IdaTech Demonstrates Extended Run Module and Portable Power Solution at INTELEC '05

IdaTech, LLC unveiled a suite of backup power fuel cell products in its first appearance at INTELEC '05, a premier telecommunications event in Berlin, Germany. In addition to
IdaTech's ElectraGen(TM)5, IdaTech will demonstrate an industry first 5kWe Extended Run Module and the company's iGen(TM), a 250 Watt system. The iGen(TM) is a compact fuel cell system running on liquid fuel as opposed to bottled hydrogen. The iGen(TM) can be used as a battery replacement or extender in remote or grid connected telecommunication applications. (more)

REGI U.S. Inc. to test Anuvu's Neighborhood Fuel Cell Vehicle

9/15/05. Anuvu Incorporated has scheduled production and delivery of a fuel cell-powered Neighborhood Electric Vehicle with On-Board Power generator to Reg Technologies Inc. (OTCBB:RGUS) for evaluation and testing. A recent market demand for highly-efficient NEVs has been seen as gasoline prices have risen dramatically and these small lightweight vehicles generate zero-pollution and have low operating costs. (more)

Toyota invests $1 million for Hydrogen Storage Research at Savannah River National Laboratory

9/15/05. Toyota Motor Corp. has partnered with Savannah River National Laboratory to develop a lighter-weight and cost-effective hydrogen fuel storage system. Toyota will spend an additional $1 million on its own research in cooperation with about 60 Savannah River National Laboratory scientists who will work in half of the 60,000-square-foot Center for Hydrogen Research just outside the SRS fence. (more)

Equitex Signs Definitive Agreement to Acquire Hydrogen Power, Inc.

9/14/05. Equitex, Inc. (Nasdaq:EQTX) will acquire Hydrogen Power, Inc. HPI will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Equitex. The HPI Hydrogen Now patented system creates pure hydrogen from the reaction of aluminum and water and sea water. The process safely generates pure hydrogen by a water-split reaction -- providing increased access to hydrogen. Hydrogen Now can be used to generate hydrogen on-site and on-demand without electricity thus overcoming significant transportation and storage problems. The HPI process has the potential to supply hydrogen at customized rates and pressures. (more)

Researchers examine potential for 'refilling' hydrogen storage material

9/13/05. Researchers looked at compounds of nitrogen, boron and hydrogen - NBH6 - and found one that might be more stable compared to ammonia borane, a molecular crystal built of NH3BH3 molecules. Ammonia borane can hold a lot of hydrogen but isn't easily reversible – or able to be refilled with hydrogen. Ammonia borane, as a storage material, would likely have to be removed from the vehicle and be sent to some sort of processing plant and undergo a reaction to be refilled. The more stable compound, diammoniate of diborane or DADB, holds more promise for reversibility. Initial thermodynamic properties for the compound indicate that it might spontaneously uptake hydrogen fuel. (more)

Distributed Energy Systems initiated with "buy"

9/10/05. Analysts at First Albany initiate coverage of Distributed Energy Systems Corporation with a "buy" rating. The target price is set to $9. In a research note published this morning, the analysts mention that the company’s Northern Power Systems subsidiary demonstrates an impressive method to leverage anticipated growth in distribution generation. Distributed Energy Systems is expected to benefit from the anticipated robust growth of the distribution generation market going forward, First Albany adds. Distributed Energy Systems’ Proton Energy Systems subsidiary is likely to provide the company with additional margin leverage in the forthcoming few years, the analysts say.

Hyundai opens fuel cell research center

9/8/05. Hyundai Kia Automotive Group has opened its new $58 million Environmental Technology R&D Center. Located at the southern edge of Seoul in South Korea, the five-storey, 14,233 square metre building houses 200 researchers and more than 400 high-tech equipment. Facilities include a 700-bar hydrogen filling station, a fuel-cell endurance tester, an emissions lab and a pilot dismantling plant to improve the recycle rate of end-of-life vehicles. (more)

Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. Announces Fiscal Year 2005 Financial Results Conference Call and Webcast

9/7/05. Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. will release 2005 financial results on September 12, 2005 after the close of regular trading. ECD will host a conference call at 4:45 p.m. ET Please dial 1-877-858-2512 or 1-706-634-1291 10 minutes before the scheduled start time. A telephone replay of the call will be available from 7:45 p.m. ET, September 12, 2005 until 7:00 p.m. ET September 15, 2005 at 800-642-1687 or 1-706-645-9291. Use conference ID #9319027 to access the conference call and the replay. If you are unable to participate during the live webcast, the call will be archived at http://www.ovonic.com/ .

H2 Truck Ready for Sale in Europe

9/6/05. Danish based H2 Truck ApS – a joint venture between A Flensborg A/S and H2 Logic ApS has launched the H2 Truck, a small utility vehicle suitable for transport applications at hospitals and airports. The H2 Truck is intended for internal transportation in industries, warehouses, hospitals, airports and other applications with a need for non-polluting light transport. The H2 Truck is powered by a Ballard Nexa fuel cell module which has a refilling time of 2-3 minutes compared to the 10-12 hours recharge time of batteries. (more)

American Security Resources to Acquire Rights to Fuel Cell Technology on Printed Circuit Boards

9/6/05. American Security Resources Corporation (OTCBB:ARSC), announced today that it has signed a Letter of Intent to acquire an interest in EGO Design Inc., a privately-held company that holds patents for silicon-based, hydrogen fuel cells. With the acquisition, ARSC will gain the exclusive right to license and market the technology. (more)

Fuel Cell System Business Will Operate as NuCellSys GmbH

9/5/05. As of 1st of September, the Ballard Power Systems AG is operating as NuCellSys GmbH. DaimlerChrysler and Ford Motor Company have taken over the fuel cell system business from the Canadian Ballard Power Systems Inc., with each holding a 50 percent share. It is a major step in realigning the Fuel Cell Alliance between Ballard, DaimlerChrysler and Ford towards market introduction of fuel cell engines. NuCellSys will continue developing and manufacturing fuel cell systems for automotive applications. Ballard will focus on the research, development and production of fuel cell stacks. DaimlerChrysler and Ford will integrate the complete fuel cell drive train into their vehicles including inverter, electric engine and hydrogen storage. (more)

Hydrogenics Announces Appointment of Vice President, Corporate Development

9/4/05. Hydrogenics Corporation (TSX:HYG) (NASDAQ:HYGS) appointed Salil Munjal Vice President, Corporate Development. Mr. Munjal will also assume leadership for the legal function at Hydrogenics and serve as the Company's General Counsel. Mr. Munjal brings over 10 years of corporate development, legal and operational experience. (more)

Students build solar hydrogen home in the international Solar Decathlon competition

9/4/05. The house is NYIT’s entry in the 2005 Solar Decathlon competition, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy at he Solar Village on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The benefit of using a hydrogen fuel cell system is that the energy balance is smoothed out – excess hydrogen produced on exceptionally sunny days can be stored and used on less optimal days. The robust summer hydrogen production can be stored for months and used during the lean winter days. It will be open to the public from Oct. 7 - 16. (more)

H.M. Cragg Co. Deploys 1st GenCore® PEM Fuel Cell at MN Telecom Companies

9/1/05 H.M. Cragg Co., installed a 5 kW GenCore® PEM fuel cell for back-up power at FTTH Communications L.LC at their Albertville-MN site. The is a result of the collaborative efforts of H.M. Cragg Co., the Minnesota Department of Commerce, Plug Power Inc. and the cumulative energies of Minnesota-based 3M and Entegris. FTTH Communications was one of two telecom providers to receive a grant from the Minnesota Department of Commerce which awarded grants to telecom providers demonstrating interest and commitment to clean energy via deployment of a fuel cell backup system. (more)

VW developing Solar-Hydrogen Filling Station

8/31/05. Carmaker Volkswagen has revealed plans to develop a solar-hydrogen filling station as part of its continuing research into the use of fuel cells. The station will be installed at the company's research centre in Lower Saxony in Germany and has been co-developed with the German solar energy company Solvis. The new facility will allow for advanced testing of fuel cell powered vehicles that can also generate energy from sunlight. The station will use solar panels to produce enough electricity to release the hydrogen from water using electrolysis. (more)

Fuel Cells Available For Rent

8/31/05. Sandpiper Technologies Inc. has initiated a program enabling customers to rent methanol-powered fuel cells for evaluation.The program, called the Fuel Cell Power Rent-to-Own program, allows the first-time user to try the fuel cell for at least two weeks with a 100 percent rental credit towards a purchase. STI's standard rental credit of 50 percent applies towards later purchases. Weekly rentals are calculated from $99 to $149 depending on the total number of contracted weeks, plus power used. (more)

