EXHIBIT 10(v)

                        RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT


     THIS AGREEMENT made this 1st day of July, 2001 between Trimol Group,  Inc.,
a Delaware corporation having its principal office located at 1285 Avenue of the
Americas, 35th Floor, New York, New York ("Trimol"),  and Aluminum-Power Inc., a
corporation  incorporated under the laws of the Province of Ontario, Canada, and
having a principal  office  located at 87  Scollard  Street,  Toronto,  Ontario,
Canada M5R 1G4 ("Aluminum-Power").  Aluminum-Power and Trimol shall sometimes be
referred to herein as the  "Parties." All  capitalized  terms not defined herein
shall have the meaning  given to them in the  Technology  Acquisition  Agreement
dated  January  11,  2001  between  the  Parties  (the  "Technology  Acquisition
Agreement") and the License Agreement dated January 11, 2001 between the Parties
(the "License Agreement").

     WHEREAS,  Aluminum-Power has developed certain  technologies  pertaining to
aluminum-air fuel cell technology;

     WHEREAS,  Aluminum-Power and Trimol entered into the Technology Acquisition
Agreement,  whereby Trimol acquired  certain  aluminum-air  fuel cell technology
developed by Aluminum-Power;

     WHEREAS,  Aluminum-Power  and Trimol  entered  into the License  Agreement,
whereby  Trimol  licensed  certain  rights  from  Aluminum-Power  related to the
aluminum-air fuel cell technology  developed by Aluminum-Power (the aluminum-air
fuel cell technology that is the subject of the Technology Acquisition Agreement
and the License  Agreement shall  collectively be referred to hereinafter as the
"Technology Assets");

     WHEREAS,  the  Parties  recognize  that the  Technology  Assets  and  other
technology owned and/or licensed by Aluminum-Power ("Aluminum-Power Technology")
are the subject of continuing research and development ("R & D");

     WHEREAS, the Parties believe it would be in their best interests to conduct
such R&D jointly, where appropriate;

     WHEREAS, Aluminum-Power and Trimol desire to enter into an R&D cost sharing
arrangement  whereby  each will bear a portion of the cost of such R&D and other
expenses  associated with the continuing  development of said Technology  Assets
and  Aluminum-Power   Technology   (collectively,   the  Technology  Assets  and
Aluminum-Power Technology shall be referred to herein as "Technology").

     NOW,  THEREFORE,  in  consideration  of the mutual  promises and  covenants
contained herein, the Parties agree as follows:

1.  Premises,  Facilities,   Equipment  and  Human  Resources.  Subject  to  the
provisions contained herein,  Aluminum-Power hereby agrees to provide Trimol, in
connection with the development of its Technology Assets, with:

<PAGE>

     1)   unlimited access to Aluminum-Power's R&D center and facility presently
          located at 907 Alness Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M3J 2S1 ("R&D
          Center");

     2)   unlimited use of all equipment located in the R&D Center; and

     3)   unlimited use of all employees located therein.

2. Approved Budgets.  Trimol hereby agrees to share  proportionately,  all costs
and expenses associated with  Aluminum-Power's  R&D and marketing efforts of the
Technology  as set forth in: (a)  budgets;  (b) the budget for  Aluminum-Power's
overhead, including, but not limited to, employee expenses and salaries; and (c)
any budgets  hereinafter  prepared  relating to the development and marketing of
the  Technology,  all as amended  from time to time  (collectively,  all budgets
referred to in subsection  (a)-(c) are hereinafter  referred to as the "Approved
Budgets"). The Approved Budgets shall be prepared by Aluminum-Power and shall be
subject to approval by Trimol.

     On the fifth business day of each month,  Aluminum-Power  agrees to provide
Trimol  with an  expense  schedule  and  invoices  from the  previous  month for
expenses  incurred  in  connection  with the  research  and  development  of the
Technology Assets.

