Ballard Power Systems is in a strong position for growth this year as the international community becomes increasingly interested in the role fuel cells play in a clean-energy future, company officials said Thursday.

President and CEO John Sheridan said the company is uniquely positioned to capitalize on the recent interest in clean energy because Ballard (TSX:BLD; Nasdaq:BLDP)offers a wide range of market applications from backup to motive power.

Fuel cells, Ballard’s core technology, produce no emissions because they combine hydrogen and oxygen to create electricity without combustion.

The Vancouver-based company earned US$16.5 million in its fourth quarter, down 13 per cent from the year-ago period. But the company said that was up 83 per cent from the third quarter and represented 35 per cent of its revenue for the year.

For the full year, Ballard earned US$46.7 million, a drop of two per cent or $12.9 million from 2008. It finished the year with cash reserves of $82.2 million.

Ballard said about half of the decline can be attributed to the Vancouver-based company’s exit from costly automotive and residential cogeneration development programs.

Ballard said it reduced costs by about 30 per cent in restructuring moves in March and August.

After a difficult year for energy technology companies, Sheridan said Ballard is strongly positioned for growth, exiting 2009 with a strengthened balance sheet, a solidified market position and a $22-million order book.

Streamlining Ballard’s costs and solidifying the company’s market position with high order volumes will position Ballard’s annual revenue growth in excess of 35 per cent in 2010, Sheridan said.

Brian Piccioni, an analyst with BMO Capital Markets, said that the next year will be critical for the company in its new commercial focus after divesting itself of its automotive division.

“Ballard’s products appear to be ready for prime time, so they seem to be quite expensive but what you get on a balanced basis is a pretty attractive alternative to a diesel generator,” Piccioni said.

But he said the company has had some problems with a network of intermediary companies that integrate the cells into a system of infrastructure to make the cells market ready in a timely way.

“The opportunity is there,” he said. “I think the time has come but it remains to be seen whether that last step can be completed.”

The company showcased its technology by deploying a fleet of 20 hydrogen fuel-cell buses during the Vancouver Olympics.

“Activities around the Vancouver Olympic Games gave us a pretty unique opportunity to showcase our capabilities to large international audiences…including the Whistler Transit fleet of 20 fuel-cell buses operating throughout the Olympics under the international media spotlight,” Sheridan said.

The company said its order book increase by $5 million at the end of February.

The company also said it is making progress toward its goal of achieving life cycle cost parity with diesel hybrid electric buses.

Sheridan said Ballard is committed to driving down the price of its products, but chief financial officer Bruce Cousins told a conference call with analysts that the company is prepared to withstand lower profit margins as demand improves and technology develops.

Meanwhile, Sheridan said the company has been disappointed in the level of support for its technology from the Canadian government, adding that Ottawa lags the international community where demand is being led by countries like the United States and South Korea.

Earlier this month, the company signed a deal to supply fuel cells to power two transit buses in California.

Ballard also has other bus contracts slated for delivery this year in London, Germany and Amsterdam.

Shares in the company were down two cents at $2.41 in trading Thursday on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Eco Factor: Highly efficient fuel cell devices for portable electronic devices.

Kyoto-based Aquafairy has unveiled a new range of fuel cells for portable electronic devices. The affordable fuel cells have been developed in four variants to suit individual requirements. The devices can charger cellphones, portable gaming devices and even notebooks.

The four new devices include – the micro FC Stick with an output of 0.8W, the FC Stick with an output of 2W, the FC Cube with an output of 3W and the FC Cube Dual with a rated output of 6W. While the first three chargers supply energy using only hydrogen, the FC Cube Dual is connected to a lithium-ion battery and can power a standard notebook for 3 hours.

The company is planning to launch the devices, which includes a power unit and a hydrogen cartridge in Japan later this year. The FC-Stick will be made available for as little as $22 with one cartridge retailing for $1.10.

Via: CrunchGear

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“We consider environmental stewardship an essential component in every facet of our business.  This hydrogen fuel cell project is further proof of UNFI’s leadership as an environmentally-conscious organization by advancing the use and development of alternative-fuel technologies,” commented Steve Spinner, UNFI’s President and Chief Executive Officer.

