Smart Hydrogen Makes Two Appointments to Plug Power Board of Directors

LATHAM, N.Y., July 31, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Plug Power Inc. (Nasdaq:PLUG), a
leader in providing clean, reliable energy products, today announced the
appointment of Andrew Dimitri and Dennis V. Pivnyuk to the Company's board of
directors by Smart Hydrogen Inc. (Smart Hydrogen), which invested $217 million
in Plug Power in 2006. The appointments complete the slate of Class B directors
to Plug Power's 11-member board.

Dimitri is a principal and CEO of ExImWare, Inc., a privately held company that
develops web-hosted trade, procurement and risk management software solutions
and services for commodity companies, primarily in the agri-commodity
industries.

Prior to leading ExImWare, Dimitri was a principal and COO of KLG, a boutique
advisory firm serving global financial services and securities firms including
Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Fidelity Investments, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley
and NYSE Euronext. Before KLG, Dimitri served as managing director and COO of
Global Information Technology for Credit Suisse, where he led the financial and
business management function of the investment bank's global information
technology organization.

"Andy brings a wealth of entrepreneurial and corporate experience as a senior
executive to the Plug Power board of directors," said George McNamee, Chairman
of the board of directors of Plug Power. "We are looking forward to tapping into
his considerable leadership skills and business development expertise."

Dimitri earned a bachelor of science from Babson College in Wellesley, MA, and
an MBA with a concentration in general management and entrepreneurial studies
from Harvard University.

Dennis Pivnyuk is a business development manager for Interros Holding Company,
where he focuses on hydrogen and the commercialization of fuel cell technologies
and products in the Russian market. Interros is a principal, along with Norilsk
Nickel, in Smart Hydrogen, a joint venture formed to participate in the global
hydrogen economy.

Prior to joining Interros, Pivnyuk was deputy director general for the
Khrunichev Space Center, one of Russia's most successful aerospace enterprises.
While there, he established and led the external relations and corporate
communications for the company. He holds a bachelor degree from Lomonosov Moscow
State University and an advanced degree with a concentration in financial
management from Financial Academy (formerly Moscow State Financial Institute).

"Dennis has a deep understanding of the pathway to commercialization of
stationary fuel cells in international markets. His key technical expertise and
market insights will provide additional strategic clarity and balance to the
board," commented McNamee.

Dimitri and Pivnyuk were appointed directors by Smart Hydrogen to replace Lisa
Rosenblum and Sergey Batekhin, who is leaving to become CEO of Norilsk Nickel.

About Plug Power

Plug Power Inc. (Nasdaq:PLUG), an established leader in the development and
deployment of clean, reliable energy solutions, integrates fuel cell technology
into motive, continuous and backup power products. The Company is actively
engaged with private and public customers in targeted markets throughout the
world. For more information about how to join Plug Power's energy revolution as
an investor, customer, supplier or strategic partner, please visit
www.plugpower.com.

The Plug Power Inc. logo is available at
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Safe Harbor Statement

This communication contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including but not limited to
statements regarding our growth plans. We believe that it is important to
communicate our future expectations to our investors. However, there may be
events in the future that we are not able to accurately predict or control and
that may cause our actual results to differ materially from the expectations we
describe in our forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, the
risk that the restructuring results in greater restructuring charges or less
cost savings; the risk that the FCC does not adopt rules regarding backup power
requirements; the risk that unit orders will not ship, be installed and/or
convert to revenue, in whole or in part; Plug Power's ability to develop
commercially viable energy products; the cost and timing of developing Plug
Power's energy products; market acceptance of Plug Power's energy products; Plug
Power's ability to manufacture energy products on a large-scale commercial
basis; competitive factors, such as price competition and competition from other
traditional and alternative energy companies; the cost and availability of
components and parts for Plug Power's energy products; Plug Power's ability to
establish relationships with third parties with respect to product development,
manufacturing, distribution and servicing and the supply of key product
components; Plug Power's ability to protect its Intellectual Property; Plug
Power's ability to lower the cost of its energy products and demonstrate their
reliability; the cost of complying with current and future governmental
regulations; the impact of deregulation and restructuring of the electric
utility industry on demand for Plug Power's energy products; and other risks and
uncertainties discussed under "Item IA-Risk Factors" in Plug Power's annual
report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2007, filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on March 17, 2008, and the reports
Plug Power files from time to time with the SEC. Plug Power does not intend to
and undertakes no duty to update the information contained in this
communication.

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CONTACT: Plug Power Inc.
Media Contact:
Katrina Fritz Intwala
(518) 782-7700, ext. 1360
Investor Contact:
Cathy Yudzevich
(518) 782-7700, ext. 1448