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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NANO-C LICENSES PATENTS TO ENABLE
FIRST COMMERCIAL COMBUSTION PRODUCTION OF CARBON NANOTUBES

Expanded License Allows Nano-C to Apply Cost-Saving Combustion Production Method to Additional Nano-Structured Carbon Materials

WESTWOOD, MA, April 7, 2004 -- Nano-C, Inc., the leader in manufacturing technologies used in the high-volume combustion synthesis and refining of fullerenes, today announced it has exclusively licensed patents from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology that enable it to produce a range of nanostructured carbon materials critical to companies developing nanotechnology applications.

The agreement enables Nano-C to apply its combustion synthesis method to produce carbon nanotubes for a fraction of current costs, as well as fullerenic black -- a material composed of curved lattice structures of incomplete fullerenes -- and other related carbon nanostructures. Until now, fullerenic black for commercial use was not available, and production of carbon nanotubes was significantly limited due to the high production costs of current synthesis and refining methods, making most development of commercial nanotechnology applications extremely difficult.

Nano-C’s combustion synthesis method, invented by Jack Howard, Nano-C founder and MIT Chemical Engineering Professor Emeritus, enables the scalable, cost-effective production of the nano-structured carbon materials required for applications such as: electronics and semiconductors; specialty and conductive polymers; antioxidants for pharmaceutical and personal care products; and high-efficiency solar cells and other organic photovoltaic devices.

“We tackled the challenge of driving down the cost of fullerenes first because the potential market was more defined and the demand for a highly scalable and low cost manufacturing method was clearly inhibiting commercialization,” said Howard. “As a result, the cost of fullerenes, which was thousands of dollars/lb when we started Nano-C, are projected to be priced at ~$200/lb as volumes increase. The addition of these licenses will allow us to apply the same scalability and cost-saving options to nanotubes and other carbon nano materials that researchers and businesses worldwide are relying on to bring their own commercial applications to market.”

Nano-C currently licenses a patent for a combustion synthesis method for fullerenes production, granted to Nano-C by MIT in 2001. Nano-C has licensed the combustion synthesis process in Japan to Mitsubishi Corporation and Mitsubishi Chemical, for use by their affiliate, Frontier Carbon, which has built and is operating a facility based on Nano-C’s process.

About Nano-C, Inc.
Nano-C, located in Westwood, Massachusetts, is the leader in manufacturing technologies used in the high-volume combustion synthesis and refining of fullerenes. Nano-C has designed and built a second-generation combustion synthesis reactor that incorporates features critical for scaling to the large production rates necessary for full commercialization. With increasingly efficient production advances, Nano-C technology speeds the discovery and adoption of fullerene and other nano material applications. For further information, please visit the Nano-C website at www.nano-c.com.