As part of the Sarasota initiative to replace lead acid batteries and their associated charging equipment with hydrogen fuel cells, UNFI has partnered with a number of companies to implement the roll-out, including Plug Power Inc., (Nasdaq: PLUG), Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE: APD) and Abel Womack, Inc.

As background, a hydrogen fuel cell produces energy by combining hydrogen and oxygen in an electrochemical reaction that yields electricity, heat and water.  Hydrogen is non-toxic, non-poisonous, the lightest of all gases and the most abundant element in the universe.  By converting UNFI’s Sarasota lift truck fleet to hydrogen fuel cells, the Company expects carbon emissions will be reduced by approximately 132 metric tons annually, an amount equivalent to the annual emissions of 35 automobiles.

Tom Dziki, Senior Vice President of Sustainable Development, commented, “This project is a natural extension of our strategy to create an environmentally and socially responsible environment in all the communities we serve.  Hydrogen fuel cells not only provide greater productivity and lower operating costs but will be an important component of a clean energy future and we are happy to be pioneering the use of this technology in Florida. Once implemented, this fuel cell project is expected to create annual energy savings of approximately 640,000 kilowatt hours.”

The 352,000 square-foot Sarasota facility, which employs approximately 160 associates, serves as a regional distribution hub for customers in the Southeastern United States.

About United Natural Foods

United Natural Foods, Inc. (http://www.unfi.com/) carries and distributes more than 60,000 products to more than 17,000 customer locations nationwide. The Company serves a wide variety of retail formats including conventional supermarket chains, natural product superstores, independent retail operators and the food service channel. United Natural Foods, Inc. was ranked by Forbes in 2005 as one of the “Best Managed Companies in America,” ranked by Fortune in 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2010 as one of its “Most Admired Companies,” winner of the Supermarket News 2008 Sustainability Excellence Award, and recognized by the Nutrition Business Journal for its 2009 Environment and Sustainability Award.

For more information on United Natural Foods, Inc., visit the Company’s website at www.unfi.com.

David Morgan brings extensive experience in technology and manufacturing businesses including international, financial and general management. He has previously spent over 20 years with Johnson Matthey plc, 10 of which were as an executive director with specific responsibility for corporate development. He is currently Chairman of the International Advisory Board of Conduit Ventures Ltd and also a member of the Advisory Board of Imperial College, London, Dept of Chemistry, and was formerly a member of the UK Science Forum and a non executive director of RiverSoft plc. He is a qualified chartered accountant and holds a degree in Mineralogy and Petrology from the University of Cambridge.

“We are proud to welcome the experienced industry expert David Morgan to the Supervisory Board of SFC Smart Fuel Cell”, says Dr. Rolf Bartke, Chairman of the SFC Supervisory Board. “With his international finance and clean tech expertise we consider him to be extremely well qualified to make significant contributions to the Company in his new role. To Dr. Roland Schlager, who left SFC’s Supervisory Board in November 2009 and whom David Morgan is now replacing, we wish to extend our thanks for his valuable support in this function.”

Founded in 2000, SFC Smart Fuel Cell has successfully sold over 17,000 fully commercialized fuel cells to industrial customers and private end users, while most other fuel cell companies are still in the research and development phase or run subsidized demonstration projects.

More information at www.sfc.com and www.efoy.com.

Materials scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have designed a way to harvest small amounts of waste energy and harness them to turn water into usable hydrogen fuel.

The process is simple, efficient and recycles otherwise-wasted energy into a useable form.

“This study provides a simple and cost-effective technology for direct water splitting that may generate hydrogen fuels by scavenging energy wastes such as noise or stray vibrations from the environment,” the authors write in a new paper, published March 2 in the Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters. “This new discovery may have potential implications in solving the challenging energy and environmental issues that we are facing today and in the future.”

The researchers, led by UW-Madison geologist and crystal specialist Huifang Xu, grew nanocrystals of two common crystals, zinc oxide and barium titanate, and placed them in water. When pulsed with ultrasonic vibrations, the nanofibers flexed and catalyzed a chemical reaction to split the water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen.