U.S. Department of Energy Grants HydroGen LLC Exclusive License for Four Patents

8/30/05. HydroGen Corporation's (OTCBB:HYDG), wholly-owned subsidiary HydroGen LLC, a developer and manufacturer of multi-megawatt air-cooled phosphoric acid fuel cell systems, has been granted four patents related to HydroGen's air-cooled PAFC technology by the United States Department of Energy. (more)

Purdue researchers discover new way to produce hydrogen

8/29/05. The new method is cheaper than other approaches, and has a higher power density, which means it can generate more hydrogen with less material. The new technology includes a mixture of sodium borohydride, nanoscale-sized particles of aluminum, and water. A chemical reaction produces the hydrogen. The material requires no catalyst and is more efficient than alternative methods on the market. (more)

Clean energy to spark Scottish economic boost

8/27/05. Producing a low-cost hydrogen storage material could result in a major boost for Scottish business. Alterg is working to produce a number of business plans by the end of the year for commercial applications of the hydrogen storage and release powder it is developing. It has the backing of Intermediate Technology Institute Energy, the government institute supporting emerging technology. The key problem cost. Alterg’s solution will allow the storage of hydrogen close to room temperature and normal atmospheric pressure. It will in effect be a “disruptive technology” which will create new industries. (more)

ENV fuel cell bike has feel of the future

8/26/05. The ENV is the world's first hydrogen fuel cell motorcycle. The futuristic bike is powered by a one-kilowatt fuel cell married to an electric battery to produce six kilowatts -- enough to propel it to its 80-kilometres-an-hour top speed in about 12 seconds. Andy Eggleston, ENV project director, says the future will see biomass easily converted to hydrogen, perhaps in your garage. (more)

PEM Fuel cell breakthrough enables higher temps

8/25/05. Fuel cells have problematic operating temperatures. Efficient, Ceramic fuel cells operate at around 800 degrees Celsius, way too hot for appliances like cell phones and computers. Polymer fuel cells operate at much lower temperatures but are much fussier about the quality of their fuel and consequently less efficient. A new chemical allows polymer fuel cells to run at moderate temperatures where the quality of the fuel is less critical. This discovery could lead to the widespread use of fuel cells as power sources for a whole raft of devices. (more)

Hymer AG to sell Motorhome with Fuel Cell

8/24/05. Hymer AG, Bad Waldsee, Germany, announces the standard integration of a fuel cell for providing an autonomous energy supply into their Hymermobile S-Class. The fuel cell used is the SFC A50 by SFC Smart Fuel Cell AG, Brunnthal, Germany. This public world premiere is the result of a three-year cooperation between Hymer and SFC. Starting September 2005, the SFC A50 will be integrated as standard equipment in the S?Class, Hymer’s premium line, to ensure full mains independence. (more)

UltraCell Launches New Reformed Methanol Fuel Cell

8/24/05. UltraCell introduces its reformed methanol fuel cell (RMFC), a new power source for portable electronic devices with two times the energy density of lithium batteries. RMFC utilizes a breakthrough micro reformer technology that produces fuel-cell-ready hydrogen from a highly concentrated methanol solution. UltraCell's new fuel cell has the energy density of a hydrogen fuel cell. However, it utilizes easily accessible and inexpensive methanol fuel. (more)

Ovonic Battery grants patent license to China's NiMH battery maker

8/23/05. Ovonic Battery Co. Inc., a subsidiary of Energy Conversion Devices Inc. (ECD Ovonics), has entered into a patent license agreement in connection with its proprietary nickel metal hydride (NiMH) battery technology with Intellect Battery Co. Ltd (Intellect) of China. Under the consumer battery license grant, Intellect has a royalty-bearing, nonexclusive right to make, use and sell NiMH batteries for consumer, nonpropulsion applications. (more)

Chiste Corporation Changes Name to HydroGen Corporation, Effects 1-for-25 Reverse Stock Split

8/20/05. Chiste Corporation, a developer and manufacturer of multi-megawatt phosphoric acid fuel cell systems through its operating subsidiary, HydroGen LLC, has changed its corporate name to HydroGen Corporation (OTCBB:HYDG) and completed a 1-for-25 reverse split of the Corporation's common stock. Prior to the reverse split, the Corporation had 186,189,958 shares of common stock issued and outstanding. On a post-reverse split basis, the Corporation now has a total of 7,447,599 shares issued and outstanding. (more)

Hybrid cars sell but are they real fuel savers?

8/18/05. Hybrid vehicles are gaining increasing market share in the US. Yet many motorists are disappointed when they find that they are not getting the low fuel consumption they expect. The fuel saving by hybrids is mainly achieved in stop-and-go traffic, long idling periods and potential for energy recovery through braking. They consume more fuel on flat country roads than their conventional petrol-engine counterparts. Poor fuel economy has been a main complaint on the part of hybrid-car owners. The hybrid technology is important in bridging the gap between petrol and hydrogen fuel technology. (more)

S. Korea, U.S. to cooperate on nuclear hydrogen

8/18/05. SEOUL, Aug. 17 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the United States will work together to develop a next-generation nuclear reactor that promises to produce large quantities of hydrogen at a low cost, officials said Wednesday. The joint project is expected to help South Korea to better prepare for the so-called hydrogen economy where hydrogen will become a major source of energy, according to the Ministry of Science and Economy. The Koreans join with U.S. based General Atomics, a nuclear tech company.

Hydrogen fuel cell solution may come from Finland

8/17/05. This firm makes unique, patented hydrogen fuel cells about the size of the batons used in relay races. Two of them attached to a small battery and an electric motor can power a bicycle at about 10 to 15 miles per hour. Mass produced, they'll sell for about $50 each, meaning enough to power a car would cost $1,000, far less than any new automotive engine today. The hydrogen supply is produced electrically using solar panels. (more)

Research and Markets now covering Automotive Enginge and Powertrains

8/16/05. Automotive Powertrain also discusses the latest trends in hybrid, fuel cell and hydrogen technologies that are fast developing, driven by environmental pressures globally. As discussions on the latest Environment Protection Agency standards, or the Euro 4 and Euro 5 standards rage on, the need for enhancing engine technologies has never been more urgent. (more)

UQM Technologies Awarded Contract to Develop Traction Motor for FreedomCAR

8/15/05. UQM TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
(Amex: UQM), a developer of alternative energy technologies, announced has been awarded a contract by UT-Battelle, LLC, which operates the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), to develop an advanced traction motor for the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) FreedomCAR and Vehicle Technologies Program. (more)

Coal-Based Fuel Cells: A Giant Leap for Fuel Cell Technology

8/12/05. The Department of Energy selected two new Fuel Cell Coal-Based Systems programs--one conducted by General Electric Hybrid Power Generations Systems and the other by Siemens Westinghouse PowerCorporation--with the same goal: to develop the fuel cell technology for central power stations to produce electricity from coal. The two teams will R&D coal gas fired SOFC systems larger than 100 megawatts capacity. (more)

Astris Energi to Exhibit Fuel Cell Golf Cart at Canadian National Exhibition

8/11/05. Astris Energi Inc. (OTCBB:ASRNF) will be exhibiting it's Freedom Golf Car, the world's first alkaline fuel cell powered golf car fuelled by hydrogen, at the Canadian National Exhibition. Powered by Astris' 1.0 kW Power Generator, it has a top cruising speed of 31 kph with better acceleration, hill climbing and extended range compared with a conventional battery-powered model. The car is fuelled by a 33-litre, refillable, carbon fibre hydrogen tank that can last up to 3 days under typical usage. The hydrogen tank can be re-filled within minutes. (more)

Teledyne Delivers 12 Kilowatt PEM Fuel Cell Power Plant to NASA

8/10/05. Teledyne Technologies Incorporated announced that Teledyne Energy Systems, Inc., delivered a 12 kW Proton Exchange Membrane fuel cell power plant to NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. The delivery completes Phase II of Teledyne Energy Systems' contract awarded in 2001 to develop a more reliable, powerful, and low maintenance fuel cell power plant for use in future NASA spacecraft. (more)

Fuel cylinder maker Dynetek's Q2 loss widens to $374,000 from $311,000

8/10/05. CALGARY (CP) - Fuel tank maker Dynetek Industries Ltd. widened its losses in the latest quarter but generated higher revenues. The Calgary company (TSX:DNK), which manufactures fuel storage cylinders for compressed natural gas and hydrogen, reported Tuesday its net loss widened to $374,000 or two cents a share for the three months ended June 30. That compared with a loss of $311,000 or two cents a share for the same 2004 period. Revenues rose to nearly $7.1 million from $5.8 million. (more)

