Mantra Releases Fuel Cell Demonstration

NEW YORK, NEW YORK--(Marketwired - May 27, 2015) - Mantra Venture Group Ltd. (OTCQB:MVTG) and its subsidiary, Mantra Energy Alternatives, have announced the release of a video demonstrating their novel Mixed-Reactant Fuel Cell (MRFC). The video depicts the operation of a scooter, christened the Mantra Spark, powered entirely by the MFRC. The MRFC is an unconventional design that eliminates the expensive, failure-prone membrane required by existing fuel cells.

The video can be found through the following link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EsWQustTOs&feature=youtu.be

"As far as we know, this is the first time a vehicle has ever been powered by a mixed-reactant fuel cell system," said Larry Kristof, Mantra's CEO. "We are very excited to launch this demonstration and continue breaking ground in this field as we develop the technology."

The MRFC produces power from a mixture of fuel and oxidant, thereby eliminating the requirement for a membrane and simplifying the balance of the fuel cell system. This corresponds to a reduction in the size, weight and cost compared to conventional systems. Utilizing liquid fuels, the MRFC does not face the challenges associated with the storage and distribution of gaseous hydrogen.

"While the MRFC can produce power from many different fuels, the Spark is powered by formate salts," said Mantra's CTO SonaKazemi. "This fits well into Mantra's business, as our other technology, ERC, produces formates from waste carbon dioxide."

By utilizing formate salts, the Spark represents part of an energy storage cycle created by Mantra's two innovative electrochemical technologies. The ERC (Electro-Reduction of CO₂) technology uses electricity to convert carbon dioxide emissions, which are responsible for anthropogenic climate change, into a range of high value chemicals, including formate salts. In this way, clean electricity can be stored for future use in the MRFC, in applications including portable, stationary, and backup power.

"The Mantra research team has produced record power from formate fuels through their impressive development work," said Patrick Dodd, Mantra's VP of Corporate Development. "Drs. Forysinski, Kazemi, Nickchi, and Usgaocar, and the rest of the team, have done fantastic work."