A 'Revolution in Range' for EV Vehicles

Detroit, MI - January 4,1999 - One month after General Motors Corporation (GM) introduced the 1999 model EV-1 electric car with GM Ovonic nickel metal hydride (NiMH) batteries in Los Angeles, Calif., Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (ECD) (Nasdaq: ENER) continues to receive high praise from EV-1 owners and test drivers who are amazed by the vehicle's driving range on a single charge.

Consider the following customer testimonials:

* An EV enthusiast, who had been driving an early EV-1 with lead acid batteries, completed a 78-mile trip from the Hollywood Hills to Northern Malibu and back, and had 44 miles range remaining. Calling the 1999 EV-1 "absolutely amazing," he said the trip "would have been impossible with the lead acid EV."

* A customer who drove from Phoenix to Tucson, Arizona at normal highway speeds, a distance of 115 miles, had 30 miles range remaining, calling the 1999 EV-1 a "revolution in range."

* "The 1999 EV-1 with NiMH batteries is nothing short of phenomenal! Superlatives fail me."

The GM 1999 EV-1 utilizes a high-performance, longer-lasting GM Ovonic NiMH Generation I battery which stores twice the energy of a lead acid battery for the same weight and volume. It also utilizes a second-generation electric propulsion design that reduces cost and complexity while improving performance and reliability. Typical of consumer electronic devices, such as personal computers and cell phones, technology advances and increasing sales volumes result in lower costs. The second-generation electric drive system has one- third fewer parts than the first generation at approximately one-half the cost.

The proprietary Ovonic NiMH batteries are produced by GM Ovonic, L.L.C. (GM Ovonic), a joint venture between GM and Ovonic Battery Company, Inc. (Ovonic Battery), a subsidiary of ECD. With NiMH cell production in Troy, Mich., and final module and battery pack assembly at Ovonic Power Systems, Inc. in Kettering, Ohio, a wholly-owned subsidiary of GM Ovonic, initial battery production started at one battery pack per day (one car) and will increase through the year.

Ovonic Battery is preparing to introduce its Generation II design for the NiMH battery later this year. This advanced design with its lower cost will further help to make electric vehicles cost competitive with conventional gasoline-powered vehicles. Ovonic Battery's business plan calls for significant increases in energy and power with each next-generation NiMH battery, while at the same time reducing cost. ECD is firmly committed and is on track to meet the auto industry's battery cost goal of $150 per kilowatt hour established to assure the cost competitiveness of electric vehicles.

ECD is a leader in the synthesis of new materials and the development of advanced production technology and innovative products. It has pioneered and developed enabling technologies leading to new products and production processes based on amorphous, disordered and related materials, with an emphasis on alternative energy and advanced information technologies. ECD's web site address is http://www.ovonic.com.

This release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Safe Harbor Provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are based on assumptions which ECD, as the date of this release, believes to be reasonable and appropriate. ECD cautions, however, that the actual facts and conditions that may exist in the future could vary materially from the assumed facts and conditions upon which such forward-looking statements are based.