Fuel Cell Customers to Receive Tax Credit Under New Energy Bill

8/09/05. Plug Power Inc. (Nasdaq: PLUG), a leading provider of clean, reliable on-site energy, announced today the inclusion of a fuel cell tax credit in the Energy Bill signed by President George W. Bush yesterday. The bill includes a 30 percent tax credit up to $1,000 per kilowatt on the purchase of fuel cells used in residential or commercial applications. The
tax credit will be available in January 2006 and specifically includes telecommunications carriers among the eligible end users for the tax credit. Additionally, the bill includes an authorization for $3.7 billion for hydrogen
and fuel cell research and development. (more)

Residents upset about fuel cell plan

8/5/05. A proposal to test an experimental hydrogen-powered fuel cell within a few hundred feet of homes in Rimini is drawing the ire of some residents. Cathy Eakin wants to put a brake on the proposal by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy until more can be learned about it. Eakin and other residents were told of the proposed test at an EPA meeting on area mine cleanup last week. The cell planned for Rimini is about the size of a refrigerator and will sit in a building about 500 yards from Eakin's house. (more)

Ford Hydrogen Buses coming to Lehigh Valley

8/5/05. Two hydrogen-powered shuttle buses will pull into the Lehigh Valley early next year, staying for a two-year test that should give many Valley residents their first view of a hydrogen-powered vehicle. One bus will be used for campus transportation at the Trexlertown headquarters of Air Products and Chemicals Inc., the world's largest supplier of hydrogen. The other bus will be based at the Da Vinci Discovery Center of Science and Technology in South Whitehall Township, where it will be used for trips to schools and other educational efforts. Both buses, to be built by Ford Motor Co., will fill up at a specialized fuel station at Air Products' Trexlertown campus. (more)

Honda will go it alone on fuel-cell cars unless GM comes knocking

8/5/05. Honda Motor Co. will work alone to develop fuel-cell cars but is open to the idea of joint research with General Motors Corp., President Takeo Fukui said in an interview Thursday. "We are not counting on other automakers" to help develop the fuel-cell cars, Fukui said, denying a report in the Yomiuri Shimbun earlier in the day that Honda, GM and BMW had agreed to work together to develop hydrogen-powered vehicle technology so the cars would be more marketable. (more)

Hydrogenics' Q2 loss widens 12% to US$9.5M from $8.5M

8/5/05. The Toronto-area company reported Thursday it lost $9.5 million US or 10 cents a share for the three months ended June 30. That compared with a loss of $8.5 million US or 13 cents a share last year, when the company had far fewer shares outstanding. The company, which reports in U.S. dollars, said revenues rose 76 per cent to $6.3 million from $3.6 million, helped by the acquisition of Stuart Energy Corp. However, Hydrogenics noted that second-quarter revenues were below those in the first quarter of this year. (more)

Honda, BMW, and GM in fuel cell alliance

8/4/05. Honda, GM, and BMW hope to standardize technologies so they can sell fuel cell-powered vehicles around the world. The manufacturers are betting fuel cells will power the next generation of automobiles, replacing dwindling supplies of gasoline as crude oil runs out or becomes prohibitively expensive. The manufacturers hope the collaboration will reduce development costs and plan to standardize fuel nozzles and other parts, according to the report.

Oil sets records again

8/3/05. U.S. light sweet crude for September delivery rallied in electronic trading to $62.47 a barrel, above the $62.30 mark set Monday, before easing at 7:58 a.m. ET to $62.31, up 42 cents a barrel. (more)

'Clean' Vehicle Research Initiative on Track, But Many Challenges Ahead

8/3/05. A public-private effort to develop more fuel-efficient automobiles and introduce hydrogen as a transportation fuel is well-planned and identifies all major hurdles the program will face, says the National Academies' National Research Council. Many technical barriers remain and new inventions will be needed, but the program, launched three years ago, has made an excellent start. A research collaboration among the U.S. Department of Energy, the Big Three automakers, and five major energy companies, seeks to develop emissions-free and petroleum-free vehicles. The program includes the President's Hydrogen Fuel Initiative. (more)

China advancing fuel cell research

8/2/05. The Chinese government places great importance on the research and development of fuel cells. In recent years China has developed 100-watt level to 30-kilowatt level hydrogen-oxygen fuel electrodes and fuel cell electric cars etc. Fuel cell technologies, particularly the proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) technology, achieved fast progress, having developed PEMFC batteries of many specifications such as those of 60-kilowatt and 75 kilowatt. (more)

Saudi Arabia will keep same oil policy under new king

8/1/05. The world's top oil exporter Saudi Arabia will stand by its policy of pumping enough oil to satisfy markets and stabilise prices following the death of King Fahd, a leading Saudi diplomat said on Monday. Crown Prince Abdullah, in charge of Saudi oil since Fahd suffered a stroke in 1995, was swiftly appointed monarch of the world's largest crude exporter, ensuring a smooth transition. (more)

GM and Toyota may part ways on fuel cells

7/31/05. GM and Toyota were due to share technologies to develop hybrid vehicles running on fuel cell technologies. The latest reports in claims that the companies have decided to part their ways over conflicts over the technology sharing issue. They are now going to scrap a planned fuel-cell vehicle joint venture over this disagreement. However, the companies might still continue to co-operate with each other on research and development in environmental technology for automobiles. (more)

Ballard Power's Q2 net loss narrows slightly to US$29.5M from $30.6M

7/29/05. Ballard Power Systems Inc. reported a quarterly loss of $29.5 million US, compared with $30.6 million US a year ago, while revenue was cut in less than half. The Vancouver-based fuel cell developer said late Thursday it lost 24 cents per share, compared with 26 cents a year ago. Revenue slipped to $9 million, compared with $21.2 million in the same quarter last year. (more)

Honda FCX Integrates Hydrogen Station Locating Navigation System

7/28/05. Honda announced today that all hydrogen fuel cell-powered 2005 FCX vehicles will be equipped with a Honda developed navigation system. This new navigation system is the first in the world to incorporate the location of hydrogen stations, including stations being developed as part of California's "Hydrogen Highway" Initiative. (more)

Energy bill provides billions for fuel cell technologies

7/28/05. A compromise measure moving through Congress would provide up to four billion dollars for the rapidly growing fuel cells industry. Fuel cell advocates say the bill would put fuel cells on a par with other technologies such as solar power as an important energy alternative. Lawmakers not only authorized nearly two billion dollars over the next five years for more research and development, but provided more than one million dollars for demonstration projects and set up a tax incentive program for customers who buy fuel cells for either vehicles or buildings. (more)

US Raises Concerns about Energy use in China, India

7/28/05. U.S. officials are raising concerns about the growing energy demands of China and India, but say the United States is actively working to engage both countries in cooperation over energy interests. Robust economic growth in China and India has led to steep increases in energy use in both countries. Demand for energy in China and India will double by 2030. During the same time, U.S. demand is expected to grow by only as much as 50 percent. The United States, China and India all rely largely on imports of oil to meet energy demands. Undersecretary of Energy David Garman said this binds the three countries in what he referred to as "an oil co-dependency." (more)

Progress Energy Florida and Hydrogenics unveil hydrogen fuel cell at state park

7/27/05. The fully integrated fuel cell and 5kW photovoltaic solar system are creating a portion of the electricity used at the park's Wildlife Encounter Pavilion, which provides educational programming to park visitors. At the park, PV cells power an electrolyzer, which splits water into hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen gas is then stored for later conversion into electricity by the fuel cell. (more)

Mr. John Tak Appointed President and CEO of Fuel Cells Canada

7/27/05. Fuel Cells Canada, the national industry association for Canada's hydrogen and fuel cell sector, appointed John Tak as its new President and CEO. Mr. Tak brings extensive experience in the public and private sectors from his work at Magna International, The Asia Pacific Foundation, The BC Trade and Development Corporation and Mitsubishi Canada Limited. Most recently, Mr. Tak has been in charge of all aspects of Mitsubishi Canada's multi-million dollar specialty chemicals business. (more)

Millennium Cell to receive funding for fuel cells

7/26/05. Millennium Cell Inc. said that its proposal to develop a high-volume manufacturing process for fuel cartridges has been awarded a contract by the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences. The contract calls for a cross-industry collaborative partnership between NCMS and the U.S. Dept. of Energy, to develop manufacturing technologies for affordable hydrogen-powered energy systems including fuel cell components and hydrogen storage systems. (more)

Cellex successfully completes hydrogen fuel cell field trials at Wal-Mart(R) distribution center

7/25/05. Cellex Power Products, Inc. completed its Alpha hydrogen fuel cell product field trials at the logistics subsidiary of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Wal-Mart agreed to support Cellex's Beta field trials and commercialization process of fuel cell power systems for electric lift trucks. Cellex had four fuel cell power units in operation for two weeks at a Wal-Mart food distribution center in Missouri demonstrating the operational benefits to Wal-Mart when powering their fleet of pallet trucks. (more)

