Fuel Cell

PolyFuel announced additional funding for their portable fuel cell technology. They are currently a privately held company backed by several venture capital firms. I'm keeping this company on my radar screen because these venture firms will eventually want to take this company public. Here is an excerpt from this most recent PR announcement. Click the link to read the full press release. PolyFuel, Inc., the world leader in membrane technology for portable fuel cells, today announced it has closed an $18.4 million, third round of funding, bringing total investment in the 5-year-old startup to approximately $40 million....

Maxwell Technologies (MXWL) announced that General Hydrogen Corporation, a leading developer of hydrogen fuel cell-based power systems for electric forklifts, has placed a 200,000 unit, three-year, purchase order for BOOSTCAP® ultracapacitors to enhance performance and energy management in its Hydricity® Pack technology. The purchase order is part of a strategic supply agreement through which General Hydrogen will source ultracapacitors exclusively from Maxwell and receive strategic pricing if volume thresholds specified in the purchase order are reached.

by Lee Shane When one thinks of fuel cells and fuel cell technology some names immediately come to mind.  Ballard Power (BLDP) went public in 1993 and was listed on NASDAQ in 1995. A company that made its debut in 1997 was Plug Power (PLUG), a joint venture between DTE Energy and Mechanical Technology Inc.  Hydrogenics (HYGS) is a company that has been around for 60 years, but more recently has gotten investor attention for their fuel cell technology. Most of the technology produced by well-known fuel cell companies share common features… They are based on...

Fuelcell Energy Inc (FCEL) announced that Tokyo Gas has initiated a program to evaluate a Direct FuelCell® (DFC®) power plant for introducing these units to customers of its energy and industrial gas divisions. The unit is currently located at Kawasaki Heavy Industries' factory in Akashi, Japan, where Tokyo Gas will evaluate the power plant under a variety of expected operating conditions focusing particularly on grid interconnection performance. Tokyo Gas has agreed to install this DFC300A power plant at its new R&D center in Tsurumi in the second quarter of 2006.

Fuelcell Energy Inc (FCEL) and its partner in Japan, Marubeni Corp., will enter into an agreement with Kawasaki Heavy Industries to become a packager of Direct FuelCell® (DFC®) power plants in Japan. Discussions for conclusion of the agreement are in the final stage. 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 long-term evaluation and testing. This news and anticipation of earnings later this afternoon has FCEL up over 7% today with above average volume.

ZAP (ZAPZ) announced that its automotive distribution subsidiary Voltage Vehicles has signed an exclusive agreement with Apollo Energy Systems of Pompano Beach, Florida for its fuel cell technology. Under the contract, ZAP's Voltage Vehicles subsidiary has agreed to purchase up to $100 million in Apollo's propulsion systems. Apollo has developed a patented Alkaline Fuel Cell and Tri-Polar Lead-Cobalt battery technology that is expected to revolutionize the auto industry. According to Apollo, the new fuel cell is ready for production, years before similar propulsion systems are expected to be available. ZAPZ was up over 15% today on...

by Debra Fiakas CFA Last week Toyota Motor Corporation (TM:  NYSE) announced its intention to share its patented fuel cell technology with other automotive manufacturers.    Engineers from competing auto manufacturers can get a look at Toyota’s fuel cell designs up through 2020.  Toyota has taken a page from Tesla Motors (TSLA:  Nasdaq), which made its electric vehicle battery designs available to the public last year.  Since the car business is intensely competitive, automotive manufacturers are typically quite circumspect about their innovations.  However, producers of cars powered by alternative energy sources are faced with a unique problem ...

Energy Conversion Devices Inc (ENER) and ChevronTexaco Technology Ventures LLC, is demonstrating the use of its metal-hydride hydrogen storage system in a modified hydrogen-electric variant of today's best-selling hybrid sedan. The modified hydrogen hybrid will be available for test drives at the South Coast Air Quality Management District's "Hydrogen - Fueling the Clean Air Future" conference today and tomorrow, August 16 and 17, at the J.W. Marriott Desert Springs Resort in Palm Desert, Calif.

