Fuel Cell

GE Global Research, the centralized research organization of the General Electric Company (GE), announced that it was selected by the Department of Energy (DOE) to lead $11 million of research projects in the development of hydrogen as a fuel source. The programs are focused on near and long term solutions for the production of hydrogen with sustainable, clean technologies. GE Global Research will contribute approximately $2.5 million to the projects with the balance coming from DOE and other industry partners. This project plans to study the creation of hydrogen from solar water splitting, naturual gas/bio production, and...

Medis Technologies Ltd. (MDTL) announced that during the first week of functional demonstrations, the fuel cell Power Pack products it made available to General Dynamics C4 Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics (GD), to provide power to General Dynamics' rugged PDA have achieved new levels of performance, to its knowledge never achieved before in micro fuel cells. The Power Packs have provided five watts and five volts, operating for a period of many hours with each refueling, operating in every orientation, all without generating any discernable heat. The fuel cell cartridge system has operated effectively to refuel...

by Debra Fiakas, CFA Most investors, if they have heard of Hydrogenics Corporation (HYGS: Nasdaq) at all, consider them a fuel cell producer. However, about two-thirds of the company’s revenue comes from the design and manufacture of hydrogen generation products based on water electrolysis technology - a somewhat unique, but valuable electrochemical technology that could make important contributions to the world’s future energy base. Electrolysis or the splitting of water molecules using an electric current produces hydrogen and oxygen - two elements that have market potential in a variety of industrial and power markets. It stands in...

Plug Power Inc (PLUG) announced today that the Company's GenCore®5T48, a 5-kilowatt backup fuel cell system, is providing backup power to the Oneida County Rural Telephone network. "This program is another example of our efforts to keep the communities we serve on the cutting edge of technology," stated James McCarthy, Vice President of Oneida County Rural Telephone. "We have considered using alternative backup power in support of our network infrastructure in the past, and fuel cells are an attractive alternative to batteries. Fuel cells offer a clean, cost-effective solution for our backup power needs."

Honda Motor Co (HMC) announced the delivery of a Honda FCX, the world's most advanced hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicle, to the city of Chula Vista. The city of Chula Vista will lease the vehicle for a period of two years and will operate the FCX on a regular daily basis as part of their normal operations. The FCX will be refueled at a publicly accessible hydrogen station already operated by the city on their property. The placement of this FCX in tandem with the public accessibility of hydrogen fuel expands the geographical range for some of Honda's existing...

About 4 or 5 years ago micro fuel cells were quite a hot topic in cleantech. They were going to power our laptops, cell phones, PDAs, blackberries, hand held multimedia devices, etc. The story ran like this: The digital age and increasing customer demand for more power hungry features like bandwidth, multimedia, et al on mobile devices like laptops, PDAs and cellphones mean the increase in power requirements are outstripping the pace of technology of lithium ion battery - therefore the only solutions will be micro fuel cells. And since battery manufacturers are a plodding, unimaginative lot,...

The U.S. Senate agreed Sunday to vote as early as Monday on a corporate tax bill that would include the "Green Building" program, something that Adams Harkness analyst John Quealy said will be a "positive catalyst for the fuel cell industry." The bill calls for the issuance of tax-exempt bonds to fund the construction of energy-efficient and environmentally-friendly buildings. "What we find especially noteworthy is language in the current Chairman's Mark of the Conference Committee report that requires using at least 25 megawatts of fuel cell energy generation, in aggregate, in order to qualify for such tax-exempt...

Hoku Scientific, Inc. (HOKU) posted earnings of $202,000, or a penny per share, reversing a year-ago loss of $650,000, or 11 cents per share. Service and license revenue surged to $1.7 million from $75,000 in the 2004 quarter, fueled by contracts with auto manufacturer Nissan Motor Co., Sanyo Electric Co. and the U.S. Navy. Hoku is one of the few Alternerative Energy stocks that is actually profitable. Excluding certain items, earnings were 3 cents a share, above First Call's mean analyst estimate of 1 cent. They blew away estimates this quarter and the stock is trading up...

Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide Inc (QTWW) fell as much as 10% after the company posted second-quarter results that fell below expectations. They posted a loss of 10 cents a share on sales of about $5 million vs. a loss of 9 cents a share on sales of $6.7 million a year ago. Analysts were expecting a loss of 6 cents a share on sales of $8.6 million. The company said the sales decline was due to lower product sales in its fuel cell systems segment. Shares are now trading off the lows and are currently only down 6%....

Hydrogenics Corp (HYGS) has sold a light weight 5kW hydrogen/oxygen Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cell stack to the NASA Glenn Research Center, which will use it in an experimental closed cycle hydrogen-oxygen regenerative fuel cell. This type of system can be used for energy storage in places where oxygen is not easily available, such as very high altitude, space or underwater environments. NASA will use this stack as part of its research program to understand how the regenerative fuel cell will operate in future aerospace applications.

DaimlerChrysler AG (DCX) reported Thursday that it doubled the number of fuel cell powered vehicles it manages in the United States in December. The company said it is preparing 19 vehicles for customers in California and Michigan. The vehicles include the Mercedes F-Cell passenger car and medium-duty Dodge Fuel Cell Sprinter van.

Enova Systems Inc (ENOV) announced that its components are currently being used in thirty (30) Ford Focus Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles and six (6) Wrightbus Electrocity hybrid transit buses. The Ford Focus is one of the industry's first hybridized fuel cell vehicles looking to combine the improved range and performance of hybrid technology with the overall benefits of a fuel cell. Enova's 120kW Hybrid Drive System has been installed in six (6) Wrightbus Electrocity vehicles that are now in service in London.

SiliconBeat.com caught up with Jadoo's chief executive, Larry Bawden, last week who said Jadoo is one of the few companies actually shipping hydrogen-converting fuel cell technology to customers. It is good to see that VC's are starting to put some capital in the AltE marketplace.

Hydrogenics Corp (HYGS) announced that it has entered into a five-year agreement with Deere & Company (DE) to continue research and development efforts in the use of hydrogen and fuel cells in commercial vehicles. The five-year agreement incorporates both qualitative and quantitative commitments, and builds on the success of earlier joint projects involving the integration of Hydrogenics' HyPM(TM) fuel cell power module technology into Deere vehicles.

The fears of Rita have fallen away and the market is finally moving to the upside again this morning. I have been watching IdaTech (IDA) for purchase for a couple of weeks and I had previously mentioned I have been looking for a good entry point on this stock. IDAcorp is an Idaho power utility with electrical generation using Hydro, Natural Gas, and Coal. They also own IDATech which manufactures fuel cell solutions. I'm waiting on this one until the technical picture of the chart improves. I would be a buyer if we can either get...

Manhattan Scientifics Inc (MHTX) announced that it has received its first micro fuel cell patent in Japan. Marvin Maslow, CEO of Manhattan Scientifics, said, "Though our micro fuel cell is not yet commercially feasible, we continue our effort to complete the development. Our goal is to create future revenue as a result of ownership of key protective patents. Earlier this year micro fuel cells were everywhere. You saw articles in tech magazines, gadget websites, and slashdot. There has been very little news about it recently. It seems that all the big ticket energy producers have taken...