QuantumSphere, Inc. Appoints Kimberly McGrath, Ph.D. to Director of Fuel Cell Research

7/22/05. Dr. McGrath will work with QuantumSphere's research team to synthesize and characterize a highly optimized catalyst composition for PEM and DMFC fuel cell anode and cathode electrodes using the company"s highly catalytic metallic nanopowders. Dr. McGrath will also tailor catalysts for various cell types and operating temperature regimes and design new fuel cell systems for small, portable applications that will be efficient at room temperature with minimal catalyst loading. The company believes its materials will replace platinum as the catalysts in hydrogen fuel cells. (more)

Alkali metals generate low cost hydrogen

7/21/05. Sigma-Aldrich Corporation (NASDAQ:SIAL), a $1.4 billion Life Science and High Technology Company, and SiGNa Chemistry, the early advanced materials company that recently made history with alkali metal stabilization, today announced that SiGNa's powerful reduction agent product will be distributed by Sigma-Aldrich. SiGNa's breakthrough product harnesses the power of alkali metals for generating low-cost hydrogen. (more)

ECD helps Indians invent hydrogen powered rickshaw

7/21/05. Krishna Sapru and Subramanian Ramachandran have achieved a significant breakthrough by developing a hydrogen-run three-wheeler for Indian roads. They converted a CNG-run Bajaj three-wheeler (autorickshaw) to run on hydrogen fuel. ‘The overall goal of this project is to demonstrate the potential for commercialization of a small, hydrogen fueled vehicle using ECD’s proprietary metal hydride storage system as a fuel tank." (more)

Quantum awarded Phase 2 of U.S. Department Hydrogen Storage Program

7/20/05. Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide, Inc., announced today that the U.S. Department of Energy has awarded the company Phase 2 of its $2.6 million program for the development and advancement of next generation hydrogen storage technologies. Quantum and the DOE are working to advance hydrogen storage systemsfor fuel cell vehicle commercialization, optimizing the storage capacity of Quantum's ultra lightweight advanced composite 10,000-psi hydrogen storage tank technology. (more)

Fuel Cell Sector Too Crowded

7/19/05. Canada's biggest fuel cell companies will find it difficult to achieve profitability so long as the sector remains crowded with small players, says Pierre Rivard, chief executive officer of Mississauga-based Hydrogenics Corp. "We believe there is a need for consolidation because right now revenues are not sufficient to sustain that many companies in the fuel cell sector," Mr. Rivard, who runs Canada's second-largest fuel cell company, said in an interview. (more)

FCV Entered in 1,600 mile solar challenge

7/18/05. UND's hydrogen fuel cell car, SubZero3, will begin its 1,600-mile trek today from Austin, Texas, to Calgary, Alta., in the 2005 North American Solar Challenge. The race is designed for solar cars. Since UND's runs on a hydrogen fuel cell, it's been allowed to run in the contest as a "demonstration" and will be last in the running order. (more)

ECD Subsidiary, United Solar Ovonic, Achieves Record Product Sales and Production

7/18/05. Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (ECD Ovonics) today announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, United Solar Ovonic LLC, has achieved record product sales of approximately $18 million, representing 5.6 megawatts of solar cells for the quarter ended June 30, 2005. Production levels reached 2.0 megawatts per month for the months of May and June. (more)

US steps up investment for battery driven vehicles

7/15/05. The US plans to invest $125 million over the next five years to develop new battery driven vehicles as an alternative to petroleum fuel driven ones. This is apart from the $70 million agreement initially signed in May, bringing the total joint investments in vehicle technologies to $195 million over the next five years, the official release said. (more)

DTE to unveil hydrogen energy park

7/15/05. DTE, Michigan's largest power company, has teamed with DaimlerChrysler AG, Lawrence Technological University and BP (formerly British Petroleum) to develop a cutting-edge Hydrogen Power Park, which powers 10 5-kilowatt hydrogen fuel cells, using solar power and the electric grid. The park also contains a hydrogen-fuel-cell vehicle filling station capable of refueling three prototype hydrogen-fuel-cell vehicles daily. (more)

NanoLogix Signs Agreement to Install Hydrogen Generation System

7/15/05. NanoLogix, Inc., (Pink Sheets: NNLX) announced today that it has signed an
agreement to generate hydrogen from a NanoLogix scale-up bioreactor system
using Arrowhead Wine Cellar's waste organic matter. The first scale-up unit installation will provide valuable data for engineering future systems. The NanoLogix reactor utilizes a patent-pending proprietary method of
synergistically combining a bacteria-based hydrogen production method with excess organic waste from Arrowhead's winery. (more)

DaimlerChrysler Delivers a Fuel Cell Vehicle to Michigan

7/14/05. Today, DaimlerChrysler and Inergy Automotive Systems made another achievement in fuel cell technology. Inergy became the first Michigan F-Cell customer since the DOE Hydrogen Learning Demonstration Project kickoff in Washington, D.C. Inergy will use the DaimlerChrysler F-Cell in daily use to provide further knowledge on operational capabilities and to help conduct research on hydrogen storage. Daily use of the F-Cell will supply technical data that will help improve the next generation of fuel cell vehicles (FCV)s. DaimlerChrysler's efforts are continued proof that the company is committed to fuel cell vehicles. (more)

PBS Explores Fuel Cell Future

7/13/05. Robert Krulwich, host of NOVA scienceNOW, drafted NPR Car Talk hosts Tom and Ray Magliozzi to join him on a test drive of a fuel cell vehicle and then for a demonstration of the chemistry behind it. Krulwich also interviews MIT professor Dan Nocera, who is looking for new ways to coax hydrogen from water, using lasers and basic chemistry. The segment airs July 26.

German Laender powering research into hydrogen and fuel cell technology

7/13/05. In Germany, central government funding of hydrogen and fuel cell technology is provided by the Ministries of Economics, Transport, Research, Environment and Agriculture. By comparison, funding in the USA is centrally managed at Federal level, basically through three Government Departments – Defense, Transport and the Environment. The German Laender saw the need to act, and eight of the sixteen Laender launched initiatives to combine skills and know-how in research and industrial companies. Following the examples of California and of the Region of Vancouver, whole clusters were established on the basis of these seedling projects. (more)

Start-up coins new way to harvest hydrogen

7/12/05. New York City-based Signa says it has come up with a new way to produce hydrogen. The key is sodium, the ornery alkali metal that bursts into sparks when dunked in water.Signa mixes sodium with silica gel or crystalline silicon into a powder that essentially strips electrons from the sodium molecules in advance and stores it. The powder generates hydrogen efficiently. More than 9 percent of a kilogram of the powder gets converted to hydrogen and little energy is lost through heat. (more)

Astris Energi Welcomes Industry Veteran to Board

Astris Energi Inc. (OTCBB:ASRNF), the world's leading alkaline fuel cell (AFC) technology company, announced today that Gary G. Brandt, formerly Chief Financial Officer of Hydrogenics Corporation, has joined the Board of Directors, effective immediately. Mr. Brandt is a senior business leader with extensive cross-industry and cross-border experience in alternative energy, telecommunications, and technology. (more)

Industry wants European hydrogen development boost

7/08/05. Europe should boost its public investments in hydrogen and fuel cells to pave the way for a future with cleaner cars and renewable energy, politicians, academics and corporate executives said. Public investments in Europe should be more than doubled to 250 million euros a year to be on a par with government efforts in Japan and the United States, the European Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Technology Platform said in a strategic overview. (more)

Ballard Hosts President of China

Ballard Power Systems (TSX:BLD) (NASDAQ:BLDP) hosted Chinese President, Hu Jintao and his delegation for an official tour of Ballard's facilities and a ride in a Ballard-powered Ford Focus fuel cell car. Ballard has provided three fuel cell powertrains to its partner and customer, DaimlerChrysler, to power three Mercedes Benz Citaro fuel cell buses that will enter revenue service in Beijing later this year. (more)

Micro Fuel Cells Market to explode in 2006 and reach $1.6 Billion by 2010

NanoMarkets, a market research outfit company, believes developments in the marketplace will make 2006 the take off year for mobile fuel cells, and by 2010, the market will be worth US $1.6 billion and US $2.7 billion in 2012, predicts the report. (more)

Encore Signs 'MPG' Development and License Agreement With ISE Corporation for Hybrid Vehicle Application