When the fibers bend, asymmetries in their crystal structures generate positive and negative charges and create an electrical potential. This phenomenon, called the piezoelectric effect, has been well known in certain crystals for more than a century and is the driving force behind quartz clocks and other applications.

Xu and his colleagues applied the same idea to the nanocrystal fibers. “The bulk materials are brittle, but at the nanoscale they are flexible,” he says, like the difference between fiberglass and a pane of glass.

Smaller fibers bend more easily than larger crystals and therefore also produce electric charges easily. So far, the researchers have achieved an impressive 18 percent efficiency with the nanocrystals, higher than most experimental energy sources.

In addition, Xu says, “because we can tune the fiber and plate sizes, we can use even small amounts of [mechanical] noise — like a vibration or water flowing — to bend the fibers and plates. With this kind of technology, we can scavenge energy waste and convert it into useful chemical energy.”

Rather than harvest this electrical energy directly, the scientists took a novel approach and used the energy to break the chemical bonds in water and produce oxygen and hydrogen gas.

“This is a new phenomenon, converting mechanical energy directly to chemical energy,” Xu says, calling it a piezoelectrochemical (PZEC) effect.

The chemical energy of hydrogen fuel is more stable than the electric charge, he explains. It is relatively easy to store and will not lose potency over time.

With the right technology, Xu envisions this method being useful for generating small amounts of power from a multitude of small sources — for example, walking could charge a cell phone or music player and breezes could power streetlights.

“We have limited areas to collect large energy differences, like a waterfall or a big dam,” he says. “But we have lots of places with small energies. If we can harvest that energy, it would be tremendous.”

The new paper is co-authored by graduate student Kuang-Sheng Hong, research scientist Hiromi Konishi and mechanical engineering professor Xiaochun Li, all at UW-Madison. Xu’s research is supported by grants from the UW-Madison Graduate School, National Science Foundation, NASA Astrobiology Institute and the U.S. Department of Energy.

On Friday, February 19^th Ballast Nedam stated that the only option, as far as she is concerned, for futher participation in the Autarc project, consists of the formation of a joint limited liability company geared towards the further development, realisation and marketing of the Autarc, based on a 50/50 participation.

Shared ownership was and is unacceptable for De Bouwer & Partners.

Eventually, the Autarc is intended to be the construction marketeer’s new headquarters, their “floating front office”. Until that time, the Autarc is available to the public as a marketing platform for sustainable innovation, provided that the surplus costs for reaching autarchy are covered by sponsoring.

Apart from De Bouwer & Partners, the Autarc Consortium consists, at present, of Paul de Ruiter Architects, Deerns raadgevende ingenieurs, DHV, Wolter & Dros, HVL, Verosol, FacilitylinQ and NEMO. The Energy Research Centre ECN from Petten (The Netherlands) is likely to join in on the hydrogen project. The Autarc is supported by “Bouwend Nederland” (Dutch Construction) and the Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and Environment.

The Autarc was originally scheduled to dock at the NEMO science museum in Amsterdam in the summer of 2010. That aim will now probably not be met. The consortium will initially attempt to secure the additional financing and a replacement builder and is now aiming for the Autarc to make its entry into Amsterdam in the spring of 2011.

The Autarc is an architecturally highly advanced houseboat / floating office that is a hundred percent self-sustaining in both its water and electrical requirements. This highly ambitious pilot project sets both an example and a new standard in the field of environmental care (our aim: an “outstanding” Breeam-score) without making a single compromise in aesthetics or user comfort.

The Autarc is to be put to different uses. After the initial exhibition phase at NEMO, the Autarc will be available for other exhibition purposes in the Netherlands or abroad. After that, the Autarc will serve as De Bouwer & Partners’ “floating front office”. Eventually, in its function as a floating villa, the Autarc may be used for permanent residency.

Its principal aim is to function as a showcase for state of the art systems and technology in the field of sustainability.

