New York Congresswoman Louise Slaughter Announces $2.75 Million in Funding for Delphi and Rochester Institute of Technology

Federal commitment will enhance advancement of fuel cell technology production.


AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — U.S. Rep. Louise M. Slaughter, D-N.Y., chairwoman of the House Rules Committee, yesterday joined Bill Destler, president of Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT); Steven Shaffer, chief engineer for fuel cells at Delphi; and Nabil Nasr, director of RIT’s Center for Integrated Manufacturing Studies (CIMS) to announce $2.75 million in federal funds for fuel cell development.

The funding was secured in the 2008 Department of Defense Appropriations Bill by Slaughter and New York’s U.S. Senate delegation, and goes toward a joint project between Delphi and RIT to accelerate manufacturability and application of solid oxide fuel cells in the armed forces.

“My top priority in Congress is to bolster our region’s economic advantage and keep us on the cutting edge of emerging industries,” said Slaughter. “The fuel cell industry is just one of the new high-tech sectors that hold tremendous promise for the Rochester community. Because Delphi, and companies like them, made the choice to locate their best researchers in our backyard, we have the potential to be a leading player in fuel cell development. These funds represent one of the first tangible successes in our efforts to accelerate fuel cell development by linking private sector partners and local academic institutions,”

The project seeks to accelerate the application of solid oxide fuel cells into stationary and mobile systems within the U.S. Department of Defense. This type of fuel cell is a highly efficient electrochemical generator that produces environmentally friendly electricity directly from currently available fuels. This work builds upon Delphi’s fuel cell development efforts and will utilize the CIMS’ state-of-the-art sensors-monitoring technology to evaluate the quality of fuel cell powered systems.

“This is a tremendous example of government-university-industry collaboration that leverages the expertise at CIMS and the new Golisano Institute for Sustainability, as well as our partners at Delphi,” said Destler. “We appreciate the efforts of Congresswoman Slaughter and Senators Schumer and Clinton to successfully include this funding in the defense appropriations bill.”

“We are extremely grateful to Congresswoman Slaughter and our Senate representatives for their help in securing federal assistance for our joint research efforts with Delphi,” Nasr said. “It is my hope that this research will amplify our ability to accelerate the implementation of new fuel cell technologies that will support numerous military applications. This will also enhance the development of sustainable energy systems for future commercial applications.”

“Situational awareness, future weapons and next-generation protection systems will require more electric power generated quietly and at higher efficiency,” said Russ Bosch, Delphi’s director of fuel cell development. “The fuel cell is a preferable technology for meeting these needs because the cell’s higher efficiency decreases the amount of fuel that needs to be transported and the solid oxide fuel cell’s quiet operation improves stealth capabilities.”

ABOUT DELPHI POWERTRAIN

Delphi’s powertrain technologies provide robust solutions to complex challenges, helping its customers develop vehicles that offer outstanding performance, refinement and emissions. They include multi point injection and direct injection gasoline systems, common rail and rotary pump diesel systems in a range of capacities and, for heavy duty diesel applications, Electronic Unit Injectors and Electronic Unit Pumps. All are compatible with widely used biofuels and are complemented by innovative fuel handling, evaporative emissions, transmission control, valve train, and aftertreatment solutions. More information is available at www.delphi.com.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This press release, as well as other statements made by Delphi may contain forward-looking statements that reflect, when made, the Company’s current views with respect to current events and financial performance. Such forward-looking statements are and will be, as the case may be, subject to many risks, uncertainties and factors relating to the Company’s operations and business environment which may cause the actual results of the Company to be materially different from any future results, express or implied, by such forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify these statements by forward-looking words such as “may,” “might,” “will,” “should,” “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “potential” or “continue,” the negative of these terms and other comparable terminology. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the following: the ability of the Company to continue as a going concern; the ability of the Company to operate pursuant to the terms of the debtor-in-possession financing facility and to obtain an extension of term or other amendments as necessary to maintain access to such facility; the terms of any reorganization plan ultimately confirmed; the Company’s ability to obtain Court approval with respect to motions in the chapter 11 cases prosecuted by it from time to time; the ability of the Company to prosecute, confirm and consummate one or more plans of reorganization with respect to the chapter 11 cases; the Company’s ability to satisfy the terms and conditions of the EPCA; risks associated with third parties seeking and obtaining Court approval to terminate or shorten the exclusivity period for the Company to propose and confirm one or more plans of reorganization, for the appointment of a chapter 11 trustee or to convert the cases to chapter 7 cases; the ability of the Company to obtain and maintain normal terms with vendors and service providers; the Company’s ability to maintain contracts that are critical to its operations; the potential adverse impact of the chapter 11 cases on the Company’s liquidity or results of operations; the ability of the Company to fund and execute its business plan (including the transformation plan described in its filings with the SEC and the Bankruptcy Court. and to do so in a timely manner; the ability of the Company to attract, motivate and/or retain key executives and associates; the ability of the Company to avoid or continue to operate during a strike, or partial work stoppage or slow down by any of its unionized employees or those of its principal customers and the ability of the Company to attract and retain customers. Additional factors that could affect future results are identified in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2006, including the risk factors in Part I. Item 1A. Risk Factors, contained therein and the Company’s quarterly periodic reports for the subsequent periods, including the risk factors in Part II. Item 1A. Risk Factors, contained therein, filed with the SEC. Delphi disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events and/or otherwise. Similarly, these and other factors, including the terms of any reorganization plan ultimately confirmed, can affect the value of the Company’s various prepetition liabilities, common stock and/or other equity securities. Additionally, no assurance can be given as to what values, if any, will be ascribed in the bankruptcy cases to each of these constituencies. A plan of reorganization could result in holders of Delphi’s common stock receiving no distribution on account of their interest and cancellation of their interests. In addition, under certain conditions specified in the Bankruptcy Code, a plan of reorganization may be confirmed notwithstanding its rejection by an impaired class of creditors or equity holders and notwithstanding the fact that equity holders do not receive or retain property on account of their equity interests under the plan. In light of the foregoing, the Company considers the value of the common stock to be highly speculative and cautions equity holders that the stock may ultimately be determined to have little or no value. Accordingly, the Company urges that appropriate caution be exercised with respect to existing and future investments in Delphi’s common stock or other equity interests or any claims relating to prepetition liabilities.


For more information contact:

Delphi
John Wray
john.wray@delphi.com
[1] 248.732.0614