| mPhase Technologies, Inc. today announced it has entered into an agreement with Lucent Technologies to develop nanotechnology-based power cell technology. Bell Labs, the R&D arm of Lucent Technologies, and the New Jersey Nanotech Consortium at Bell Labs, have developed prototypes of this technology, which may lead to superior battery shelf life and rapid activation times. In addition to meeting the demand for high-power, long-life battery capacity for electronic devices, other potential uses for the new "Smart Battery" may include emergency and reserve power applications. "This technology marks a fundamental paradigm shift in battery and power technology, which may enable all sorts of novel applications," said Dave Bishop, vice president of nanotechnology research at Lucent's Bell Labs and president of the New Jersey Nanotechnology Consortium. "Until now, battery technology has shown slow improvement rates of only 5-7% a year, but by using this new nanotech-based approach, we may be able to greatly accelerate the pace of battery innovation." Bell Labs scientists and engineers recently made a significant breakthrough in microfluidics that enables dynamic control of surfaces when interacting with a liquid - a key enabler for making "Smart Batteries" a reality. Fine control of liquids at the micro and macro scale will allow scientists to create batteries that can be activated upon demand. Nano-based batteries may have the potential for infinite shelf life and rapid power-up capability. In addition, batteries based on this technology may deliver a new and unique component for system design across many fields, including defense, industrial and consumer electronics. "mPhase is excited to be joining Bell Labs and the New Jersey Nanotechnology Consortium in bringing this innovative new technology to market," said Ronald A. Durando, CEO of mPhase Technologies. "Our sister company, Microphase Corporation, has been in the specialty component business since 1955, and this is a natural and exciting extension of the skills and markets mPhase and Microphase Corporation currently serve." This development also marks a significant broadening in mPhase's strategy of incorporating leading edge technology into its product portfolio. As part of the agreement, the companies will be co-developing potential applications for this nano-based "Smart Battery" technology. This new agreement also builds upon the two companies' pre-existing relationship, enabling mPhase to broaden its product offerings and to diversify into other strategic high-growth areas. mPhase and Lucent Technologies have also been engaged in a joint development project to improve the economics of delivering high quality video over copper wires with mPhase's TV+ Platform. The TV+ Platform was architected to take advantage of the advanced capabilities of Lucent's Stinger DSL Access Concentrator, and combined with mPhase's Set Top Boxes and Service Management System, can deliver cost effective-high quality television services over existing copper wires. |