Fuel Cell

MTI MicroFuel Cells Inc. (MKTY) announced that in December it signed a Market Development Agreement with SES AMERICOM Inc. As part of the agreement, MTI Micro will work with SES AMERICOM to determine and evaluate the use and integration of MTI Micro's Mobion® technology into AMERICOM products that may benefit from alternative energy sources such as fuel cells.

Millennium Cell Inc (MCEL) announced that its soldier power program has been allocated $1.7 million of funding in the fiscal year 2006 Defense Appropriations Bill. The soldier power program is a joint effort with Protonex Technology Corporation which is funded by the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Army. The defense bill funding will support the procurement of Protonex 30-watt portable soldier power systems ("P2") for use in reliability and field testing to be conducted by the U.S. military throughout 2006. The Protonex P2 power system utilizes chemical hydride fuel cartridges with Millennium Cell's Hydrogen on Demand® technology...

Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide Inc (QTWW) announced that its Alternative Mobility Vehicle (AMV) and Mobile Hydrogen Infrastructure (MHI) programs are allocated to receive a total of $6.95 million in funding under the fiscal year 2006 Appropriations Bill for the Department of Defense, signed into law by President Bush on December 30, 2005. These programs follow on Quantum's successes with the U.S. Army, wherein Quantum developed and demonstrated the "Aggressor AMV," a high performance light-duty off-road fuel cell hybrid vehicle, and the recently completed "HyHauler MHI," a transportable hydrogen refueling station designed for rapid refueling of military vehicles and...

IdaTech (IDA) announced the ElectraGen(TM)3 fuel cell system. The ElectraGen(TM)3 is a hydrogen-based proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell solution capable of producing up to three kilowatts of clean, reliable backup power. This announcement marks a significant addition to the IdaTech backup power fuel cell product offering and highlights IdaTech's position in the industry as the only company offering this wide range of backup power solutions. Like its bigger brother, the ElectraGen(TM)5, the ElectraGen(TM)3 product is a CE certified fuel cell system designed for critical backup power needs ranging from 1.5 to 3 kilowatts. By offering improved system...

Hydrogenics Corp (HYGS) has issued two press releases today. First they have received a series of purchase orders from General Motors Corporation for fuel cell test services anticipated to be delivered in 2006. HYGS gave GM common share purchase warrants as part of an agreement in 2001. The proceeds for the new testing contract were used to re-purchase these warrants back from GM. HYGS also announced that it has been awarded a US$8 million Fuel Cell contract for multiple units of its HyPM® 500 Series Fuel Cell Power Modules from a world leading military...

Fuelcell Energy Inc (FCEL) reported 4th Quarter earnings of a net loss of $0.40 per share. This is $0.02 better than estimates. However the revenues for the year are 10% less than expected. The focus for the next year is continue to penetrate into markets where they currently have business. FuelCell Energy and its distribution partners continue to penetrate repeatable markets worldwide. The Company believes initiatives already underway establish a strong platform for heading into Fiscal Year 2006. In developing repeatable markets, the Company has installed or in backlog approximately 23 megawatts that extend across key industry...

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.

Millennium Cell Inc (MCEL) announced that it has been awarded a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research Program contract by the U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command. The Company will assess the feasibility of operating its hydrogen battery technology in conjunction with a 5kW PEM-based fuel cell using water containing a variety of impurities. Preliminary tests conducted by Millennium Cell suggest salt water and other non-potable water may be adequate for use with the Company's Hydrogen on Demand® technology.

Distributed Energy Systems Corp (DESC) announced that they received its third award from the University of Nevada Las Vegas Research Foundation (UNLVRF) to continue its work on hydrogen fueling stations for automobiles and other motor vehicles. The fueling station's design is expected to incorporate a high-capacity electrolyzer, capable of generating up to 12 kilograms per day of hydrogen enough to fuel at least two fuel cell light duty vehicles.

Hoku Scientific, Inc. (HOKU) maintained an "outperform" rating and $12 target price from a Piper Jaffray analyst. "Hoku will continue to record substantial revenue growth driven by accelerated technology development in preparation for commercial markets," Piper analyst Jesse W. Pichel wrote in a recent report. I'm still waiting for Marketocracy to add this ticker to the stock universe so I can buy it for the mutual fund. If I had additional money in my personal portfolio, I would purchase more at this level.

Ballard Power (BLDP) Chairman and Interim President and Chief Executive Officer, John Sheridan, was in Beijing, China today, along with representatives from Ballard's Alliance partner, DaimlerChrysler, and Chinese industry and government officials, to attend the launch of three Mercedes-Benz Citaro fuel cell buses. The buses, powered with Ballard® heavy-duty fuel cell engines, will enter revenue service in the city as part of a two-year demonstration project being led by the Chinese Ministry of Science & Technology, with support from both the Global Environment Facility and the United Nations Development Program. This is the latest in a series...

I purchased shares of Mechanical Technology Inc (MKTY) and Medis Technologies Ltd. (MDTL) this morning for the mutual fund and also my personal portfolio. Both of these companies are working on the miniaturization of liquid fuel cells so that they can power portable electronic equipment like cell phones and laptop computers. Both companies have also secured contracts from the military to research portable fuel cells for military applications. Both companies announced earnings recently and still show no signs of becoming profitable in the near future. However, they have both made progress on trimming their losses. I feel that...

This morning I purchased shares in Hoku Scientific, Inc. (HOKU) for my personal portfolio and an average price of $9.47. I was unable to purchase shares in this stock for the mutual fund since it is a recent IPO that came to the market in early August. Hoku is a fuel cell membrane manufacture that is based out of Hawaii. They have strategic partnerships created with Sanyo Electric and Nissan. This company also has the honor of being one of the select few companies in this sector that is actually profitable. Another amazing aspect of this company is...

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...

I placed several trades for the mutual fund this afternoon to start building a position in some of the fuel cell companies. This sub-sector has been under pressure the last couple of months but seems to be building a nice base of support at the current levels. I feel this entire sub-sector is ready for a nice up move and the stocks have been behaving nicely the last week or so. The one stock I seriously considered not adding was Quantum. The stock has been in a steady decline and there is no sign that it’s going to slow...

Altair Nanomaterials (ALTI) has been designated to receive an additional $2.5 million in Federal grant funding during 2006-2007 for the continued development of nanotechnology, nanosensors, and nanomaterials research, development and deployment. The $2.5 million funding was included in the Congressional Energy and Water Development Appropriation for Fiscal Year 2006, which was passed by the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives on November 8, 2005. We anticipate the appropriation will be signed by the President within the next week. ALTI had a nice 10% jump in the price yesterday on this news.