Fuel Cell

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.

Hydrogenics Corp (HYGS) announced it has received orders for three FCATS® fuel cell test stations from GS Caltex, a leading Korean energy company. Hydrogenics will provide a FCATS G300 Test Station and two FCATS G50 Test Stations with delivery expected in 2006. The test stations will be used to advance GS Caltex's activities in new and emerging energy technologies, including small stationary fuel cell applications (below 10 kilowatt) for residential use.

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.

Privately held Nuvera Fuel Cells, Inc., based in Italy, announced it has delivered an H2e(TM) power module to The Toro Company. Toro plans to evaluate Nuvera's hydrogen powered fuel cell system for its potential use in professional grounds and turf care equipment. Nuvera is developing hydrogen fuel cell power modules for the industrial vehicle and equipment market. Toro is assessing fuel cell technology as an emerging energy alternative that is clean, quiet, and reliable power for different types of grounds maintenance equipment. I can't wait to ride my new fuel cell powered lawn tractor.

Before you invest in a technology, you should learn how that technology works. You can learn about Fuel Cells at the excellent How Stuff Works website using the following link: How Fuel Cells Work They also have a good description of How Fuel Processors Work.

Hydrogenics Corp (HYGS) announced that it has sold a hydrogen reformer and refueling system to Korean Gas Technology Corporation (KOGAS-Tech). The reformer will generate hydrogen by reforming natural gas and will be installed at the Korea Gas research and development facility in Incheon, near Seoul. The hydrogen produced will be used for refueling vehicles. The reformer will be able to generate 65 kilograms of hydrogen a day, which is enough to refuel approximately 20 fuel cell powered vehicles. The reformer and refueling system is anticipated to be delivered and installed by June 2006.

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...

The Dow Chemical Company (DOW) and General Motors Corp. (GM), launched the second phase of their joint project to prove the viability of hydrogen fuel cells for motor vehicles and possibly for distributed power generation. The project has now expanded from a single GM test cell, installed in February 2004, to a multi-cell pilot plant at Dow's Texas Operations in Freeport, TX. "In the first phase of this project, we collectively learned a lot about generating power from byproduct hydrogen via fuel cell technology, and now we're ready to build on what we've learned," said Gordon Slack, Dow's...

Stuart Energy Systems Corp (SRNYF) and Purification Equipment Research Institute of CSIC (PERIC), a Chinese-based developer of water electrolysers, have entered into a master supply and distribution agreement. Under the agreement, Stuart Energy is the exclusive global distributor for large-scale hydrogen generation plants based on water electrolysis technologies jointly developed by PERIC and Stuart Energy. In addition, Stuart Energy is the exclusive distributor in certain territories for PERIC's existing, commercial large-scale hydrogen generation plants.

The Connecticut Clean Energy Fund has agreed to provide funding to Proton Energy Systems, Inc., a subsidiary of Distributed Energy Systems Corp (DESC) to design, build and conduct a 24-month demonstration of a 5kW Regenerative Fuel Cell (RFC) for a telecommunications site in southwestern Connecticut. The project proposal from Proton is consistent with the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund's mandate to support projects that promote the commercialization of fuel cells and illustrate their importance as a clean, reliable distributed energy source.

BOC Group PLC (BOX) has been awarded a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) grant for a 3-year, $3.8 million project to develop an advanced hydrogen generation and delivery system. BOC, as the project leader, is partnering with Canada-based Membrane Reactor Technologies (MRT) and HERA Hydrogen Storage Systems Inc. (HERA) to develop and demonstrate advanced hydrogen generation and delivery systems that integrate MRT's membrane reactor and HERA's thermal hydride compression into a single package. The companies are working to develop a solution for the economic and technical challenge of delivering low-cost, high-purity hydrogen to industrial users, vehicles and stationary/mobile...

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...

Fuelcell Energy Inc (FCEL) announced today that its megawatt-class Direct FuelCell® (DFC®) power plant is now state-certified to meet the California Air Resources Board's (CARB) stringent distributed generation emissions standards for 2007. By meeting this standard, the Company's DFC1500 qualifies as an 'ultra-clean' technology, exempting it from air pollution control and air quality district permitting requirements by CARB (http://www.arb.ca.gov). In addition, this certification qualifies the Company's products for preferential rate treatment by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) including the elimination of 'exit fees' and 'standby charges' for customer electric generation.

Hydrogenics Corp (HYGS) and the Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corporation (TWRC) are announcing the signing of a memorandum of understanding today at the Hydrogen and Fuel Cells 2004 Conference in Toronto. Together the two organizations will explore ways in which hydrogen fuel cell technologies and hydrogen production can support and build on the sustainable development goals of the TWRC. "Toronto is uniquely positioned to leverage Canada's strong leadership position in fuel cell technology and commercialization," said Pierre Rivard, President and CEO of Hydrogenics Corporation. "By engaging the local expertise we can enhance and accelerate the development of a...

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.

Air Products and Chemicals Inc (APD) new fueling station technology, featuring faster-fill hydrogen fueling advancements for fleet buses, will provide hydrogen for three Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) buses in San Jose, California. The three-year program to test the viability of zero-emissions bus (ZEB) technology was officially commissioned today at a kick-off event, as the first VTA zero-emission fuel cell buses were welcomed into operation.