     Aluminum-Power hereby acknowledges that for five (5) years, Trimol will not
be  obligated  to pay any  amount  to  Aluminum-Power  in  connection  with this
Agreement,  except  for an  amount  equal to 1.2% of the fixed  expenses  of the
Approved Budget on a monthly basis.  However,  any amount not paid in accordance
with this  Section 2 shall be  accrued  during  the term of this  Agreement  and
payable upon the fifth  anniversary of the date of this Agreement.  Such accrued
expenses  will bear  interest  at 2% per  annum.  At any time prior to the fifth
anniversary date of this Agreement,  Trimol may, in its sole discretion,  pay to
Aluminum-Power any or all of the portion of accrued expenses incurred as of that
date.

3. Rights to Developed  Property.  Parties hereby agree that any and all further
Improvements (as this term is defined in the Technology  Acquisition  Agreement)
to:

     a) any  technology  not  specifically  conveyed  to Trimol by virtue of the
Technology  Acquisition  Agreement or licensed to Trimol pursuant to the License
Agreement shall be the sole property of Aluminum-Power;

     b) the  Aluminum-Power  Technology  which  is the  subject  of the  License
Agreement  evidenced  by  United  States  Patent  and  Trademark  Office  Patent
Application Number: 09/522,930,  filed on March 10, 2000, titled,  "Ecologically
Clean Mechanically  Rechargeable  Air-Metal Current Source," and Canadian Patent
Application Number: 2,301,470,  filed on December 7, 2000, shall be incorporated
into the License Agreement where appropriate;

     c) the  Technology  Assets  evidenced by United States Patent and Trademark
Office Patent Application Number:  09/522,930,  filed on March 10, 2000, titled,
"Ecologically  Clean  Mechanically  Rechargeable  Air-Metal Current Source," and


                                      2
<PAGE>

Canadian Patent Application Number: 2,301,470,  filed on December 7, 2000, shall
be the sole property of Trimol; and

     d) the DC/DC Converter,  which was designed and developed by Aluminum-Power
and conveyed to Trimol pursuant to the Technology Acquisition  Agreement,  shall
be shared equally between the Parties.

     For the purposes of this Agreement "Technology Assets" shall mean:

     (a) an exclusive  worldwide  license to make,  use and sell a  mechanically
rechargeable  metal-air battery solely for use with consumer portable electronic
devices,   evidenced  by  United  States  Patent  and  Trademark  Office  Patent
Application Number: 09/522,930,  filed on March 10, 2000, titled,  "Ecologically
Clean Mechanically  Rechargeable  Air-Metal Current Source," and Canadian Patent
Application Number: 2,301,470, filed on December 7, 2000, that will allow for an
instantaneous mechanical rechargeable battery requiring no external power source
for recharging;

     (b) all  rights  and title to  certain  technology  relating  to  metal-air
batteries and fuel cells, evidenced by United States Patent and Trademark Office
Patent Application Reference No.  PNK/M275689/IAROCHENKO,  filed on December 19,
2000, and Internal  Reference Patent  Application  #1167 filed with the Canadian
Intellectual  Property  Office on February 7, 2000,  and  titled,  "A  Metal-Air
Battery Having In-Situ Generatable  Electrolyte," suitable for consumer portable
electronic  devices,  including two-way radios,  wireless  telephones,  portable
audio and video players, video cameras and personal computers; and

     (c) the design and know-how to a DC/DC Converter  designed and developed by
Aluminum-Power  to be used as part of a full battery  assembly which will enable
the  conversion  of cell  voltage of  virtually  any  aluminum-metal-air-cathode
battery to the  voltage  required  by  different  consumer  portable  electronic
devices.

4. Term. The initial term of this  Agreement  shall commence as of the Effective
Date and  continue  for a period of five (5)  consecutive  years  (the  "Initial
Term"). Thereafter,  this Agreement shall automatically continue for consecutive
renewal  terms of one (1) years (each a "Renewal  Term") unless and until either
party provides  written notice of termination to the other party at least ninety
(90) days prior to the expiration of the Initial Term or any subsequent  Renewal
Term.

5. Exclusivity.  This Agreement shall not be exclusive between the Parties,  and
each party may  consult,  contract  or use the  services  of any third  party to
develop the Technology Assets during the term of this Agreement.

6. Survival of Representations.  The representations and agreements contained in
this Agreement shall survive the termination of this Agreement.


