Progressus Clean Technologies Executes Letter of Intent (LOI) with Alkaline Fuel Cell Power Corp for Industry-Leading Clean Hydrogen Joint Venture Pilot

• Pilot project to provide in-field proof of concept and operational data
• Advancing a potential solution for global utility companies to blend hydrogen and natural gas
• JV structured to support potential future growth and additional partnerships

TORONTO, Sept. 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Progressus Clean Technologies Inc. ("Progressus" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the execution of a letter of intent ("LOI") with Alkaline Fuel Cell Power Corp. (NEO: PWWR) (OTCQB:ALKFF) (Frankfurt: 77R, WKN: A3CTYF) ("AFCP") executed on September 12, 2022, to complete a joint venture ("JV") pilot project that aims to provide a solution for natural gas utilities to directly power both residential and commercial businesses. Alkaline Fuel Cell Power Corp. is a diversified investment platform developing affordable, renewable, and reliable energy assets and cleantech. The JV is intended to provide proof of concept for each company's technologies and assess the ability to combine various Progressus technologies with AFCP fuel cells to serve residential and small building customers across North America.

^{Figure 1 - Frank Carnevale, CEO of Alkaline Fuel Cell Power Corp. and Channce Fuller, President and CEO of Progressus shake hands upon finalizing the LOI.}

"Alkaline Fuel Cell Power is pleased to be working with the talented team at Progressus to combine our respective technologies and accelerate the ability for utility companies to utilize natural gas pipelines for the distribution of hydrogen for residential and commercial customers, more immediately," said Frank Carnevale, Chief Executive Officer of AFCP. "This JV pilot project is a key milestone in our goal of making zero emission fuel cells widely available, handing ?power to the people' so that individuals can both save on energy costs while positively contributing to global emission reduction targets."

"The missions and combined vision of AFCP and Progressus are very complementary to one another. By leveraging the strengths of both organizations, we can more efficiently and effectively solve the growing need for innovative hydrogen solutions. The proposed JV pilot project with AFCP is an active step towards progressing hydrogen innovation and combining the suite of technologies that will ultimately be needed for global hydrogen solutions in the future," said Channce Fuller, Chief Executive Officer of Progressus. 

Conceptual Description of the Pilot Project

To reduce CO2 emissions around the world, gas distribution companies and municipalities are setting-up projects to inject hydrogen into the local gas distribution grid. This gas mixture generally aims to contain up to 20% hydrogen and its use is targeted for residential and commercial buildings.

AFCP and Progressus will work together to execute a JV pilot project utilizing technologies from each company to provide in-field proof-of-concept, generate operational data that can inform continued development and market opportunities, and establish a platform to support future potential growth and additional partnerships. The exact location of the JV pilot project remains under consideration but, initially, North America will be the focus with secondary priority given to potential future pilots in Europe.

Progressus' technology enables the extraction of dilute hydrogen from gas streams, a critical component as utility companies globally increasingly strive to inject hydrogen into natural gas streams. Progressus represents a solution that can extract the hydrogen at high efficiencies, complementing AFCP's low-cost combined heat and power alkaline fuel cell and generator development.

The JV pilot project is designed to use the Progressus hydrogen separation technology to efficiently extract hydrogen at high purities from the existing natural gas grid, and then convert the purified hydrogen using either AFCP's 4 kW Micro-CHP or 4 kW generator to produce electricity, and potentially heat. This project could be put to immediate use in a residential home or commercial building, providing truly zero-emission power. AFCP has already identified interest from natural gas and electric utilities and municipalities to pilot the concept.

Combining the technologies from both companies offers an ideal potential solution to support the generation of low carbon energy that contributes to the world's clean energy transition.

Macro-economic Backdrop

The energy sector currently accounts for approximately three-quarters of global greenhouse gas emissions and is therefore simultaneously capable of averting the worst effects of climate change⁽¹⁾. To reduce CO2 emissions, gas distribution companies and municipalities are advancing projects that facilitate the injection of hydrogen into the local gas distribution grid as a cleaner energy source.