Washington DC — On March 5th, 2010, hydrogen and fuel cell industry experts joined Senator Daniel Akaka of Hawaii to brief Senate staff on the balance needed between industry and government commitments as well as between different clean vehicle technologies. Daimler, General Motors, Linde and Dr. C.E. (Sandy) Thomas led the event on “Solving the Market’s Dilemmas-Energy Infrastructure for Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles.”

Charles Freese, Executive Director of Fuel Cell Activities, General Motors spoke about the benefits of other electric technologies like pure battery electric vehicles which are very efficient for smaller, low speed and short range urban vehicles. However, said Freese, “hydrogen fuel cells are better suited than other electric technologies for some applications, like powering larger vehicles at highway speeds, and for larger family vehicles that can comfortably carry four or more passengers with heavier payloads.”

The Senate briefing occurred while Congress is reviewing the Fiscal Year 2011 Budget Request.  Industry has invested billions of dollars to mature these technologies and remains extremely interested in pushing to commercialization.  To underscore the commitments from industry, in just the last few months, many automakers have announced that they will commercialize fuel cell vehicles in 2015 in the regions that have hydrogen stations. Germany, Korea, Japan and California have plans and initial government investment for building the early network of hydrogen stations that will allow thousands of people to conveniently fuel their vehicles.  Also, non-automotive applications for fuel cells, like materials handling and back-up power, are experiencing success because companies have noticed that even at their early commercial stage, these fuel cells can save companies money over incumbent technologies, while also reducing emissions.

To justify industry’s continued investment in hydrogen and fuel cells, members of the National Hydrogen Association and U.S. Fuel Cell Council say that the Federal government must also remain a committed, reliable partner.  Until enough fuel cell vehicles are on the road so that station owners can sell enough hydrogen to be self-supporting, government needs to invest in stations.  But funding hydrogen and fuel cell development and deployment should not occur at the expense of other technologies because it takes a balanced portfolio of advanced transportation alternatives to compete with incumbent liquid fuels.

“It takes 4-5 years to develop a powertrain and vehicle and put it on the road,” said Freese.  “We need stable policy and to stay the course for putting these vehicles on the road.  It’s not something that can swing with the price at the pump or the political climate.”

Underscoring the readiness to build fueling stations, Michael McGowan, Head of Strategic Alliances, Alternative Energy Solutions for the Linde Inc. said “Linde and other hydrogen infrastructure providers have made significant improvements in hydrogen refueling.  We have developed, and demonstrated, the ability to fill cars with hydrogen at pressures of either 350 or 700 bar in less than 3 minutes – all while reducing capital, operating, and maintenance costs.”

Sascha Simon, Head of Advanced Product Planning for Mercedes-Benz USA, spoke about German-organized coalitions that are moving forward on deployment with successful collaborations between industry and government partners-the kind worth replicating in the U.S. if an American leadership position for developing hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles is desired.  “We had a major breakthrough in Germany in September 2009.  What we have been able to achieve is to come together as car companies, infrastructure providers, fueling station providers, and government with a coordinating function.  About 1.4 billion euros have been committed for a 10-year program [to introduce cars and stations in a coordinated way].  Industry is doing its fair share, committing 700 million euros and government is committing 700 million euros.”

The event, opened by Senator Daniel Akaka of Hawaii, a long time supporter of hydrogen and fuel cells and advanced renewable technologies, welcomed about 80 to the Dirksen Senate Office Building and featured speakers: C. E. (Sandy) Thomas, Ph.D., former President of H2 Gen Innovations, Inc., Sascha Simon, Head of Advanced Product Planning, Mercedes-Benz USA, and Michael McGowan, Head of Strategic Alliances, Alternative Energy Solutions, Linde Inc. Jerome Hinkle of the National Hydrogen Association and Ruth Cox of the U.S. Fuel Cell council co-moderated the event.

