CargoLifter sells first CL 75 AC

BERLIN (PROTEXT/ots) - Option to buy 25 more CL 75 AC / HeavyLift Canada will use the logistics company's transportationballoon on Canadian and Alaskan ice roads and Tundra.

CargoLifter AG sold the first CL 75 AC transportationballoon. Under the agreement, Heavy Lift Canada, Inc.,headquartered in Calgary/Alberta will receive this new means oftransport based on "Lighter-than-Air" technology in December 2002and deploy it in full commercial operation for the transport ofoilfield equipment over ice roads in Canada's Arctic and Alaska.The sales contract will first of all cover one transportationballoon with a diameter of 61-meters. Heavy Lift Canada has alsosecured the option to purchase 25 further CL 75 AC for 10 MillionUS Dollars each. "With its capabilities, the CL 75 AC enablesdrilling companies to extend the current season for oil andnatural gas exploration in remote Northern areas," said KarlBangert, member of the CargoLifter AG Management Board."CargoLifter has analyzed this market for over a year - and itoffers a huge amount of potential. However, such projects arefeasible in other regions of the world with similarinfrastructure conditions."

CargoLifter AG will buy a 20 per cent stake of Heavy LiftCanada, Inc., in order to profit from the operations of the"Lighter-than-Air" systems as well. Heavy Lift Canada will deploythe CL 75 AC primarily in the Mackenzie River Delta in northernCanada. The ice roads can only be used by heavy transportvehicles for a few months in the year: Loaded heavy transporttrucks are only permitted to use the ice roads with an ice-thickness of over 1.2 meters. The CL 75 AC will extend thedrilling season considerably: As the load will be suspended inthe air and towed by specialized ground vehicles to itsdestination, the impact on the terrain will be reducedconsiderably. "This gives the system's users a big advantage,especially in the time of global warming. The drilling season isapproximately 90 days, and the CL 75 AC will considerably extendthis season. The drilling companies can set up their equipmentwhile being less constrained by external conditions", said JohnAngus, CEO of Heavy Lift Canada, Inc.

CargoLifter AG, based in Berlin, is developing a 260-meter-long and 65-meter-wide airship for the transport of oversized andheavy goods weighing up to 160 metric tons - the CargoLifter CL160. This "flying crane" will be able to carry out expensiveheavy transports faster, more simply and more cost efficiently -without ever touching the ground and almost entirely independentfrom the local infrastructure. Already, before the CL 160 iscompleted, the logistics company's second product line will go onthe market: the CL 75 AC transportation balloon, which has adiameter of 61 meters and is able to transport up to 75 tons. Todevelop the airship in a market-oriented way, CargoLifter isalready today cooperating with various industrial companieswithin the framework of its Lead-User concept. Since May 2000,the company's shares have been listed on the Frankfurt StockExchange(WKN 540 261, symbol: CLA). Since December 2000 it hasbeen in the MDAX index.

Currently, the CargoLifter company employs 502 people, about284 of whom are working on airship development at the dock inBriesen-Brand, near Berlin in the state of Brandenburg. At themoment, Brand is the company's pivotal location. At the end of2000 the production hangar for the CL 160 was completed. 107meters high, 210 meters wide and 360 meters long, it is theworld's largest free-standing hangar. CargoLifter has built theCargoLifter World theme park, allowing the interested public tofollow the company's development live. Since its opening inSpring 2000, it has seen more than 330,000 paying visitors.

For further questions, please contact: Silke Rösser CargoLifter AG Potsdamer Platz 10 10785 Berlin, Germany Phone.: +49 (0)30 59003-2124 Fax: +49 (0)35477 6500-2124 E-Mail: silke.roesser@cargolifter.com Marion Jüstel Publicis Public Relations Chausseestraße 8 10115 Berlin, Germany Phone.: +49 (0)30 820 82-509 Fax: +49 (0)30 820 82-111

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