ENER1 Shareholders Appoint Four New Directors to Board

NEW YORK, Dec. 17, 2010 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ENER1, Inc. (Nasdaq: HEV), a leading manufacturer of lithium-ion energy storage systems for transportation, utility grid and consumer electronics applications, today announced that its shareholders have approved the appointment of four new members to its board of directors.  The new directors are Nora Brownell, Wilber James, Greg Kasagawa and Stanislav Shekshnia.  The appointments were made yesterday during the company's annual shareholders meeting and are effective immediately.

"ENER1's board of directors has been instrumental in the continuing growth of our company," said ENER1 Chairman and CEO Charles Gassenheimer.  "These new directors each bring something unique to our board expanding our overall capabilities and effectiveness to progress as a leader in our industry.

"In Mr. Kasagawa, we now have the addition of one of our key strategic partners, ITOCHU, and in Ms. Brownell we have the expertise of a former commissioner of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).  We have additional strength in business development through Mr. James' appointment, plus deep knowledge of the energy and public utility sectors.  In Mr. Shekshnia, we have consummate expertise in corporate governance, entrepreneurship, leadership and business management in emerging markets."

"We're pleased and fortunate to have these new directors join our board, and we value their insight in helping us deliver leading lithium-ion battery solutions in all sectors of our industry."

ENER1's board consists of nine members.  In addition to the four new directors, the board also includes board Chairman Charles Gassenheimer, Kenneth Baker, Elliot Fuhr, Thomas Snyder and Boris Zingarevich.  The board's three committees are nomination and governance, audit and compensation.  

Background of the new directors:

Nora Brownell, age 63, is the founding partner of ESPY Energy Solutions, LLC.  She brings extensive public utility experience to the board having served as a commissioner of FERC, president of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners and commissioner of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission.  Ms. Brownell is also a member of the board of directors of Oncor, Inc., Comverge, Inc. and Spectra Energy Partners.  She also serves as an emeritus member of the GridWise Architecture Council and on the advisory board of Starwood Energy Fund.

Wilber James, age 65, is the managing partner of RockPort Capital Partners.  Having served as the chairman and CEO of Citizens Corporation, an independent energy company, and co- founded Citizens Lehman Power, which was the nation's first electricity trading and asset acquisition/restructuring company, he provides tremendous business development expertise in the energy sector.  He previously served as a member of the executive committee of Peabody Energy Corporation and currently serves on the board of directors of Peabody Energy Corporation and MicroSeismic, Inc.  He is also co-founder and a member of the advisory board of the Center for Regenerative Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, and co-founder and member of the Defense Venture Catalyst Initiative.

Greg Kasagawa, age 51, is currently the chief operating officer of the Aerospace and Industrial Systems Division of ITOCHU Corporation.  He has held various management positions, primarily in the aerospace and defense sector, within the company since joining in 1981.  Mr. Kasagawa will bring a wealth of expertise in new product development and marketing strategies in emerging markets to the ENER1 board.  He serves on the board of directors of Ishikawa Seisakusho, Ltd., as well as a member of the advisory committee for the Satellite Positioning Center of Japan.

Mr. Stanislav Shekshnia, Ph.D., age 46, is an affiliate professor of entrepreneurial leadership at INSEAD Business School.  Mr. Shekshnia was previously president and CEO of Millicom International Cellular, Russia and CIS; chief operating officer of VimpelCom; and CEO of Alfa-Telecom. He is currently an independent director of DTEK Holdings BV, and Naftna Industrija Srbije.  Mr. Shekshnia is author or co-author of seven books on the topics of corporate governance, entrepreneurship, leadership and business management in emerging markets.

About ENER1, Inc.

ENER1, Inc. is a publicly traded (Nasdaq: HEV) energy technology company that develops compact, lithium-ion-powered battery solutions for the transportation, utility grid storage and consumer markets.  Headquartered in New York City, the company has more than 700 employees with manufacturing locations in the United States and Korea.  ENER1 also develops commercial fuel cell products, nanotechnology-based materials and manufacturing processes.  In collaboration with strategic partner and electric vehicle manufacturer THINK, ENER1 also manufactures electric vehicle drivetrain products.

Safe Harbor Statement

Certain statements made in this press release constitute forward-looking statements that are based on management's expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions. Words such as "expects," "anticipates," "plans," "believes," "scheduled," "estimates" and variations of these words and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks and uncertainties, which are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual future results and trends may differ materially from what is forecast in forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release and the company does not undertake any obligation to update or publicly release any revisions to forward-looking statements to reflect events, circumstances or changes in expectations after the date of this press release.

SOURCE ENER1, Inc.