Video and presentations from this event are now publicly available. Visit:  http://www.hydrogenassociation.org/policy/briefing_5mar10.asp

About the National Hydrogen Association

The National Hydrogen Association (NHA) is the premier hydrogen trade organization led by 100 companies dedicated to supporting the transition to hydrogen. Efforts are focused on education and outreach, policy, safety and codes and standards. Since 1989, the NHA has served as a catalyst for information exchange and cooperative projects and continues to provide the setting for mutual support among industry, research and government organizations. www.HydrogenAssociation.org

About the U.S. Fuel Cell Council

The USFCC is a trade association and voice of the fuel cell industry.  The USFCC is dedicated to fostering the commercialization of fuel cells. Our members include the world’s leading fuel cell developers, manufacturers, suppliers and customers. www.usfcc.com ]]> http://fuelcellsworks.com/news/2010/03/12/balance-needed-say-hydrogen-and-fuel-cell-leaders-in-us-senate-briefing/feed/ 0 http://fuelcellsworks.com/news/2010/03/11/ris%c3%b8-dtu-takes-the-lead-for-a-test-and-approval-center-for-fuel-cell-and-hydrogen-technologies/ http://fuelcellsworks.com/news/2010/03/11/ris%c3%b8-dtu-takes-the-lead-for-a-test-and-approval-center-for-fuel-cell-and-hydrogen-technologies/#comments Thu, 11 Mar 2010 19:00:23 +0000 Fuelcellworks http://fuelcellsworks.com/news/?p=4947 Danish industrial players have expressed a strong need for support in the process to push fuel cell and hydrogen technologies from the research and development stage into the commercial domain. Risø DTU has now with Danish Gas Technology Center (DGC) as partner received support from the Danish Programme for Energy Technology Development and Demonstration (EUPD) to initialize a center which will eventually support industry with test, development, analysis, approval, certification, consultation, and training in the areas of fuel cell and hydrogen technologies.

The current EUDP-project runs over a period of two years with Anke Hagen, Risø, as project manager and has the aim to initialize the center. The project also includes start-up of first activities. These will focus on the development of accelerated lifetime tests of fuel cell systems, preparations for standardization of these methods, and advising in relation to certification and approval of fuel cell systems and will be carried out at Risø DTU and DGC in close cooperation with industry, specifically, Topsoe Fuel Cell A/S (TOFC).

Already at this stage, the further development of the center over a 5-6 years horizon has been addressed and outlined, including the needed means.

The ultimate goal for the center is to become an accepted one-stop-shopping for all needed services in relation to fuel cell and hydrogen technologies. The related activities will be shared between the partners in the center, which are currently Risø DTU and DGC, where Risø for example will carry out advanced testing and microscopy while examples for DGC’s activities are standardization and approval.

“Plug Power is a fuel cell market leader, and this partnership enables Raymond to offer cutting-edge lift truck power solutions to the material handling industry,” says Chuck Pascarelli, executive vice president of sales and marketing for The Raymond Corporation. “Through this agreement, Raymond and its Sales and Service Center network can aid companies in the deployment of fuel cell-powered lift trucks and provide ongoing service and support throughout the life of the trucks.”

“Raymond’s leading AC technology, coupled with Plug Power’s proven GenDrive solutions will bring superior power and performance to the electric lift truck market,” says Andy Marsh, CEO of Plug Power. “By investigating and commercializing new technologies to power its durable, reliable lift trucks, Raymond is helping to offer companies a seamless solution for installing fuel cell-powered lift trucks.”

GenDrive fuel cell power units have been tested and approved for use in Raymond® Model 8400 pallet trucks, Model 4100 and 4200 stand-up counterbalanced trucks, and various Model 7400 Reach-Fork® trucks. Raymond is evaluating additional Raymond lift truck models to assess their compatibility with hydrogen fuel cells.

Based on recent demonstrations by lift truck and fuel cell manufacturers, there appears to be significant potential to improve warehouse productivity when fuel cells are used to power lift trucks in high-throughput warehouse applications. Hydrogen fuel cells can offer higher productivity in electric lift trucks because they can be rapidly refueled by operators, eliminating the need to change, store and maintain batteries. Plus, fuel cells produce constant voltage, which means there is no battery drop toward the end of a shift, and the vehicle experiences no performance degradation.

