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9th
February 2009
ORBITAL AND SYGMA
ALTERNATIVE FUEL INITIATIVES - BRAZIL
PERTH AUSTRALIA:
Orbital Corporation Limited (ASX: OEC - "Orbital") and
Sygma Motors - Engenharia, Indústria E Comércio de
Motores Ltda of Brazil ("Sygma") are pleased to announce
that agreement has been reached on two significant engineering programs,
with Vale Solutions in Energy ("VSE") as the end customer.
Senior representatives of Orbital and Sygma,
including Directors of Sygma Group and Sygma Motors, and the Chief
Executive Officer of Orbital, have met for discussions regarding
joint business initiatives in Brazil. The discussions were supported
by the President of VSE, Sygma's exclusive partner for engine development.
Orbital's FlexDI™has been selected as
the most promising technology for a new family of high efficiency
heavy duty Flex Fuel engines currently being developed by Sygma
for VSE. The application will commence with an engine test and development
program supported by Orbital with a total value of $A1.6m; also
included in the scope is co-development of a spark ignited ethanol
combustion system to be used in a demonstration program, and targeted
for retrofit of existing diesel engine applications.
Applications include ethanol and CNG flex-fuelled
internal combustion engines; initially, but not limited to the 80
to 1500 hp power generation class in Brazil, and subsequently in
other markets and sectors. VSE intends to utilize these engines,
primarily in the resources sector, in support of a clean energy
strategy.
The companies will also cooperate on possible
flex-fuel OE and retrofit applications for transportation, either
with spark ignition FlexDITM or diesel pilot ignition, for Ethanol
and CNG fuelling of heavy duty engines, and for the light duty commercial
vehicle sector.
The Companies recognize the primary market
drivers for uptake of flex-fuel ethanol-CNG engines will include
environmental benefits for local air quality together with greenhouse
gas abatement, operational cost savings, and the market appeal of
clean energy solutions.
Terry Stinson, Orbital's Chief Executive Officer,
commented "Our new alliance with Sygma Motors is in line with
Orbital's strategy to expand into alternative fuels. We are very
pleased to continue our initiatives with Sygma Motors in Brazil.
Brazil is recognized as the leading country in the use of renewable
fuels and provides an excellent foundation for the expansion of
FlexDITM ethanol - CNG engine applications".
Sygma Motors co-founder and Managing Director,
Marcos Langeani, added "The Orbital FlexDI™ system provides
a series of potential solutions that we will be busy developing
in the months to come. We believe that we will be able to achieve
spark ignited operation with ethanol that matches or exceeds that
obtained with advanced high efficiency natural gas reciprocating
engines of equivalent size".
About Orbital
Orbital is an international developer of innovative technical solutions
for a cleaner world. Orbital provides innovation, design, product
development and operational improvement services to the world's
producers, suppliers, regulators and end users of engines and engine
management systems for application in motorcycles, marine and recreational
vehicles, automobiles and trucks. Orbital's principal operations
in Perth, Western Australia, provide a world class facility with
capabilities in design, manufacturing, development and testing of
engines and engine management systems. Headquartered in Perth, Western
Australia, Orbital stock is traded on the Australian Stock Exchange
(OEC) and the OTC Bulletin Board (OBTLY).
About Sygma Motors
Sygma Motors is a Brazilian, technology driven company formed in
November 2007, whose activities focus on development, research and
innovation in high speed engines for power generation, from 80 to
1500 horsepower. The Company's main goal is the development of an
Advanced Internal Combustion Engine Family with reduced environmental
footprint and capable of operating efficiently on green fuels, primarily
ethanol. Sygma Motors is a privately owned and limited company.
Its nine partners are Consultants and Engineers with extensive experience
in research, development and innovation markets.
About VSE
Vale Soluções em Energia (VSE) is a Brazilian company,
formed in December 2007, whose activities will focus primarily on
the use of new technological solutions, targeting the clean utilization
of coal, as well as renewable fuels including ethanol, biodiesel
and biogas, by means of environmentally sustainable processes. VSE
is a partnership between Vale, BNDES and Sygma Tecnologia. Vale
is a global mining company and a player in coal, and is Brazil's
largest energy consumer. BNDES is a fostering national bank that
has a portfolio of US$ 100 Billion in investments and holdings in
a large number of Brazilian companies, with an annual loan and financing
programme of US$ 45 Billion. Sygma is a technology driven company,
based in São José dos Campos, Brazil, specializing
in energy and aerospace technological development projects. VSE's
product portfolio consists of energy generation systems based on
a family of small gas/steam/ethanol turbines, an Advanced Internal
Combustion Engine family, and Coal/Biomass gasifiers, all under
development.
Forward Looking Statements
This release includes forward-looking statements that involve risks
and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements are based upon
management's expectations and beliefs concerning future events.
Forward-looking statements are necessarily subject to risks, uncertainties
and other factors, many of which are outside the control of the
Company, that could cause actual results to differ materially from
such statements. Actual results and events may differ significantly
from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result
of a number of factors including, but not limited to, those detailed
from time to time in the Company's Form 20-F filings with the US
Securities and Exchange Commission. Orbital makes no undertaking
to subsequently update or revise the forward-looking statements
made in this release to reflect events or circumstances after the
date of this release.
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