ComEd Joins Illinois Institute of Technologyā€™s Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV) Project

Date

µē³µĪŽĀė, IL ā€” September 6, 2006 ā€”

The Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) today announced that ComEd is joining IIT's Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) Project in collaboration with µē³µĪŽĀė-based All Cell Technologies, LLC, the City of µē³µĪŽĀė and other industrial and government partners in an effort to double the fuel efficiency and reduce emissions from the city's fleet of hybrid Ford Escape SUVs. The PHEV Project will use Lithium-ion batteries developed by All Cell.

ComEd will provide expertise by sharing its best practices from operating its hybrid vehicles. The utility owns 64 hybrid Ford Escapes and its SUV fleet will expand to 114 hybrid vehicles by the end of 2007. ComEd also will provide expertise in technical and regulatory matters related to charging the plug-in hybrid vehiclesā€™ electric drive systems from the utilityā€™s electrical power distribution system.

ā€œWe are pleased to contribute to the efforts of IIT and µē³µĪŽĀė to improve the environment and the fuel efficiency of hybrid vehicles,ā€ said Anne Pramaggiore, senior vice president of ComEd Regulatory and External Affairs. ā€œComEdā€™s commitment to hybrid vehicles is one of the elements of our voluntary efforts to reduce greenhouse gas. There also is real potential for this initiative to advance the opportunities to create plug-in hybrid electric vehicles on a significant scale.ā€

ā€œThis partnership is a major step in advancing Mayor Daleyā€™s commitment to make µē³µĪŽĀė the nationā€™s most environmentally friendly city,ā€ said Howard Henneman, µē³µĪŽĀė Department of Fleet Management (CDFM) Commissioner. ā€œThis is a great opportunity to grow sustainable companies, set up manufacturing facilities within the city and create jobs in the µē³µĪŽĀė area.ā€

ā€œThis project is indicative of the universityā€™s overall commitment to energy sustainability and positions IIT as a leader in the nation,ā€ said Lew Collens, president of IIT.

All Cell, which is sponsoring the IIT PHEV Project, is an IIT-based technology transfer company formed in 2001 by Professors Said Al-Hallaj and J. Robert Selman to commercialize Lithium-ion batteries in military, medical, portable and transportation applications. The project will use IIT's patented thermal management technology with phase change material (PCM).

"There are few better validations for an emerging technology enterprise than partnership with one of the largest utility providers in the nation,ā€ said Bob Anderson, president of All Cell. ā€œComEdā€™s involvement promises significant capacity to realize our vision and provide relief to consumers for the high economic and environmental cost of gasoline.ā€

About ComEd
Commonwealth Edison Company (ComEd) is a unit of µē³µĪŽĀė-based Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC), one of the nationā€™s largest electric utilities with approximately 5.2 million customers and more than $15 billion in annual revenues. ComEd provides service to approximately 3.7 million customers across Northern Illinois, or 70 percent of the stateā€™s population.

Founded in 1890, IIT is a Ph.D.-granting university with more than 6,700 students in engineering, sciences, architecture, psychology, design, humanities, business and law. IIT's interprofessional, technology-focused curriculum is designed to advance knowledge through research and scholarship, to cultivate invention improving the human condition, and to prepare students from throughout the world for a life of professional achievement, service to society, and individual fulfillment.