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Appendix E: Relevant News Articles (cont.) Copyright 2004 Star Tribune Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN) December 21, 2004, Tuesday, Metro Edition SECTION: BUSINESS; ON BUSINESS; Pg. 1D LENGTH: 889 words HEADLINE: Financing will power Elk River battery firm to '06 BYLINE: Neal St. Anthony; Staff Writer BODY: Cymbet Corp. will announce today that it has attracted $16.5 million in a second round of private- equityfinancing designed to take the Elk River-based company to large-scale commercial production of its "thin-film" technology for microscopic batteries by 2006. Cymbet makes batteries designed to work longer than the operating life of the medical devices, cellular phones, sensors and other technological gadgets that they may eventually power. "The technology works," said Bill Priesmeyer, chief executive of the 20-person, development-stage company. "The challenge has been transferring the technology into high-volume manufacturing. We have proprietary technology and a unique process to produce simple and competitive thin-film batteries that have immediate applications and cost savings." Investors believe the company is well down the road. The second round of financing for four-year-old Cymbet is one of the largest single boatloads of venture capital awarded to a Minnesota company this year. Cymbet founder Mark Jenson, a onetime Honeywell engineer, and his team have worked for several years to convert battery technology licensed from the federal government into what Cymbet calls its patented "Power Fab" manufacturing process. That's designed to permit cost-effective production of tiny, flexible and energy-efficient batteries that can be built into a semiconductor and remain charged for life. "Cymbet's batteries can be designed directly into integrated circuits or the electronics they power," said Vittal Kini, a research director at semiconductor maker Intel, one of the investors. "This innovation can drive down system costs while giving the system designer more design flexibility." Nearly $6 million of the $16.5 million in funding was raised from affluent individuals by Miller Johnson Steichen Kinnard. Dick Nigon, MJSK's head of corporate finance, has a long relationship with Priesmeyer. Nigon was a longtime audit-team leader and partner with Ernst & Young, and Priesmeyer was chief financial officer of Jostens Inc., a client. "I read Cymbet's plan in 2003, saw Bill's name on it, we started talking, and more than a year later we got this second round done," Nigon said. "We are very pleased to be among the astute crowd that has