Altair Nanotechnologies Inc. (Altairnano) (NASDAQ: ALTI) today announced it has signed a contract with the Hawai'i Natural Energy Institute (HNEI) of the University of Hawai'i at Manoa to supply a one-megawatt ALTI-ESS energy storage system for a test of solar energy integration. Under the contract, Altairnano will provide the ALTI-ESS battery-based power management system to be tested on Hawaiian Electric's electric system to smooth the voltage and load profile with the aid of dynamic voltage controls and fast charge/discharge abilities.

"Altairnano technology was selected for this project based on its long cycle life and very rapid charge and discharge capabilities," said Dr. Rick Rocheleau, UH-HNEI Director. "These characteristics are expected to help meet the integration challenges of high-penetration solar energy sources."

The project is designed to test the performance characteristics of the battery and to demonstrate the effectiveness of battery storage technology to further the integration of solar energy into Hawaiian Electric's electric system. The test is expected to demonstrate solutions to integrate higher levels of renewable energy onto the grid, improve capacity utilization, and maintain grid performance and reliability while reducing the state's dependency on fossil-fuel power generation.

"This project will show the value of our technology to meet the performance requirements for fast energy storage needed for solar integration, and we look forward to working with our customers to provide Hawaiian Electric Company with the means to increase their use of renewable energy sources," said Terry Copeland, Altairnano president and CEO.

Hawaiian Electric Company plans to install the energy storage system at one of its electrical substations in central Oahu in early 2012. This substation is experiencing a rapid increase in residential and commercial solar installations.

"We look forward to pursuing this opportunity with UH-HNEI and Altairnano," said Darren Ishimura, Hawaiian Electric Company's Director of Distributed Technology Applications. "Hawaiian Electric continues to aggressively explore solutions to support higher-penetration of clean energy resources into our grid in a reliable and cost-effective manner."

The Office of Naval Research is providing funding for the project through a grant to the University of Hawai'i. Projects that support the Department of Navy's energy programs to demonstrate technologies that enable increased implementation of alternative energy sources and promote energy security are made possible by the efforts of Senator Inouye, Senate Appropriations Chairman to ensure that the Department of Defense has adequate resources to make these critical, cutting-edge investments in energy technology.

U.S. Government Disclaimer

The views and conclusions in this release are not to be interpreted as representing the opinions or policies of the U.S. government or of any other parties involved in this project. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute an endorsement by the U.S. government.

About Altairnano, Inc.

Headquartered in Reno, Nev. with manufacturing in Anderson, Ind., Altairnano is a leading provider of energy storage systems for clean, efficient power and energy management. Altairnano's lithium-titanate based battery systems are among the highest performing and most scalable, with applications that include complete energy storage systems for use in providing frequency regulation and renewables integration for the electric grid, battery modules and cells for transportation applications, and battery packs for several different military applications. For more information, please visit www.altairnano.com.

About The Hawai'i Natural Energy Institute

The Hawai'i Natural Energy Institute (HNEI) is a research unit in the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST) of the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa. HNEI began operations in 1974 and was formally established in statute by the Hawai'i State Legislature in 2006 under Act 235 with a mandate that includes development of renewable sources of energy for power generation and transportation, and to demonstrate and deploy efficient energy end-use technologies including those that address peak electric demand issues for Hawaii's electrical power grids. HNEI coordinates its work closely with the State Energy Resources Coordinator in support of the Hawai'i Clean Energy Initiative (HCEI). Current research includes the areas of hydrogen and fuel cells, ocean resources and energy systems, fuels and high value products derived from locally-produced biomass and engineered microbial systems, photovoltaics, and batteries and electric vehicles. HNEI also conducts research and manages public-private partnership projects funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and the Office of Naval Research to identify, model, and validate technology solutions that enable increased penetration of renewable energy onto the electrical grids of the different Hawai'i islands thus helping to reduce fossil fuel importation and increase Hawaii's energy security.

About Hawaiian Electric Company (Hawaiian Electric)

Hawaiian Electric Company and its subsidiaries, Maui Electric Company and Hawaii Electric Light Company, serve more than 400,000 customers on the islands of Oahu, Hawaii, Maui, Lanai and Molokai, home to 95% of the state of Hawaii's population. Hawaiian Electric Company is a subsidiary of Hawaiian Electric Industries (NYSE: HE). For more information, visit www.heco.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release may contain forward-looking statements as well as historical information. Forward-looking statements, which are included in accordance with the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, may involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause Altairnano's actual results and performance in future periods to be materially different from any future results or performance suggested by the forward-looking statements in this release. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, the risk that HNEI will be unable to integrate Altairnano batteries in Hawaiian Electric's electric system to produce anticipated smoothing of voltage and load profile and the risk that Altairnano batteries will not exhibit expected cycle life or charge/discharge characteristics or otherwise exhibit the characteristics necessary to facilitate the integration of solar energy into the electrical grid. In addition, other risks are identified in Altairnano's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC. Such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this release. Altairnano expressly disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements found herein to reflect any changes in Altairnano expectations or results or any change in events.

MEDIA CONTACTS: Altairnano, Inc. Casey Stegman Investor Relations Stonegate Securities, Inc. 972-850-2001 casey@stonegateinc.com Erin Witt Marketing Consultant 317-509-5968 ewitt@altairnano.com Hawaiian Electric Company (Hawaiian Electric) Darren Pai Senior Communications Consultant 808-543-7753 darren.pai@heco.com Hawai'i Natural Energy Institute (HNEI) Larry Cutshaw DoD Technical Program Manager (808) 967-7787 lcutshaw@hawaii.edu

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