Fuel Cell

by Debra Fiakas CFA Last week I was surprised to find FuelCell Energy (FCEL:  Nasdaq) on a list of companies registering a particularly bullish technical formation called an ‘Aroon’ indicator.  This measure that is designed to reveal stocks entering a new, decisive trend.  Shares of this fuel cell technology developer and producer had been in a steady decline through most of the year 2014, reaching a 52-week low price of $1.05 in January 2015.  However, since then FCEL has regained 27% from that low point. Source:  Stockcharts.com   The turn in fortunes seemed to...

Mechanical Technology Inc (MKTY) announced that it has been awarded the 2004 Frost & Sullivan Technology Innovation Award for its Mobion(TM) micro fuel cell technology. The Award will be presented to MTI Micro at Frost & Sullivan's 2004 Best Practices Awards Banquet on October 20, 2004 in Rancho Mirage, California.

Hydrogenics Corp (HYGS) announced two additions to its HyPM® product line at this week's 2004 Fuel Cell Seminar in San Antonio, Texas. The two additions are the HyPM 7 (kW) unit and the HyPM 65 (kW) unit, both with which the Company will strategically access additional early market opportunities that exhibit long-term potential, specifically in light mobility and backup power applications.

United Technologies Corporation (UTX) has renamed the PC25(TM), the industry's foremost 'workhorse' fuel cell power system, to the PureCell(TM) 200. UTC Power has been producing the on-site power plant since 1991. The system generates 200 kW of clean, reliable electricity and 900,000 BTUs of usable heat suitable for co-generation applications. With a five-year continuous duty cell stack durability and 85 percent efficiency, the PureCell(TM) 200 sets the standard for fuel cell reliability and efficiency. The PureCell(TM) 200 technology has been installed in 19 countries on five continents, ranging from a New York City police station to a science center...

For several years now the Department of Energy (DOE) has been urging the fuel cell community to solve a major problem in the design of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs): heat. Sossina Haile, an associate professor of materials science and chemical engineering at the California Institute of Technology, is an expert in fuel cells, and she has been whittling away at the heat problem for years. Now she and her colleagues have not only solved the problem, they've smashed it. They've brought the temperature down to about 600 degrees Celsius (1100 degrees Fahrenheit), while achieving more power output...

"America is addicted to oil, which is often imported from unstable parts of the world" Thanks to Mr. Bush's state of the union address last night, we should see some nice gains across the board in the Alternative Energy sector. Some of the big winners may be the Ethanol companies like Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) and Pacific Ethanol, Inc. (PEIX). The EnergyStockBlog.com has a nice write up on the potential for ADM. GreenCarCongress.com has a nice summary of the important parts of the speech. In his State of the Union 2006 address, President...

Air Products and Chemicals Inc (APD) announced today that it will expand its Baytown, Texas facility to produce 70 million standard cubic feet per day of hydrogen. A portion of the hydrogen produced will be supplied to the adjacent ExxonMobil Baytown Refinery under a long-term agreement, with the remainder transported through the Air Products West Gulf Coast hydrogen pipeline system to other customers. Currently this increased production will primarily be used by ExxonMobil for petro-based fuels. The excess will be shipped out to APD's hydrogen pipeline system which could be used for future hydrogen needs.

BusinessWeek.com discusses John Kerry's plan to increase alternative energy usage for the country. John Kerry's blueprint for energy independence doesn't suffer from lack of ambition. In early August, he'll unveil an energy plan that he says can break America's addiction to foreign oil, revitalize the U.S. auto industry, help farmers and coal miners, fight global warming, and create jobs all for just $2 billion per year. "We can live in an America that is energy independent," Kerry promises.

Privately held Kainos Energy Corporation, a developer of nanotechnology to reduce cost and improve performance of fuel cells, announced that it was awarded a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The Phase I award supports a project entitled "Innovative Laser-Based Process for Commercially Viable Nanostructured Solid Oxide Fuel Cells." "Significant cost and performance barriers continue to hinder fuel cell commercialization. Our technology will overcome these barriers, lead to advanced cell and stack designs, and enable mass commercialization of a variety of powerful fuel cell applications," noted Sami Mardini,...

Hydrogenics Corp (HYGS) announced that it has received orders to supply electrolysis-based hydrogen generator plants to two of China's largest energy companies. China Electric Power Energy Group and China National Power have each purchased a HySTAT-A Hydrogen Plant, capable of producing 10 Nm3/h of high purity hydrogen at a pressure of 25 bar. In both cases, the hydrogen produced will be used to cool the generators in a coal-fired power plant. Delivery of both orders is expected to take place in 2006.

Plug Power Inc (PLUG) announced that it is terminating a distribution joint venture with a unit of General Electric Co. and said a GE executive had resigned from its board. Plug Power said it and GE MicroGen Inc. would terminate the GE Fuel Cell Systems joint venture. As a result, Plug Power can now sell its products to anyone without obligation to General Electric, the company said in a regulatory filing. Shares of Plug Power are down 1% in pre-market trading.

by Debra Fiakas CFA How often do we see the crowd rooting for the underdog?  You could hear the cheers for Mantra Energy (MVTG:  OTC) last week at the Marcum Microcap Conference in New York City.  Mantra is a developmental stage company pursuing technologies to harness carbon dioxide for energy.  Of course, the company has no revenue and therefore no earnings.  Indeed, its technologies are so unique and as yet at such an early stage some might find them almost fanciful.   Yet for some investors, a fanciful underdog is even better than another.   Mantra sees itself...

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...

Distributed Energy Systems Corp (DESC) announced the receipt of two additional Connecticut Clean Energy Fund (CCEF) awards for Regenerative Fuel Cell (RFC) demonstration projects in Connecticut. Through the support of CCEF, Proton is deploying two RFC demonstration units for the Town of Wallingford Electric Division and the Mohegan Sun Casino. For Wallingford Electric, Proton intends to provide a 15 kW UNIGEN® RFC Backup Power unit for use in their control room battery system. The unit is designed to operate 24 hours a day and to provide more than eight hours of backup power at the rated load in...

Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide Inc (QTWW) announced the delivery of five hydrogen-fueled Toyota Prius hybrid vehicles to the City of Burbank, California. This is part of a larger South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) program to develop and demonstrate 30 hydrogen hybrid vehicles to fleets in Southern California. The formal delivery will take place during a ceremony to be held today at the City of Burbank's Public Works Yard. Under contract to the AQMD, Quantum engineered a state-of-the-art OEM-caliber hydrogen fuel system, optimized the performance of the vehicle system, completed accelerated long-term durability testing, and performed...

Ballard Power (BLDP) has delivered the first prototypes of its next generation fuel cell, the Mark 1030 V3, for the residential cogeneration market to EBARA BALLARD Corporation (Ballard's Japan-based joint venture with the EBARA Corporation). The prototypes are for integration and testing in 1 kW residential cogeneration systems. Featuring increased reliability and lifetime, with significantly less weight and volume, the Mark 1030 V3 fuel cell has been designed in alignment with the 2008 Japanese government targets of 40,000 hours operation, equivalent to a system lifetime of 10 years in the home.