In the last two years alone, there have been more than two dozen hydrogen injection projects announced in the United States with companies continuing to reinforce additional commitments in early 2022.⁽²⁾ Further, with the passing of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), there is massive momentum building for additional investment in clean hydrogen solutions. Beyond the United States, the largest gas utilities around the globe (SoCalGas, Enbridge, ATCO Gas, Snam SpA, Enagas S.A., and Open Grid Europe to name a few) are all actively working on projects to inject hydrogen into their natural gas grids.⁽³⁾

The proposed pilot project would initially cover one extraction system linked to one 4 kW Micro-CHP or generator system, with expansion to a larger scale in future pilots designed to provide clean hydrogen and power for multiple residential users or commercial applications.

¹ https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/net-zero-coalition
² https://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/news-insights/latest-news-headlines/gas-utilities-get-to-work-piloting-hydrogen-use-in-distribution-systems-69302367
³ https://www.reuters.com/business/cop/europes-gas-firms-prime-pipelines-hydrogen-highway-2021-11-18/

ABOUT PROGRESSUS CLEAN TECHNOLOGIES

Progress Clean Technologies (formerly AES-100 Inc.) is a venture stage green technology company focused on the development of novel hydrogen generation and separation technologies. Progressus Clean Technologies owns the exclusive rights and intellectual property pertaining to the Advanced Electrolyzer System for the production of hydrogen from dilute syngas.

ABOUT ALKALINE FUEL CELL POWER CORP. (NEO: PWWR)

AFCP is a diversified investment platform developing affordable, renewable, and reliable energy assets and cleantech. We bring ?Power to the People' today, combining a stable revenue stream with a future- forward vision to commercialize our advanced hydrogen fuel cell technology to meet the massive global market need, and ultimately generate compelling returns for investors.

AFCP operates through two global entities: Fuel Cell Power NV, a wholly owned subsidiary in Belgium, and PWWR Flow Streams ("PWWR Flow"), an AFCP brand in Canada.

• Fuel Cell Power NV is focused on the development, production and commercialization of micro- combined heat and power ("micro-CHP") systems and off-grid and back-up power generators based on advanced alkaline fuel cell technology that generates zero CO2 emissions. Fuel Cell Power NV is working through milestones to deliver a commercialized alkaline fuel cell in 2024.
• PWWR Flow is focused on the development, ownership and operations of combined heat and power ("CHP") assets. PWWR Flow assets deliver efficiency improvements of over 20% with reduced costs to customers in multi-residential and commercial applications. PWWR Flow has contracted existing CHP assets in Toronto, Canada, and has an additional pipeline of potential contracts valued at over $50 million currently in development.

AFCP is well positioned to deliver ?Power to the People' in the global energy transition while offering a diversified cleantech growth platform for investors.

Further information is available on the Company website at https://www.fuelcellpower.com/, and the Company encourages investors and other interested stakeholders to follow it on:

LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. Common shares are listed for trading on the NEO Exchange ("NEO") under the symbol "PWWR", the OTC Venture Exchange "OTCQB" under the symbol "ALKFF" and on the Frankfurt Exchange under symbol "77R" and "WKN A3CTYF".

This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, without limitation, statements regarding Progressus Clean Technologies and Alkaline Fuel Cell Power Corp.; the letter of intent executed among the parties; the potential results or benefits of the joint venture pilot; the Advanced Electrolyzer System technology; and the company's future plans. Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including risks inherent in the hydrogen industry. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

Channce Fuller
Senior Vice President l Forbes & Manhattan Resources
President & CEO | Progressus Clean Technologies (Formerly AES-100 Inc.)
198 Davenport Road l Toronto, ON l Canada M5R 1J2
(403) 464 - 7851

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d5825491-2816-477a-9096-b5ac70cf8a8c