9/15/05. Encore Clean Energy, Inc. (OTCBB:ECLN) is has an agreement with ISE Corporation to design and build prototype units of Encore's patent pending Magnetic Piston Generator ("MPG") technology for use in heavy duty motor vehicles. Harnessing radiator and tailpipe exhaust heat of a gasoline or diesel engine, or the exhaust heat of a hydrogen fuel-cell, may be one of the most cost-effective ways by which car and truck makers worldwide can potentially increase vehicle driving range. (more)

American Security Resources Forms Fuel Cell Holding Company

9/14/05. American Security Resources Corporation (OTCBB:ARSC) has launched Hydra Fuel Cell Corporation as the holding company for ARSC's fuel cell operations. American Security Resources recently signed a Letter of Intent to acquire 49% of EGO Design which has developed proprietary, silicon-based, printed circuit board sized, hydrogen fuel cell technology. EGO Design believes the 5KW to 40KW fixed power market niche could generate sales of $1 billion annually to the company within 8 years. (more)

ECD Ovonics Reports Fiscal Year 2005 Operating Results

9/13/05. Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (ECD Ovonics) (Nasdaq: ENER) today reported
financial results for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2005. The Company reported income from continuing operations of $49.5 million on revenues of $156.6 million, compared to a loss from continuing operations of $49.2 million
on revenues of $66.3 million in fiscal year 2004. On a per-share basis, the
income was $1.70 (fully diluted) in 2005 compared to a loss of $2.15 in 2004. (more)

Quantum Fuel Systems schedules 2005 Q1 results conference call

9/8/05. Quantum Fuel Systems
Technologies Worldwide, Inc., (Nasdaq: QTWW) will hold a conference call to
announce its fiscal 2005 first quarter financial results on Thursday, September 8, 2005 at 1:30 p.m. Pacific Time (4:30 p.m. ET). call
ten minutes prior to the starting time: (706) 643-3625, Conference ID# 9310404. Playback for 2 weeks at (800)
642-1687 or (706) 645-9291, ID# 9310404. or on the website. (more)

GlobeTel Announces Letter of Intent with Solar, Battery, Fuel Cell Research Consortium

9/6/05. GlobeTel Communications Corp. (AMEX: GTE) today announced that its subsidiary, Sanswire Networks LLC (Sanswire), has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with the Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Wuerttemberg (ZSW). The LOI states that ZSW will provide research and development engineering support under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement for the development of a state-of-the-art solar-electric propulsion system for Sanswire's Stratellite airship. (more)

Ceres Power up 8% on deal with BOC

9/6/05. The Aim-listed fuel cell company Ceres Power (CWR.L) announced a deal today with the gases group BOC, it's stock rose 8% to 135. The Ceres cell uses gas to produce hot water and electricity and could supply power and heat from bottled gas for operations such as construction sites and telecoms base stations. Ceres is already working with British Gas to develop its fuel cell for use in homes, taking gas off the main grid to produce electricity and hot water. (more)

Energy Conversion Devices Restructuring

9/4/05. Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (ECD Ovonics) is restructuring as it transitions from research to manufacturing. All production manufacturing and commercial operations will now report to James R. Metzger, executive vice president and chief operating officer. Stanford R. Ovshinsky, currently president and chief technology officer, will be named president and chief scientist and technologist. In this position, he will continue to lead the development of the full potential of the emerging "Hydrogen Economy." Both Stan Ovshinsky and Jim Metzger continue to report to Robert C. Stempel, chairman and CEO of ECD Ovonics. (more)

Automakers steer fuel-cell cars to California roads

8/31/05. GM, Honda, and BMW are introducing Fuel Cell cars to California. BMW may have a leg up to market a new car in California and Europe powered by a gasoline engine and a hydrogen fuel cell system. The German automaker plans to offer a limited number of the new model in its 7 Series in 2010. The state's "hydrogen blueprint," calls for up to 2,000 hydrogen vehicles and 100 refueling stations by 2010 at an estimated cost of $54 million. Depending on the results of the first phase, California would aim for 20,000 hydrogen vehicles and 250 fuel stations. (more)

Ballard Shareholders Approve the Sale of German Subsidiary to DaimlerChrysler and Ford

8/30/05. The shareholders of Ballard Power Systems (TSX:BLD) (NASDAQ:BLDP) today approved the sale of the company's German subsidiary, Ballard Power Systems AG (BPSAG), to DaimlerChrysler AG (DaimlerChrysler) and Ford Motor Company (Ford). The transaction received overwhelming support, with 97.65% of shares voted, excluding those of DaimlerChrysler and Ford, in favor of the sale. (more)

Medis Technologies successfully tests new micro fuel cell power packs

8/29/05.Medis Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:MDTL) announced that its refuelable fuel cell Power Packs, developed to power an Itronix® Corporation tablet (GoBook™) under a contract with General Dynamics with funding from the U.S. Air Force, performed successfully in meeting the specified test criteria. The Power Pack produces eight watts at 5.0 volts output and when depleted of its fuel can be refueled by a fuel cartridge in a matter of seconds. (more)

HydroGen Corp. Fuel-cell project a possibility for Canton area

8/27/05. HydroGen Corp. has the Canton area on its list of potential sites for a demonstration fuel-cell project. A $1.25 million grant from the Ohio Department of Development will help fund its commercial fuel-cell project. The project is the start of the company’s efforts to develop an automated manufacturing facility between 2006 and 2008. The company also is looking at the Akron and Medina areas, Tosteson said. The Pennsylvania facility would remain in place for three or four years, he said. (more)

Shanghai Automotive to sell Fuel Cell Vehicles before 2010

8/27/05. Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp (SAIC), one of China's biggest automakers, on Friday unveiled its plans for new-energy-powered vehicles over the next three to five years. SAIC will start small-volume commercial production of hydrogen-powered fuel-cell cars before 2010. Last November the company signed a joint agreement with GM on hybrid and fuel-cell vehicles in China, mainly using the United States auto giant's technology. (more)

Fort Collins to give hydrogen/natural gas fuel a test drive

8/26/05. Fort Collins will experiment with a little-known fuel, hythane. Hythane is a mixture of hydrogen and compressed natural gas. Fort Collins plans to convert its five or six 12-seater minibuses, which run on compressed natural gas, to hythane. The city is building a new fueling station that will mix hydrogen and CNG in the proper proportion. Once the station is completed later this year, it also will offer pure hydrogen to run some fuel-cell vehicles that Fort Collins plans to acquire for demonstration purposes. (more)

ECD Ovonics Subsidiary Ovonic Fuel Cell Company Awarded Grant by Michigan Public Service Commission

8/25/05. Energy Conversion Devices, Inc., (ECD Ovonics) , announced today that Ovonic Fuel Cell Company LLC, its wholly owned subsidiary, has been awarded a $400,000 grant by Michigan Public Service Commission. This Michigan Energy Efficiency Grant will support a nine-month program for the development of a prototype fuel cell system for uninterruptible power supply (UPS) and emergency power applications. (more)

Buckyballs Nanotubes show promise for hydrogen storage

8/24/05. Two research groups have independently reported a new take on hydrogen storage with thepublication of computational-modelling studies that predict a storage potential of as much as 9wt% for Buckminsterfullerene (C60) and carbon-nanotubemolecules “decorated” with light transition metals. (more)

Two Thousand Fuel Cells Operating in 26 Countries

8/23/05. More than two thousand fuel cells are providing clean, reliable and in some cases, renewable on-site or backup power at locations in more than 26 countries, according to a comprehensive update released today by Fuel Cells 2000. The report is available without charge. The latest additions expand Fuel Cells 2000's Worldwide Fuel Cell Installation chart to 65 pages including a significant number of new European and Asian listings. The chart includes data on fuel cell manufacturer, location, fuel cell size, fuel type, operating information and pictures, where available.

