Fuel Cell

by Debra Fiakas CFA In the last post on Hydrogenics, Inc. (HYGS:  Nasdaq) in April 2014, the stock seemed to be languishing on news of a potentially dilutive common stock offering.  At the time profits still seem illusive.  However, over the last few months circumstances have improved.  Shares of Hydrogenics have moved higher on the company’s recent introduction of a fuel cell power system for medium and heavy duty vehicles.  Additionally, in July this year Hydrogenics was chosen by Ontario as one of five grid storage projects.  This has turned HYGS into an interesting stock to watch. ...

BOC Group PLC (BOX) is sponsoring the National Hydrogen Association (NHA)'s 16th annual conference and Hydrogen Expo in Washington DC. BOC is a sustaining member of NHA and a member of the group's board of directors and executive committee. The NHA is composed of industry, university, research and small business members leading the transition to a hydrogen-based energy infrastructure. This forum is designed to promote the role of hydrogen in energy independence, environmental stewardship, and economic prosperity, focusing on critical issues in the development of hydrogen technologies.

Millennium Cell Inc (MCEL) said that Dow Chemical Co. bought $1.3 million of its convertible preferred stock, the latest step in their joint development agreement. The two companies are working to develop portable fuel cell systems for use in consumer electronics and military applications. Under their three-year joint program, which began in 2005, Millennium Cell will grant stock to Dow as it achieves certain milestones, as well as give Dow the opportunity to buy more stock.

Mechanical Technology Inc (MKTY) announced today that it has received United Nations (UN) Packaging Certification and is now in United States Department of Transportation (DOT) Compliance for shipment of its methanol fuel cartridges, supporting its initial product launch planned by year-end. With this UN and DOT recognition in place, authorized shippers can now conveniently transport MTI Micro's fuel refills by ground, sea and air, both domestically and internationally. "MTI has emerged as a leader in the development of safe and reliable methanol fuel cartridges and packaging," said John Lynn, President and CEO of the Methanol Institute, the global...

Ballard Power (BLDP) to Power More Than 50 percent of Announced Demonstration Fleets Under U.S. Hydrogen Economy Initiative. The first production vehicles powered with Ballard® fuel cells and built by Ford Motor Company for customer use under the U.S. Department of Energy demonstration program were unveiled in Detroit today. Ballard Power Systems together with its Alliance partners, DaimlerChrysler and Ford, continue to lead the industry in fuel cell development, as they place the largest fleet of fuel cell vehicles in the hands of customers, further advancing the path to commercialization. Nearly half of the Department of Energy's announced...

"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...

BusinessWeek has written an article about the investment opportunities available int he Alternative Energy marketplace. Renewable energy is booming. The use of solar power has been growing by more than 30% a year and, except for a hiccup in 2004 when Congress delayed renewing a tax credit so has wind power. Ethanol is heading for record production levels. And there's no end in sight, given high oil and gas prices, an increasing number of government mandates and incentives, and the first real steps toward tackling global warming. Clean Edge Inc., a research and strategy consultant, predicts...

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.

Privately held Nuvera Fuel Cells, Inc., announced plans to establish a hydrogen test facility with RIVOIRA S.p.A., and the SIAD Group, both of which partner with Praxair, Inc. (PX), a leading U.S. multinational in the industrial gas sector. The plan calls for expanding SIAD's facility located in Osio Sopra, (Bergamo) Italy for the purpose of demonstrating hydrogen-based fuel cell systems. According to the agreement, the new facility will comprise approximately 180 m2 of space and will be dedicated to testing Nuvera's hydrogen products in the 5.5 kW to 25 kW power range, including its H2e(TM) fuel cell power...

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT), Fuelcell Energy Inc (FCEL) and the city of Westerville, Ohio have reached an important milestone, bringing on-line one of the first utility-scale fuel cell power plants in North America that will feed power to consumers from a substation. The 250-kilowatt (kW) DFC power plant creates the hydrogen it needs from a readily available fuel, natural gas. The unit is manufactured by FuelCell Energy and distributed by Caterpillar through its dealer Ohio Cat. The fuel cell power plant is located at Westerville's electric substation #2, and when fully operational it will produce enough energy to...

Ballard Power (BLDP) states that a commercially viable fuel cell stack technology for hydrogen-powered vehicles can be demonstrated by 2010, according to a Technology "Road Map" released today. The "Road Map", announced to coincide with the start of the National Hydrogen Association's Annual Hydrogen Conference in Washington, D.C., comprises four technology trendlines and targets for fuel cell stack durability, cost, freeze start and volumetric power density. It is widely agreed that demonstrating the ability to meet the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) targets for these four performance attributes is key to the successful commercialization of automotive fuel cell technology....

Distributed Energy Systems Corp (DESC) announced today the award of a Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase II contract from the U.S. Army Missile Defense Agency (MDA) to continue development of lightweight regenerative fuel cell technology for high altitude airships. The goal of this 2-year, $749,999 contract is to demonstrate a multi-kilowatt-capable closed-loop hydrogen-oxygen regenerative fuel cell and is a continuation of work completed in Phase I of this project. This regenerative fuel cell can generate pressurized hydrogen and oxygen electrochemically, without mechanical compression. MDA plans to apply this technology for energy storage for high altitude airships, which...

Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide Inc (QTWW) announced that it has entered into an agreement whereby Quantum will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Starcraft Corporation (STCR) in a stock-for-stock exchange valued at approximately $185 million The combined company will have an extensive range of operational expertise in areas such as vehicle systems design, powertrain engineering, systems integration, validation, assembly and service readiness for traditional vehicles, alternative fuel platforms, and hydrogen-based fuel cell vehicles. QTWW is trading down in the pre-market and STCR is trading up, which is typical when these types of events occur....

Hydrogenics Corp (HYGS) announced that the company was awarded a contract by Basin Electric Power Cooperative, to supply an electrolyzer-based hydrogen refuelling station for installation in Minot, N.D. In addition to the core electrolyzer module, Hydrogenics is supplying compression, storage and dispenser equipment as part of the contract. The station is one of the first United States-based hydrogen fueling stations to use electricity from a wind power resource to produce hydrogen from water, in this case using electricity generated by wind resources either owned or contracted by Basin Electric. The hydrogen produced will be used to refuel hydrogen-powered...

Millennium Cell Inc (MCEL) and Protonex Technology Corporation announced that it has delivered advanced prototypes of its P2 soldier power system to the U.S. Air Force for evaluation. This delivery marks the successful completion of the two-year Dual Use Science and Technology (DUST) program awarded to Protonex by the Air Force in April 2003. In addition, the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) has notified Protonex and Millennium Cell Inc. of its intent to award an additional $1.02 million program focusing on P2 enhancements and manufacturability and for procurement of additional systems for performance and reliability testing. The P2...

An article written by David Redstone at Forbes.com discusses Medis Technologies Ltd. (MDTL) and its plans to work with General Dynamics to supply portable fuel cells to the military market. David believes investors in Medis Technologies will be rewarded with gains of 25% in the next 12 to 24 months.