For more information about Raymond fuel cell-powered lift trucks or Plug Power’s GenDrive hydrogen fuel cell units, or to locate a Raymond Sales and Service Center, visit www.raymondcorp.com or call (800) 235-7200.

About The Raymond Corporation

The Raymond Corporation is a global provider of material handling solutions that improve space utilization and productivity, with lower cost of operation and greater operator acceptance. Raymond offers the iWarehouse® system, an enterprise fleet optimization solution for warehouse and distribution center managers to collect and analyze real-time lift truck data to maximize fleet productivity and reduce costs.

High-performance, reliable, ergonomically designed Raymond lift trucks range from a full line of manual and electric pallet trucks and walkie stackers to counterbalanced trucks, Reach-Fork® trucks, orderpickers and dual-purpose (pallet handling/case picking) Swing-Reach® trucks.

About Plug Power Inc.

Plug Power Inc. (Nasdaq:PLUG), an established leader in the development and deployment of clean, reliable energy solutions, integrates fuel cell technology into motive and continuous power products. The Company is actively engaged with private and public customers in targeted markets throughout the world. For more information about how to join Plug Power’s energy revolution as an investor, customer, supplier or strategic partner, please visit www.plugpower.com.

FOLSOM, California – Altergy Systems, announced today that its Freedom Power™ Systems turned the red carpet “green” at Sunday’s 82nd annual Oscars® by supplying the first clean hydrogen fuel cell power systems used to power numerous applications at the Academy Awards® ceremonies.

Altergy’s Freedom Power™ Systems provided clean “off the grid,” electricity to fulfill various power requirements at the Oscars® red carpet ceremony.  Additionally, another Altergy 5kW fuel cell was used as the power source of a unique new portable lighting system which was also employed throughout the week for specific lighting demands at Hollywood’s biggest awards ceremony.

Saunders Electric of Los Angeles has provided power for every Oscar® presentation since 1953. They specialize in supplying the challenging power needs of the motion picture and television industry with clients that include the Grammy Awards®, the Country Music Awards®, and the Emmy Awards®. Saunders Electric, who also received its own Technical Emmy® in 1995, chose Altergy’s Freedom Power™ fuel cells for specific uses at the Oscars® this year.

CEO Russell Saunders says: “We have been looking for a dependable clean power system to use at the Academy Awards® and in the entire motion picture industry for years. We needed a power system that was portable, efficient, and quiet that could literally be placed at the point of use without emitting the noxious fumes and noise of standard power generators  such as diesels. We chose Altergy’s clean “zero emission” fuel cell systems … and we’re glad we did. They performed beautifully!”

Academy (A.M.P.A.S.®) technician, Gary Lenz, who worked directly with the mobile lighting system throughout the production was asked to give it a Hollywood review. He emphatically replied: “Awesome! It’s the coolest thing ever! It’s unbelievably quiet and we were even able to use the clean warm air it generated to stay warm on the cold nights!”

Altergy joined with Sandia National Laboratories, The Boeing Company, Caltrans and manufacturers Multiquip, Luxim, Lumenworks, Stray Light and others in developing and introducing the new fuel cell powered mobile lighting system.  Additionally Alpha Technologies of Bellingham, WA provided the DC to AC inverters used in the systems.

The new high intensity plasma lighting system utilizes Altergy’s Freedom Power™ hydrogen fuel cells to power the lights.  Each self-contained unit has the ability to illuminate an area approximately the size of a football field, and has a projected continuous run time of 40 plus hours.

The new Freedom Power™ mobile lighting system is both environmentally friendly and “whisper” quiet. Unlike the diesel generators now in use, the new fuel cell lighting system is a California Air Resources Board (C.A.R.B.) certified “zero-emission” power generator.

“This application demonstrates the versatility of Altergy’s fuel cell systems. They have been dominating telecom applications over the last couple of years and now we are deploying them in distributed peak shaving, mobile and prime power applications.  We are very proud of our involvement with the Academy, and consider it an honor to be selected,” commented Eric Mettler, Altergy’s President and CEO.