Ballard Announces Supply Agreement for Fuel Cell-Powered Lift Truck Market

8/20/05. Ballard Power Systems (TSX:BLD) (NASDAQ:BLDP) today announced that is has signed an Equipment Supply Agreement with Cellex Power(TM) Products, Inc. to deliver 27 Mk 902 4.8 kilowatt fuel cells to Cellex for integration into its power units for its upcoming beta trials. Cellex's power products are designed to replace industrial lead acid batteries in electric lift trucks used in high throughput distribution centers. (more)

ECD Ovonics' Battery Subsidiary Grants Patent License to Intellect Battery Co. of China

8/18/05. ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich., Aug. 17, 2005 -- Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (ECD Ovonics) announced today that its subsidiary, Ovonic Battery Company, Inc. (Ovonic Battery), has entered into a patent license agreement in connection with its proprietary nickel metal hydride (NiMH) battery technology with Intellect Battery Co. Ltd. (Intellect) of the People's Republic of China. Under the consumer battery license grant, Intellect has a royalty-bearing, nonexclusive right to make, use and sell NiMH batteries for consumer, nonpropulsion applications. (more)

ECD Ovonics Planning to Open Ovonic Solid Hydrogen Test Facility in Akron

8/17/05. Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (ECD Ovonics) announced today that it is considering plans to open an Ovonic solid hydrogen testing facility in Akron, Ohio. The testing laboratory will have the capability to test and certify Ovonic metal hydride storage containers for use with portable fuel cell generators, on-board storage of hydrogen for internal combustion engine and fuel cell vehicles, and for solid hydrogen dispensing stations to refill canisters and vehicles, and other stationary uses. (more)

GM participating in Middle Eastern Fuel Cell Conference

8/15/05. The Middle East Forum on Fuel Cells & H2 Economy (MEFH - USA) and Fuel Cell Markets (FCM - UK) are very pleased to announce today that General Motors Corporation (GM) will be a platinum sponsor for the first conference and exhibition ever dedicated to discuss the fuel cells technology and hydrogen economy in the Middle East. The event will take place in Dubai, UAE, from Dec. 6-7, 2005. (more)

SOFCo-EFS Successfully Completes 500-hour Fuel Cell Demonstration with Diesel Fuel

8/12/05. EFS Holdings LLC completed a 500-hour demonstration of a 10 kilowatt diesel fuel processor operating with its solid oxide fuel cell. The test proved the technical feasibility of using commercially available 2007 Certified Diesel Fuel to produce electricity with a fuel cell. This is a milestone in developing distillate-fueled solid oxide fuel cells for various mobile and stationary power applications to both commercial and military markets. The demonstration highlighted the company’s compact diesel reforming technology as well as its sulfur-tolerant solid oxide fuel cell. (more)

Highway Bill has $49 Million for Fuel Cell Buses

8/11/05. President George W. Bush signed a $286.5 billion spending authorization for transportation projects that includes $49 million for a consortium of 30 bus makers, operators, and technology firms to develop fuel cell buses.

European CUTE Fuel Cell Bus Project Concludes Successfully

8/11/05. Nations involved in the Clean Urban Transport for Europe project concluded a two-year test of Mercedes Benz fuel-cell buses - 30 total - in 10 European cities. Tim Sasseen, a senior field service engineer Ballard Power Systems--Ballard partnered on the buses with DaimlerChrysler, Shell Hydrogen and Icelandic New Energy--said, "It's gone much better than expected. In every city, the buses increased the service, and the response of passengers was very favorable." (more)

F-Cell trade fair is meeting point for the fuel cell sector

8/10/05. Anyone involved in the development, manufacture, deployment or marketing of fuel cells should place a red mark on September 26 and 27 in their diary. This is when the fifth f-cell symposium (www.f-cell.de/english) – the forum for producers and users of fuel cells – will take place in the 'Haus der Wirtschaft' in Stuttgart. the stage for the exchange of information in the industry is the accompanying trade fair. Last year, 32 companies from research & development, manufacturers of complete systems as well as of individual components exhibited there. (more)

Nuvera Andromeda II now available for fuel cell vehicles

8/09/05. Nuvera Fuel Cells, Inc., announced that its next generation fuel cell stack, the Andromeda II, achieved several milestones in recent qualification tests at its facility in Milan, Italy. The new stack exceeded expectations for power density, cold-start capability, system efficiency, durability, and high-volume production cost. The Andromeda II generates 125 kW (168 horsepower) and is currently available for delivery to qualified fuel cell vehicle developers.

Fuel Cell Researchers look to carbon

8/5/05. A group of researchers has developed a new method of layering graphite that could be used someday to efficiently and safely store hydrogen in a vehicle. If their preliminary findings hold up under more experimentation, carbon-based storage may have the most potential, among several technologies now being considered, to make fuel-cell vehicles commercially viable. Published in the July 26 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study claims that earlier research underestimated the potential capacity of carbon materials to store hydrogen. (more)

Asia Pacific contracted to demo 40 fuel cell scooters

8/5/05. Taiwan’s Ministry of Economics awarded Asia Pacific Fuel Cell Technologies, Ltd. of Taiwan a grant to produce a 40-vehicle fleet demonstration program of hybrid fuel cell powered scooters, marking an an important milestone in the push towards fuel cell commercialization. Thel proposed program budget is over US$4.6 million. The stated goals of the fleet demonstration program are to validate hybrid fuel cell/Li ion battery power technology and its application to a scooter motorcycle, demonstrate hydrogen supply, storage and distribution technology and validate the metal hydride based hydrogen infrastructure for fuel cell scooters. (more)

Linde Gas and Proton Energy Systems Join to Market Products in the U.S., Mexico and the Caribbean

8/5/05. Linde Gas LLC has entered into an agreement with Proton Energy Systems, Inc., a subsidiary of
Distributed Energy Systems Corp. (Nasdaq: DESC), under which Linde Gas will
become a distributor for Proton's HOGEN(R) on site hydrogen generation systems. Linde Gas will market Proton's HOGEN(R) to energy and utilities sector customers in the United States, Mexico and the Caribbean. (more)

Air Products Selects FuelCell Energy for Development of Next Generation Hydrogen Energy Station

8/3/05. Air Products (NYSE: APD) announced today that it has awarded a subcontract to FuelCell Energy, Inc. (NasdaqNM:FCEL) under a United States Department of Energy (DOE) Cooperative Agreement to evaluate, design and demonstrate a next-generation Hydrogen Energy Station (HES). The HES will build upon FuelCell Energy's ultra-clean Direct FuelCell(R) (DFC(R)) power plants and Air Products' advanced gas separation technologies. The HES is directed toward co-producing hydrogen for vehicle fueling and electrical power from a single system. The HES effort will be directed toward a capability of using readily available fuels such as natural gas, propane and anaerobic digester gas from municipal and industrial wastewater treatment facilities. (more)

UC Davis Fuel Cells Expert Debates Online at PBS.org

8/3/05. At the Web site of a PBS television program, Dan Sperling, the director of the UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies, is debating Joseph Romm, executive director and founder of the Center for Energy & Climate Solutions on the feasibility of the Hydrogen Economy. (more)

Italians offer new possibilities for the hydrogen production and for the purification of polluted gases

8/2/05. The next issue of Science will report a study that explains the mechanism for oxygen release by cerium oxide. This material is an important catalyst that favors many fundamental reactions that have profound implications for energy storage and environmental issues. These reactions include, for example, the purification of polluted gases and the production of hydrogen as new energy vector for fuel cells. The present study could inspire the design of new efficient catalysts for producing a large variety of goods, e.g. plastic materials, fuels, fertilizers and drugs. (more)

Fuel Cell Robots to provide security in Japan

8/1/05. Robots could soon begin patrolling Japanese offices, shopping malls and banks to keep them safe from intruders. Equipped with a camera and sensors, the "Guardrobo D1," developed by Japanese security firm Sohgo Security Services Co., is designed to patrol along preprogrammed paths and keep an electronic eye out for signs of trouble. (more)

Ballard Power to focus on non-auto market to boost revenue: CEO

7/31/05. Ballard Power Systems Inc. is turning to the non-automotive market to help boost revenue. Ballard wants to sell its stake in its German subsidiary - Ballard Power Systems AG, which develops fuel cell support systems - to its partners in the project, DaimlerChrysler AG and Ford Motor Co. The deal is up for a shareholder vote Aug. 29. That sale, along with a $30-million-US investment by Japanese partner Ebara Corp. and jointly owned Ebara Ballard Corp., should provide about $90 million to fund Ballard's next-generation auto fuel-cell electric drive and co-generation development programs. (more)

Schwarzenegger at Sierra Nevada Brewery Fuel Cell Dedication

7/29/05. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger visited nearby Chico Thursday and lavished praise on the Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. and founder Ken Grossman's venture into the land of hydrogen. Schwarzenegger was guest of honor during an unofficial dedication of four FuelCell Energy 250 kW fuel cells, the largest commercial installation in the state. Installed in March, the 1-megawatt fuel cell plant cleanly produces nearly all the base load electricity needs for the Chico brewery at about half the cost. "More businesses need to realize that hydrogen power is good for the bottom line ..." and good for the environment, said Schwarzenegger. (more)

Teledyne Technologies Reports Second Quarter Results

7/28/05. Teledyne Technologies today reported second quarter 2005 sales of $303.3 million, compared with sales of $238.9 million for the same period of 2004. Net income for the second quarter of 2005 was $16.1 million ($0.47 per diluted share), compared with net income of $9.9 million ($0.30 per diluted share) in the second quarter of 2004. (more)

