RENO, NV – March 10, 2009 – Altair Nanotechnologies Inc. (Altairnano) (Nasdaq: ALTI), a leading provider of energy storage systems for clean, efficient power and energy management, announced today the company is pursuing federal funds associated with the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which includes $4.5 billion for the modernization of the nation's electricity grid.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act includes an Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability program designed to accelerate the modernization of the nation's electricity grid. The program will provide up to $4.5 billion in funds to support the development, demonstration and deployment of energy reliability activities, including demand responsive equipment, enhance security and reliability of the energy infrastructure, and energy storage research.

The legislation provides electric utility companies financial assistance for use in paying up to 50 percent of the cost for qualifying advanced grid technology investments, including demonstrations and equipment purchases of utility-scale energy storage.  Altairnano is seeking to partner with utility companies and jointly pursue funding opportunities that may accelerate activities associated with the modernization of the electricity grid.

"We believe this is important legislation for advancing the critical role clean energy storage solutions will have in helping create more efficient, resilient, and reliable electricity grids and for enabling the integration of grid-ready photo-voltaic generation," said Terry Copeland, president and CEO, Altairnano. "Altairnano is evaluating all appropriate fund opportunities that accelerate the adoption of energy storage systems for clean, efficient power and energy management."

In the U.S. each year, an estimated one billion tons of coal and 6.9 trillion cubic feet of natural gas are consumed by traditional power generation operations. Of this amount, nearly 10 million tons of coal and 18 billion cubic feet of natural gas are used to effectively manage the stability of our nation's electricity grid – a process that produces more than 39 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

"The use of clean energy storage systems, such as Altairnano's, could reduce the traditional carbon-based generation required for managing grid stability and frequency regulation by 86 percent," added Copeland.

Altairnano's advanced energy storage systems are designed to respond within milliseconds to rapid and sudden fluctuations in electricity generation and demand by releasing or absorbing power from the electricity grid. Current methods for managing grid stability, also called frequency regulation, require ramping-up or ramping-down production of conventional generation resources, including coal and natural gas facilities. 

Altairnano is also supporting efforts by the National Alliance of Advanced Transportation Batteries (NAATB), a recently formed coalition promoting the domestic production of li-ion batteries, to pursue $2 billion in funds associated with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for the manufacturing of advanced batteries for next-generation hybrid and plug-in electric vehicle applications. Altairnano is a member of the coalition's executive committee.

It is anticipated the Department of Energy will announce details associated with the fund application process in the coming months.

 About Altair Nanotechnologies Inc.

Headquartered in Reno, Nevada with manufacturing in Anderson, Indiana, Altairnano is a leader in the creation and delivery of advanced materials and energy storage products. Going beyond lithium ion, Altairnano's Lithium-Titanate based battery products are among the highest performing and most scalable, with applications that include battery cells for military artillery, battery packs for hybrid vehicles and energy storage systems for large-scale stationary power services. For more information please visit Altairnano at www.altairnano.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 the company'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 risks that development of the advanced lithium ion-based batteries and related products described herein will not be completed for technical, political, strategic or other reasons; that any products developed will not perform as expected in future testing or real-world applications; and that even if full commercialization occurs, product sales may be limited and costs associated with production may exceed revenues. In addition, other risks are identified in the company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q, as filed with the SEC. Such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this release. The company expressly disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements found herein to reflect any changes in company expectations or results or any change in events.

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