Shares of Mechanical Technology and Medis Technology Purchased
I purchased shares of Mechanical Technology Inc (MKTY) and Medis Technologies Ltd. (MDTL) this morning for the mutual fund and also my personal portfolio. Both of these companies are working on the miniaturization of liquid fuel cells so that they can power portable electronic equipment like cell phones and laptop computers. Both companies have also secured contracts from the military to research portable fuel cells for military applications. Both companies announced earnings recently and still show no signs of becoming profitable in the near future. However, they have both made progress on trimming their losses. I feel that...
Millennium Cell Demonstrates Technology at Intel Developer Forum Fall 2004
Millennium Cell Inc (MCEL) announced that it is demonstrating a prototype hydrogen fuel cell system to power a notebook PC at the Intel Developer Forum from September 7th through September 9th at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco. The system is on display in the Intel Pavilion in the technical showcase. The system consists of a disposable Millennium Cell Hydrogen on Demand(TM) ("HOD(TM)") fuel system combined with a hydrogen fuel cell. In this initial demonstration, the battery pack has been removed from a Dell C400 notebook PC and the computer is directly powered by the HOD...
Ballard Powers First Ford Production Fuel Cell-Powered Focus
Ballard Power (BLDP) to Power More Than 50 percent of Announced Demonstration Fleets Under U.S. Hydrogen Economy Initiative. The first production vehicles powered with Ballard® fuel cells and built by Ford Motor Company for customer use under the U.S. Department of Energy demonstration program were unveiled in Detroit today. Ballard Power Systems together with its Alliance partners, DaimlerChrysler and Ford, continue to lead the industry in fuel cell development, as they place the largest fleet of fuel cell vehicles in the hands of customers, further advancing the path to commercialization. Nearly half of the Department of Energy's announced...
Vectrix Fuel Cell Scooter Debut
Vectrix debut their fuel-cell-equipped prototype at the Fuel Cell Seminar in Miami Beach, Fla. in November of this year. They plan to bring this new scooter to market by 2006. Vectrix is 50% owned by Parker Hannifin Corp (PH). Hannifin provides the compressor that is twice as efficient and twice as durable as competing technologies. Parker Hannifin engineers say that it could serve as a cathode air compressor or as a hydrogen recirculation pump on all kinds of fuel cells, both in vehicles and stationary power applications. They are also utilizing battery technology...
Peugeot’s Quark fuel-cell four-wheeler for the road
Peugeot has unveiled a futuristic prototype open air, two-seater, four-wheel drive vehicle designed to showcase its fuel cell technology. The Quark comes with some interesting technologies most notably a removable interactive interface, which looks to be a PDA on steroids. The unit serves the same purpose as an ignition key and is used in conjunction with an instrument panel. Positioned in its housing, it provides information concerning the traction system and the fuel cell, vehicle speed, satellite navigation, etc... Protected by a small transparent and waterproof cover, it allows the vehicle to be started when in place and immobilises...
First Chevron Hydrogen Energy Station Unveiled
ChevronTexaco Technology Ventures LLC (CTTV), a subsidiary of ChevronTexaco Corp. (CVX), unveiled its first Chevron Hydrogen energy station today at the Hyundai-Kia America Technical Center in California. ChevronTexaco is working with United Technologies Corporation (UTX) UTC Fuel Cells' equipped demonstration vehicles. At today's grand opening ceremony, racing legend Mario Andretti drove a Hyundai Tucson, equipped with a UTC Fuel Cells' 80-kilowatt, all-weather proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell power plant, to the new hydrogen fueling dispenser.
Hydrogenics Signs Agreement with Hitachi Zosen to Collaborate on Fuel Cell Technology
Hydrogenics Corp (HYGS) announced that is has signed an agreement with Japan's Hitachi Zosen Corporation (Hitz) to develop hydrogen fuel cell-based power products. The agreement will see Hydrogenics combine its expertise in hydrogen fuel cell power systems with Hitz' power technology and experience with Japanese power markets. The collaboration between Hitz and Hydrogenics will focus on stationary power applications, but will also investigate markets for transportation and hydrogen generation.