                                       3
<PAGE>

7. Entire  Agreement.  This Agreement  constitutes  the entire  agreement of the
parties  respecting  the  sharing  of costs  associated  with the  research  and
development of the Technology Assets.

8. No Waiver.  The  failure to enforce any  provision  of this  Agreement  or to
require at any time performance by any party of any provision hereof shall in no
way be construed  to be a waiver of such  provision or to affect the validity of
this  Agreement,  or any part hereof,  or the right of any party  thereafter  to
enforce each and every provision in accordance with the terms of this Agreement.

9. Binding  Effect.  The provisions of this Agreement  shall be binding upon the
parties hereto and their respective heirs, legal representatives, successors and
assigns. Nothing herein shall permit a party to assign or otherwise transfer its
rights herein.

10. Notices. Any notice required to be given pursuant to this Agreement shall be
in  writing  and shall be deemed to have been given  when  delivered  or mailed,
certified  mail,  return receipt  requested,  or sent via  recognized  overnight
carrier (with delivery of receipt  required) to the parties at their  respective
addresses set forth herein, or as otherwise  notified.  For purposes hereof, the
parties' addresses are as follows:

         If to Trimol:              Trimol Group, Inc.
                                    1285 Avenue of the Americas, 35th Floor
                                    New York, New York, 10019
                                    Attn:    Alexander Gordin

         with copy to:              Spitzer & Feldman P.C.
                                    405 Park Avenue, 6th Floor
                                    New York, NY  10022
                                    Attention: Steven Sanders, Esq.

         If to Aluminum-Power:      Aluminum-Power Inc.
                                    87 Scollard Street
                                    Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5R 1G4
                                    Attention:  Vijay Sharma

         with a copy to:            Barry Speigel, LL.M., Q.C.
                                    390 Bay Street, Suite 1202
                                    Toronto, Ontario M5H 2Y2
                                    Canada

11.  Confidentiality.  Parties hereby agree to treat as secret and  confidential
any information disclosed pursuant to the joint effort to research,  develop and
market the Technology and to use each party's respective best efforts to prevent
the disclosure of this information to persons outside the employ of the Parties,
provided, however, the covenants contained in this Section 11 shall not apply to
any information which:

                                       4
<PAGE>

     a) was  readily  available  to the  general  public at the time of  receipt
thereof from the other;

     b)  subsequently  becomes known to the general  public  through no fault or
omission on the part of the party receiving such information; or

     c) or is required to be disclosed by applicable law.

12. Severability. The invalidity or unenforceability of any particular provision
of this  Agreement  shall not  affect  the  other  provisions  hereof,  and this
Agreement  shall  be  construed  in all  respects  as  though  such  invalid  or
unenforceable provision or provisions were omitted.

13.  Governing  Law.  This  Agreement  shall be governed by and  interpreted  in
accordance with the laws of the State of New York.

14. Modification.  This Agreement may be changed only by an agreement in writing
signed by all the parties hereto.

15. Counterparts and Facsimile  Signatures.  This Agreement may be signed in two
or more  counterparts  each of  which  shall  be an  original  and all of  which
together shall be deemed one and the same agreement.  Facsimile signatures shall
be valid for all purposes hereunder as if they were original signatures.

16. Good Faith;  Further Assurances;  Further  Cooperation.  The parties to this
Agreement shall in good faith undertake to perform their respective  obligations
under this  Agreement,  to satisfy all conditions and to cause the  transactions
contemplated by this Agreement to be carried out promptly in accordance with the
terms of this  Agreement.  Upon the execution of this Agreement and  thereafter,
the parties  shall do such things as may be  reasonably  requested  by the other
parties  hereto  in  order  more  effectively  to  consummate  or  document  the
transactions contemplated by this Agreement.

     IN WITNESS  WHEREOF,  the parties have caused this Agreement to be executed
as of the date first above written.

TRIMOL GROUP, INC.                                   ALUMINUM-POWER INC.

         /s/ Alexander M. Gordin                              /s/ Vijay Sharma
------------------------------------                 ---------------------------
Name:    Alexander Gordin                            Name:    Vijay Sharma
Title:   President                                            Title:   President


                                       5