F9 Investments Acquires Proton Energy Systems, Hydrogen Technology Innovator, for...

F9 Investments Acquires Proton Energy Systems, Hydrogen Technology Innovator, for $10.2 Million

Lumber Liquidators' Founder Sullivan Makes Private Investment in
Renewable Energy Pioneer
WALLINGFORD, Conn.--(Business Wire)--
Proton Energy Systems, Inc., a leader in renewable hydrogen
technology for transportation, power generation, research and
industrial applications, was acquired last week from Distributed
Energy Systems Corp. (OTCBB: DESCQ) by F9 Investments, LLC.

F9, which represents the private equity interests of Tom Sullivan,
paid $10.2 million for Proton, a renewable energy pioneer. Mr.
Sullivan is the founder and chairman of Lumber Liquidators, Inc.

"With strong orders and a healthy backlog of business, F9's
acquisition comes at a great time for our growing company," said
Robert J. Friedland, Proton's president and chief executive officer,
who helped found the fuel-cell-related enterprise in 1996. "Throughout
our history," he said, "we have been leading the way in developing
practical solutions for how to supply and use hydrogen to its best
advantage in applications such as fueling hydrogen vehicles and
cooling electric power plant generators to run more efficiently."

Mr. Friedland cited important customer commitments for industrial,
defense and research projects, ranging from oxygen generation on-board
naval vessels for U.S. and allied international military
organizations, to larger capacity hydrogen fueling stations in
conjunction with major energy companies and municipal governments, to
on-site cooling systems that can enable power plants, such as those
run by a half-dozen investor-owned utility customers, to produce more
electricity from less fossil fuel.

"This is a great opportunity to put resources where our renewable
energy beliefs are," said F9's Mr. Sullivan. "Hydrogen is clearly an
important fuel of the future, and Proton's PEM (proton exchange
membrane) technology works, can be scaled up to meet customer demand,
and has captured a market share that already accounts for about half
of all onsite hydrogen produced at hydrogen fueling stations in North
America. As I look at it," Mr. Sullivan concluded, "that's a lot
better than the fossil fuel costs, security and other risks associated
with current practice, such as trucking bottled hydrogen into power
plants that require it for cooling generation equipment."

Looking ahead, Proton's Mr. Friedland said, "This week we begin
the next development and commercialization phase of our business, free
of the constraints we encountered during the past few years as part of
a struggling public company, and bolstered by the financial and other
support we are fortunate to be receiving from Tom Sullivan. It enables
us to continue to serve our customers, foster more cutting-edge R&D,
and retain and attract the people we need to capitalize on our many
exciting opportunities."

About Proton Energy Systems

Proton Energy Systems, Inc., designs and manufactures proton
exchange membrane (PEM) electrochemical systems to make hydrogen from
water in a zero pollution process, producing safe, pure, reliable
on-site hydrogen to meet today's global industrial, commercial,
defense and research requirements. For more information, please visit:
www.protonenergy.com.

Proton Energy Systems, Inc.
Mark Schiller, 203-678-2185
MSchiller@protonenergy.com

Copyright Business Wire 2008