microturbines and fuel cells to 110/220 volt alternating current (AC). Many household and commercial products run on 110/220 volt AC currently delivered from the power transmission grid to electrical outlets in homes and commercial buildings. Numerous commercial and industrial vehicles, such as ambulances and trouble-trucks currently have inverters onboard to power accessories and equipment and several on-road, off-road and military vehicle manufacturers plan to offer AC power availability onboard certain vehicle models to power a variety of accessories.

“We are pleased that the Department of Energy has chosen to provide follow-on funding for the continuing development of the inverter design we conceptualized in the Phase I effort. We expect to develop a household sized inverter capable of accommodating voltage inputs of 36 volts to 360 volts that is small, low cost and highly efficient. Our approach will be to overcome limitations of currently available electronic inverters, including being difficult to install and use, lacking plug and play capability, being less efficient and bulky, and having operating limitations in those applications where input voltages vary across a broad range. This work applies to many applications, including hybrid electric vehicles,” said Jon Lutz, UQM Technologies’ Director of Engineering.

“The inconvenience and expense of interruptions in grid-based electrical service for extended periods of time has been experienced by millions of people and thousands of businesses in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Power electronic inverters are a key component in substantially all remote and standby electric power systems and we expect that market demand for these systems will increase over time as customers adopt reliable, stand-alone solutions to their electric power needs. As a result of this expanding market opportunity, we expect to accelerate the commercialization of this product currently under development as well as our power dense and highly efficient generator systems in the power generation market,” said William G. Rankin, UQM Technologies, Inc. President and Chief Executive Officer.

UQM Technologies, Inc. is a developer and manufacturer of power dense, high efficiency electric motors, generators and power electronic controllers for the automotive, aerospace, medical, military and industrial markets. A major emphasis of the Company is developing products for the alternative energy technologies sector including propulsion systems for electric, hybrid electric and fuel cell electric vehicles, 42-volt under-the-hood power accessories and other vehicle auxiliaries and distributed power generation applications. The Company's headquarters, engineering and product development center, and motor manufacturing operation are located in Frederick, Colorado. For more information on the Company, please visit its worldwide website at www.uqm.com.

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Last Update: 10/04/05