John Deere develops new fuel cell

7/28/05. John Deere engineers have developed a hydrogen fuel cell and placed it in one of their most popular machines. The cell will soon be unveiled at a Canadian exhibition about the positive uses of hydrogen. One model of the fuel cell, currently running a John Deere Gator, can produce five kilowatts of electricity, which could power an entire home for about three hours. The vehicle powered by the fuel cell will be on display at Toronto's Hydrogen Village. (more)

Governors urge fuel cell tax credit

7/28/05. Governors from Ohio, Maryland, Connecticut and Pennsylvania in a joint statement on Tuesday urged Congress to consider tax credits for fuel cell projects in the National Energy Policy Act of 2005, a pending bill. (more)

Ballard CEO to Keynote First Middle East Fuel Cell Conference

7/27/05. Michigan, USA and London, England-- The Middle East Forum on Fuel Cells & H2 Economy (MEFH - USA) and Fuel Cell Markets (FCM - UK) are very pleased to announce today that Ballard will be a bronze level sponsor for the first conference and exhibition ever dedicated to discuss the fuel cells technology and hydrogen economy in the Middle East, “Middle East and Hydrogen Technology: opportunities and challenges.” Ballard’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Dennis Campbell, will give a keynote presentation at the conference, which will take place in Dubai, UAE, from Dec. 6-7, 2005. (more)

Titanium and Nanotubes Improve Fuel Cell Storage Capacity

7/27/05. Researchers at the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Turkey's Bilkent University discovered that titanium-crusted carbon nanotubes could meet two key requirements for efficient hydrogen storage: the abilities to latch on to hydrogen molecules in adequate numbers and to relinquish the hydrogen readily when heated. Fuel cell vehicles require a 6 percent minimum storage capacity. The carbon nanotubes, decorated with titanium or other transition metals, can amass a predicted 8 percent of the nanotubes' weight worth of hydrogen. (more)

Congress told hydrogen fuel decades from being practical

7/26/05. No one is predicting an easy transition from gasoline. For one thing, massive amounts of hydrogen would have to be collected. In nature, hydrogen is almost always found in molecules with other elements. Breaking those molecules apart to extract pure hydrogen requires energy. An electric current, for instance, can split water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen, essentially the reverse of what takes place inside a hydrogen fuel cell. The challenges do not end there. There is also the question of how to store hydrogen, a highly-combustible element blamed for the 1937 Hindenburg blimp disaster, safely and compactly in vehicles. (more)

Test Drive DaimlerChrysler F-Cell

7/25/05. Fuel-cell vehicles, like the DaimlerChrysler F-Cell I drove, are being billed as the transportation of the future. After five days and 133 miles in an F-Cell, I can see the potential as well as the hurdles."We hear a lot about people talking about hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles in the short term. That's not reality," said Ron Cogan, editor and publisher of the Green Car Journal. "What is reality is that we have come a long way from where we started in the early to mid-'90s." (more)

DaimlerChrysler supplies fuel-cell-powered buses to Beijing

7/22/05. Three fuel-cell-powered Mercedes-Benz Citaro urban buses were handed over to a high-ranking delegation from China at the DaimlerChrysler AG bus and coach plant in Mannheim. The buses will arrive in China in mid-September as part of a fuel cell project which has been specifically conceived for the Chinese market. The fuel-cell-powered Citaro buses will enter regular service on a 19 km long route in Beijing, which is extremely busy and passes the world-famous Summer Palace as well as the site for the next Olympic Games. (more)

Singapore F-Cell test shows positive result

7/21/05. DaimlerChrysler deployed six Mercedes-BEnz A-Class cars powered by fuel cells, or hydrogen-based fuel, in Singapore, to gain empirical evidence for the development of such vehicles and to define international standards. "Based on the results in Singapore, our company is convinced that this really is the car of the future," DaimlerChrysler Program Leader of the Singapore Fuel Cell Fleet project, Udo Loersch, told a recent technology symposium held in Jakarta. (more)

Expert Speaks on Hill About Hydrogen in U.S. Transportation Future

7/20/05. UC Davis transportation expert Daniel Sperling will speak on Capitol Hill on the status of hydrogen and other gasoline alternatives in the U.S. transportation system. On July 20, Sperling will be the featured speaker in a briefing sponsored by the Senate Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Caucus. On July 27, Sperling will testify before the House Government Reform Subcommittee on Energy and Resources. He will describe studies by the Hydrogen Pathways program of the UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies on the role of federal policy and research in the transition to a hydrogen-based transportation system. (more)

UTC Power's Fuel Cell for Cars Achieves Trouble-free Milestone

7/19/05. UTC Power, a division of United Technologies Corp. , today announced that one of its S500 model transportation fuel cells successfully powered a 2003 Nissan X- Trail FCV for more than 25,000 trouble-free kilometers -- a significant milestone for automotive fuel cells. The vehicle was subjected to real-world driving conditions over various terrains and under different climates. The fuel-cell-powered vehicle is proving its durability through a series of ongoing test drives. (more)

Plug Power surges with large sale of fuel cells

7/18/05. Plug Power Inc. (Nasdaq: PLUG) reported its largest sale to date of its hydrogen fuel cell system. The company said Friday that Tyco Electronics Power Systems, Inc. bought 63 GenCore backup fuel cell systems and resold them to a U.S. telecommunications company. The telecom company's identity wasn't released. The sale puts Plug closer to its goal of selling 300 systems this year. Plug sold 93 systems last year and 16 in the first quarter of this year.The list price for the 5-kilowatt GenCore systems is $15,000. Plug Power's share price surged in heavy trading Friday to a close of $6.53, an increase of 10.7 percent. (more)

Hydrogen Generator available for vehicles

7/18/05. Hydrogen Innovation's Hydro-Gen is an on-demand hydrogen fuel generator that you can add to your vehicle's engine. Hydrogen is created through electrolysis and introduced into the combustion chamber of internal combustion engines providing a cleaner, leaner burn. The addition of the hydrogen burns 98% of the fuel in the combustion chamber eliminating most of the emissions. The company claims a 15% improvement in mileage and cleaner emmissions. (more)

Samsung to Market Butane Fuel Cell in 2007

7/15/05. Samsung SDI will commercialize a new fuel cell capable of using retail butane gas to generate power for portable electric and electronic devices by 2007. The world’s largest plasma display panel (PDP) maker said yesterday that it has developed a fuel cell that can generate 100 watts of electricity for five successive hours with liquefied butane contained in the 220 gram gas cartridge generally used for portable gas cookers. Samsung SDI said it is second only to Matsushita Electric Industrial of Japan to develop the butane-based fuel cell but would be the first to commercialize the technology. (more)

DaimlerChrysler and UCLA Combine Fuel Cell Technology and Education

7/15/05. DaimlerChrysler has supplied UCLA with two fuel cell vehicles. The cars delivered today bring the total number of DaimlerChrysler fuel cell vehicles in California to 11. By putting fuel cell vehicles in customer hands, DaimlerChrysler shows a strong commitment to zero-emission transportation. No manufacturer has more fuel cell vehicles on the road worldwide than DaimlerChrysler. Along with over $1 billion invested, this aggressive effort shows the commitment DaimlerChrysler has made to fuel cell technology. (more)

Fuel cell buses reach milestone

7/14/05. More than 30 fuel cell buses operating as part of a global trial have now traveled further than the milestone of 760,000 kilometres – the distance from the earth to the moon and back. Ten cities in Europe (including London), and one in Australia, have been using these new buses, which were supplied by DaimlerChrysler, since May 2003. This is the largest and most comprehensive trial of fuel cell technology so far and it will be expanded to Asia when Beijing gets its own emissions-free buses in September. (more)

Green technologies fuelling stock market investments

7/14/05. Stocks in companies producing alternative energy are tempting investors. One technology in particular that is drawing attention is the fuel cell. While this technology is not new, it is seen as the long-term replacement for the internal combustion engine in cars and planes - with General Motors, Ford, and Honda all working on it. The technology can also be made small enough to power laptops and even mobile phones - potentially replacing batteries. "We have invested in several companies involved with the development and manufacture of fuel cells," said Mr Crossley. He particularly highlighted Voller Energy - which manufactures portable fuel cell systems for use as battery chargers and mobile generators. (more)

GlobeTel Announces Cooperative Research Effort on Fuel Cells with Proton Energy Systems

7/13/05. GlobeTel Communications Corp. (AMEX:GTE) today announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary Sanswire Networks, LLC has signed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with Proton Energy Systems, Inc., a subsidiary of Distributed Energy Systems Corp. (Nasdaq:DESC). Pursuant to the agreement, Proton will provide assistance in developing a regenerative fuel cell energy storage system for Sanswire's high altitude Remotely Operated Airship or Stratellite. (more)

