Fuel Cell

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.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts has expanded it use of Fuelcell Energy Inc (FCEL) Direct FuelCell power plants with an installation at the Westin San Francisco Airport Hotel. "Our use of fuel cells at Sheraton hotels has successfully reduced our energy costs while offering us quality power with strong environmental benefits, and we are eager to begin applying this formula to our Westin and other brand hotels," said John Lembo, Director of Energy for Starwood. "With DFC installations at hotels on both coasts of the U.S., we are fulfilling our pledge to be the best business neighbors with a...

Hydrogenics Corp (HYGS) warned that due to production delays first-quarter revenue will fall below year-ago levels, and will miss Wall Street's target. The company said it expects revenue of between $4.5 million and $6.5 million, compared with the $11.3 million it posted in the prior year quarter. Analysts, on average, expect first-quarter revenue of $11.8 million. Shares of Hydrogenics have fell sharply over the last couple of days.

Hydrogenics Corp (HYGS) warned that first-quarter revenue would be below expectations because of production delays in its OnSite Generation unit. Hydrogenics said it expects revenue of $4.5 million to $6.5 million during the quarter. The Company also anticipates that it will secure a minimum of approximately $7.0 million of new orders in the first quarter of 2006.

Hydrogenics Corp (HYGS) announced it has received a follow-on order from General Motors Corporation to provide fuel cell test services which is anticipated to be fully realized in 2006. "We are pleased to provide test services for General Motors, a leader in the automotive sector." said Pierre Rivard, President and CEO of Hydrogenics. "We believe that our proprietary testing products assist leading Original Equipment Manufacturers such as General Motors to advance their fuel cell program."

Mechanical Technology Inc (MKTY) announced that it has received two contracts to demonstrate energy density advantages and to quantify potential logistical advantages of its direct methanol micro fuel cells (DMFCs) and fuel refill systems for the United States Armed Forces.

Hydrogenics Corp (HYGS) announced the successful delivery and commissioning of a hydrogen fuel cell backup power generator at a Bell Canada telecommunication site in Burlington, Ontario. The backup power generator, developed in collaboration with Emerson Network Power, a business of Emerson (EMR), uses Hydrogenics' 8 kW HyPM® XR fuel cell power module. This project, announced in 2005 as part of Toronto's Hydrogen Village initiative, was made possible through an investment from the Government of Canada's 'Hydrogen Early Adopters' program (h2EA).

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...

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...

Plug Power Inc (PLUG) announced agreements with LoganEnergy Corp. and Pacific Telepoint Inc. to distribute its GenCore product line to customers in the United States and South Korea, respectively. These new distributors will be targeting customers in the telecom, utility and public sectors, where the need for reliable, extended-run backup power is critical.

Fuelcell Energy Inc (FCEL) announced it has been selected by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) as a prime contractor of a third project team to develop a coal-based multi-megawatt solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) system. The total project award for the 10-year, three-phase Fuel Cell Coal-Based System program is approximately $85 million. The project is subject to negotiation of a final agreement. The program's goal is to develop a multi-megawatt SOFC power system, 100 megawatts and larger, with at least 50 percent overall efficiency in converting energy contained in coal to grid electrical power. This compares to...

Plug Power Inc (PLUG) announced two new agreements with Honda R&D Company, Ltd. of Japan to continue expanding the companies' collaborative efforts. The first of the new agreements covers the fourth consecutive phase of joint development of the Home Energy Station. The Home Energy Station is a fuel cell system that provides electricity and heat to a home or business, while also providing hydrogen fuel for a fuel cell vehicle. The companies completed the previous phase in November 2005 with the successful commissioning of the third-generation Home Energy Station at Honda R&D Americas' facility in Torrance, Calif. This...

Honda Motor Co (HMC) said it has built scooters powered by fuel cells and gasoline-electric engines, extending the technology for the first time to two-wheeled vehicles. The automaker developed a scooter with a fuel cell-power plant the size of a normal 125 cubic centimeter gasoline engine as well as a so-called hybrid two-wheeler with a 50cc engine, Honda President Takeo Fukui told reporters at the company's research center in Tochigi Prefecture, north of Tokyo.

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...

Energy Conversion Devices Inc (ENER) announced that they are going to be focusing on accelerating the commercialization of its products. The Board of Directors has unanimously approved Management's business restructuring plan to take full advantage of the favorable battery settlement agreement announced on July 7, 2004 and the increasing market interest in solar energy systems and hybrid electric vehicles.

I purchased shares in Altair Nanomaterials (ALTI) this morning for both my personal portfolio and also the mutual fund. ALTI is a holding company that specializes in nanomaterials and also contains a life sciences division. The materials company has research in high performance batteries, fuel cells, and photovoltaics. Altair announced earnings today and the stock is up on the morning trading. Revenue Increases 68 Percent for Third Quarter and 230 Percent for Nine-Month Period "An increase in revenue of 230 percent for the first three quarters of 2005 is representative of the significant progress Altair has...