Introduction to Fuel Cell Technologies
Fuel cell technology is vital to building the hydrogen economy. Fuel cells combine hydrogen and oxygen into water, while generating a current and some heat energy. Thus, they are used to retrieve stored energy from hydrogen as electricity in large-scale stationary applications, and convert hydrogen fuel to power in automobiles.
This article introduces a series on fuel cell technologies which will explore the various technologies, the efforts and challenges to improving them, and their prospects for wide-spread adoption.
There are a range of fuel cell technologies. The two most prominent are alkaline fuel cells (ALKFC) and proton exchange membrane fuel cells...
Honda to Launch New Fuel Cell Car in N. America Late 2004
Japan's Honda Motor Co. said Thursday it will start sales of a fuel cell vehicle equipped with a cell stack capable of operating at subzero temperatures in North America in the second half of this year. The Honda fuel cells utilize the Ballard Power (BLDP) fuel cell stacks for their fuel cell equipped vehicles.
Pacific Fuel Cell Corp. Announces Acquisition of Intellectual Property
Pacific Fuel Cell Corp (PFCE) announce that it has acquired rights to a new Methanol Resistant Cathodic Catalyst for Direct Methanol Fuel Cells and has filed a provisional patent in the name of the co-inventors, Professor Yushan Yan and Dr. Xin Wang. This new catalyst should eliminate the mixed potential problem at the cathode, and thus significantly increase the fuel cell efficiency.
Shares of Hoku Scientific on Fire
Hoku Scientific, Inc. (HOKU) is a recent addition to my stock watchlist. HOKU designs and manufactures membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) and nonfluorinated membranes for proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells. Basically they are developing the next generation of proton exchange membranes. They have strategic relationships with Sanyo Electric and Nissan Motors and are based in Hawaii. The company received some good news from some financial analysts this week and the company is up over 50% in the last two days. Piper Jaffray analyst Jesse Pichel said Hoku is one of the best-positioned component suppliers to the emerging...
Newsweek Special Report
"Experts generally agree that our current reliance on fossil fuels is unsustainable. Already oil is near $50 per barrel, and the great millions of Chinese and Indians destined to take to the road in the next decades have not yet gotten behind the wheel." This week Newsweek has written several special reports about alternative energy in all its forms. All of these reports can be found at the following link.
Plug Power Announces Sale of 12 GenCore(R) Fuel Cell Systems to Florida Department of...
Plug Power Inc (PLUG) announced the sale of twelve GenCore® backup fuel cell systems to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). The 5kW hydrogen-fueled GenCore fuel cell systems will be integrated with uninterruptible power supply (UPS) equipment to provide critical backup power to DEP offices throughout the state of Florida. Plug Power was chosen for its ability to deliver a total fuel cell system solution that includes training, service, hydrogen delivery, and a system durable enough to endure extreme weather conditions.
FuelCell Energy, Marubeni and Kawasaki Finalize Agreement to Build and Market Direct FuelCell Power...
Fuelcell Energy Inc (FCEL) and its partner in Japan, Marubeni Corp., announced today that they have finalized their agreement with Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KWHIY) to become a packager of Direct FuelCell® (DFC®) power plants in Japan. As part of this agreement, Kawasaki will purchase a DFC300A power plant from Marubeni, to be installed at the Kawasaki Akashi Works near Osaka, Japan, where it will undergo evaluation and testing for the development of a Kawasaki-branded carbonate fuel cell power plant.
Budget backs coal, hydrogen, nuclear
The Bush administration's budget for fiscal 2006 would provide more dollars to advance the production of domestic energy from coal, hydrogen and nuclear sources. The president's Hydrogen Fuel Initiative would receive an additional $35 million in funding in fiscal 2006, bringing total funding to $260 million. In 2003, Bush proposed $1.2 billion over five years to further the development of technologies to produce hydrogen and store hydrogen energy. The budget would also provide $3.6 billion in tax incentives through 2010 to spur renewable energy, as well as hybrid and fuel-cell vehicle purchases.
Big on micro fuel cells
Forbes.com has an article about Mechanical Technology Inc (MKTY) micro fuel cell technology. They are currently providing the power source for Intermec Technologies hand-held RFID reader. There is also news from MKTY on this annoucement from the following press release link.
