| 1.     |       | I have reviewed this Quarterly Report on      Form 10-Q of Mechanical Technology, Incorporated;                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         |
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| 2.     |                                | Based on my knowledge, this report does      not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a      material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the      circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with      respect to the period covered by this report;                                          |
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| 3.     |                                | Based on my knowledge, the financial      statements, and other financial information included in this report,      fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results      of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods      presented in this report;                                                             |
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| 4.     |                                | The registrant’s other certifying      officer and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure      controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and      15(d)-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in      Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15(d)-15(f)) for the registrant and      have: |
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|   |                                | a)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      |       | Designed such disclosure controls and      procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be      designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information      relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is      made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the      period in which this report is being prepared; |
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|   |                                | b)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      |  | Designed such internal control over      financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial      reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable      assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the      preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance      with generally accepted accounting principles; |
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|   |                                | c)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      |  | Evaluated the effectiveness of the      registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this      report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls      and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based      on such evaluation; and |
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|   |                                | d)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      |  | Disclosed in this report any change in      the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred      during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant’s      fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially      affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s      internal control over financial reporting; and |
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| 5.     |                                | The      registrant’s other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our      most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to      the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of registrant’s board of      directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):                                       |
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|        |                                | (a)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     |  | All      significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or      operation of internal control over financial reporting which are      reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record,      process, summarize and report financial information; and |
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|        |                                | (b)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     |  | Any      fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other      employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control      over financial reporting. |
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| August 13, 2010 | /S/ PENG K.    LIM            |
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|            | Peng K. Lim                   |
|            | Chief Executive Officer       |
|            | (Principal Executive Officer) |

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