IdaTech (IDA) has signed a strategic partnership agreement with Rittal Corp. at CeBit in Hannover, Germany. IdaTech's ElectraGen(TM)5 fuel cell system was unveiled at the CeBit electronics show last week by Rittal, a global supplier of enclosure systems for industrial, electronic, telecommunication, and data communication equipment. The system's backup power features are on display at the show one of the world's leading events for showcasing new information and telecommunications technologies, and supporting software and services. The IdaTech and Rittal partnership is worldwide and includes integration of the IdaTech fuel cells technologies with Rittal's telecommunications and information technology...

Air Products and Chemicals Inc (APD) has been selected for three demonstration projects by the California South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) for fueling stations to be placed in Burbank, Riverside and Santa Ana in 2005. Air Products will be collaborating with Proton Energy Systems, Inc. (DESC) on two of the fueling stations. Each city will operate its station following fueling process and safety training by Air Products.

ZAP (ZAPZ) announced today a breakthrough electric propulsion system that uses a new hydrogen fuel cell and lead-cobalt battery design developed by Apollo Energy Systems. Apollo has developed and patented an Alkaline Fuel Cell, an improved version of the early Alkaline Fuel Cells used by NASA in the Apollo Moon Mission. Apollo calls its Alkaline Fuel Cell the "Rolls Royce" of fuel cells, with a higher voltage, higher efficiency, and greater reliability than other types of fuel cells. Alkaline fuel cells have been the fuel cell of choice for space programs in the U.S., Europe and Russia. ...

Fuelcell Energy Inc (FCEL) announced today that they are providing a 250-kilowatt Direct FuelCell® (DFC®) power plant for the Pepperidge Farm bakery facility in Bloomfield, Conn. Opened in 2003, the facility is the newest of Pepperidge Farm's eight bakeries in the U.S. Pepperidge Farm is a unit of the Campbell Soup Company. This project was made possible through the support of the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund (CCEF). The fuel cell power plant is expected to provide about 20 percent of the facility's base load power, with the heat byproduct being used for process steam for the bakery. PPL...

Stuart Energy Systems Corp (SRNYF) announced that it has secured record year-to-date industrial orders valued in excess of $12 million from its global customers. "During the first 4 and a half months, we exceeded our expected order intake for industrial sales. The increased demand is a result of strong market growth, coupled with continued adoption of our product offering," commented Robert Campbell, Vice President, Sales and Marketing. "With the bulk of these orders scheduled to ship this fiscal year, we remain committed to our aggressive target for revenue growth. Our year-end order backlog - an important metric as...

Renewable energy like wind and solar power and hydrogen fuel cells could blossom into a $100 billion a year global market in less than a decade as technology costs fall, according to a study. The combined market for "green" sources of energy has already grown 68 percent since 2002 to more than $16 billion last year, according to Clean Edge, a research and publishing firm based in California. You can view and download the complete Clean-Energy Trends report at the following link.

Researchers from the University of Wisconsin at Madison have found a way to use the carbon monoxide to produce more energy in a reaction that can take place at room temperature. The method could eventually be used in portable systems that use renewable fuel produced from plant matter, said James Dumesic, a professor of chemical and biological engineering at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. The process could also be used to treat wastewater and contaminated gas streams, he said.

Ballard Power (BLDP) announced a $3.6 million contract with a major global automaker covering expanded technology benchmarking and evaluation activities. As part of this agreement, the automaker will evaluate the performance and capabilities of Ballard's current and advanced fuel cell technologies. This contract builds on the experience gained by the automaker from its initial purchase of Ballard® fuel cell products in 2003. Ballard has existing deals with DaimlerChrysler, Ford, Honda, Mitsubishi and Nissan. There is no indicatication which vendor they won the contract with.