UTC Power Celebrates Shuttle Launch

7/13/05. As NASA prepares for the historic Space Shuttle Discovery flight, UTC Fuel Cells (UTCFC) is proud to continue its historic role of providing fuel cells that supply all the electrical power for the mission. For four decades, all the U.S. manned space missions have used fuel cell power plants designed, developed and built exclusively by UTC Fuel Cells, a unit of United Technologies Corporation's (NYSE: UTX - News) UTC Power division. (more)

Equitex to Buy Hydrogen Technology

7/12/05. Equitex Inc. said Monday that it agreed to purchase Hydrogen Power Inc.'s intellectual property in the United States for an undisclosed combination of cash and stock. Seattle-based Hydrogen Power has licensed a patented technology that allows hydrogen gas to be generated on-site and on-demand without connection to the electrical grid. The HPI process can supply hydrogen at customized rates and pressures. (more)

Microfuel Cells Need Greater Power Densities To Operate Advanced Equipment

Direct methanol fuel cell technology provides power density in the range of 20 to 50 mille watts per square cm (mW/cm2). DMFCs must reach 100 mW/cm2 to avoid an output density shortfall and meet the requirements of power-hungry devices such as notebook computers, handheld data collection devices, and military equipment. Another alternative to DMFC is the direct formic acid fuel cell technology that has the potential to offer five to six times higher power densities. (more)

Equitex to Acquire Hydrogen Generation Technology

7/11/05. Equitex, Inc. (Nasdaq:EQTX) announced today that it has executed a binding agreement in principle for the acquisition of a license to exploit all of Hydrogen Power Inc.'s intellectual property in the United States for a combination of cash and stock to be issued. In connection with the transaction, the Company also received three separate options to acquire HPI's intellectual property rights for South America, Mexico and Canada. In addition, if Equitex chooses to exercise its options, the Company could acquire all of the business operations of HPI pursuant to the terms of the final option. (more)

Lawmakers take some of the air out of `hydrogen highway' plan

7/08/05. In a setback for one of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's centerpiece environmental efforts, state lawmakers on Thursday approved barely half the money the state Environmental Protection Agency had said was needed to start building a ``hydrogen highway'' across California. Lawmakers hammering out the state budget in Sacramento approved $6.5 million for the system of non-polluting hydrogen cars and fueling stations beginning Jan. 1. Six weeks ago, the Schwarzenegger administration released its ``Hydrogen Highway Blueprint.'' That document recommended spending $10.7 million a year during the next five years, for a total of $53.5 million. (more)

UND: Senate act has $3M for EERC

7/07/06. UND's Energy and Environmental Research Center has all the tools needed to be a national resource to curb the nation's need for foreign oil, said Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D. The senator announced Wednesday, during a stop in Grand Forks, that he's authored legislation in the Senate version of the 2005 Energy Policy Act that allocates $3 million to support hydrogen fuel cell research at EERC. The Senate passed the bill last week. Last year, EERC received $2.7 million to establish a National Center for Hydrogen Technology. Officials with the EERC are tapping city and state funds to build a base research facility for the hydrogen technology center. (more)

Pug Power Shares Fall on Barron's Article

7/06/05. Shares of Plug Power (Nasdaq:PLUG) fell 8.1% to $6.21 tuesday morning after a negative article in Barron's said the company has not yet convinced potential customers that they offer cost savings over conventional lead-acid batteries. Sales of Plug's flagship fuel cell generator, GenCore, have been lagging. Plug says it will take sales of 6,000 to 9,000 GenCore units anually to reach profitability, but doesn't expect to achieve that level soon. Barron's predicts Plug's share price will drop to $4 unless it boosts sales phenomenally and concluded there are cheaper ways to speculate in the fuel cell sector.

Zongshen PEM Power Systems establishes Wholly Owned Chinese Subsidiary

7/05/05. Zongshen PEM Power Systems Inc. (TSX Venture: ZPP) is pleased to announce the foundation of a wholly owned Chinese subsidiary called "Zongshen PEM Chongqing Hydrogen Energy Ltd." The purpose of this new entity is to conduct further, advanced research and development combining integrating facilities
and manufacturing with sales of proton exchange membrane fuel cells and fuel cell stacks for the Asian, North American and European markets. (more)

Agni builds an Fuel Cell Vehicle

7/05/05. Kuala Lumpur: Agni's fuel cell powered ‘REAL’ (Renewable Energy Automobile) is the first Malaysian street ready FCV. Agni Inc.’s rich experience in fuel cell and fuel processing technology is the basis for producing the world’s first highly cost effective and affordable fuel cell vehicle. This vehicle is comprised of an integrated fuel cell energy generation and storage system, electric propulsion unit and, control and instrumentation system fitted into an existing compact or city car chassis and body panels. (more)

QuestAir Technologies Signs Agreement with HyRadix Inc.

7/1/05. QuestAir Technologies Inc. has signed an agreement to supply its H-3200 hydrogen purification systems to HyRadix Inc., a leading developer of hydrogen generators for industrial and hydrogen fueling applications. QuestAir also received a US$263,000 purchase order from HyRadix for an initial delivery of H-3200 units, to be completed over the next year. Under the terms of the five-year preferred supplier agreement, QuestAir's H-3200 pressure swing adsorption ("PSA") systems will be integrated into HyRadix's current range of Aptus(TM) and Adéo(TM) branded hydrogen generators. (more)

Toyota: GM Fuel-Cell Tie-Up Coming Soon

7/11/05. Toyota's president said Monday a tie-up with U.S. rival General Motors on fuel-cell vehicles is in its final stages _ but promised to do his best to beat GM and Ford. Katsuaki Watanabe said it's just a matter of time before details can be hammered out for a deal with Detroit-based GM on fuel cells. GM and Toyota Motor Corp. have a longtime partnership that does not involve stakes in each other. A deal on fuel cell vehicles would be an important expansion of that agreement.(more)

Toshiba Methanol Fuel Cell MP3 player

When the portable power revolution begins, and batteries begin to give way to miniature fuel cells, Toshiba will be one of the significant global contenders. This week the Japanese giant announced that it has developed two prototype direct methanol fuel cell units and begun tests to validate their operation with MP# players. Each unit integrates the DMFC that Toshiba announced in June 2004 bringing its practical use a major step closer. (more)

EnerFuel Obtains Notice of Allowance From US Patent Office for Proprietary PEM Fuel Cell Control System Design

9/15/05. EnerFuel, Inc., subsidiary of Ener1, Inc. (ENEI) has received a Notice of Allowance from the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office for a new patent for an integrated feedback control system that is designed to improve the safety, reliability and lifetime of Proton Exchange Membrane fuel cells. (more)

Ballard Announces Second Supply Agreement for Fuel Cell-Powered Lift Truck Market

9/14/05. Ballard Power Systems (TSX: BLD, Nasdaq: BLDP) today announced that it is has signed a Supply Agreement with General Hydrogen (Canada) Corporation (“General Hydrogen”) to deliver more than 100 Mark9 SSL™ fuel cells, ranging in power output from 4.8 kilowatts to 21.1 kilowatts, for integration into General Hydrogen’s power units, currently available for early commercial sales in the lift truck market. Ballard expects to begin unit deliveries in the fourth quarter of 2005. (more)

DaimlerChrysler Makes Significant Increase to Fuel Cell Vehicle Fleet in California

9/10/05. Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) has significant experience with electric power and will be expanding that experience to fuel cells with two DaimlerChrysler F-Cell passenger cars through daily use. Since the Department of Energy (DOE) Hydrogen Learning Demonstration Project kickoff in Washington, D.C., DaimlerChrysler has delivered 15 fuel cell vehicles to customers in California and Michigan. This handover makes the total 17, with more to announce in the near future. The aggressive effort shows the commitment DaimlerChrysler has made to hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. (more)

Germany - High Fuel Prices Push Alternative Engines

9/6/05. Record prices at gas stations caused in part by the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina have knocked discussion in Germany about alternative engines into high gear ahead of this month's auto show. Volkswagen is looking further afield for alternative engine concepts, betting on synthetically produced fuels from biomass for the medium-term. In the long-term, however, German manufacturers are interested in the promise of hydrogen-powered cars, even if advancements in this area have been slower than anticipated. (more)

Researchers creating moldable materials for fuel cell bipolar plates

9/4/05. A single fuel cell does not produce enough energy to power a car. So fuel cells are stacked, with a bipolar plate between each cell through which electrons are conducted. The hydrogen fuel and oxygen enter the plate through channels along the face on each side of the plates. Creating the channels in the bipolar plate is a manufacturing challenge. About 29 percent of the cost of a fuel cell stack is the bipolar plate, and machining channels into the plates is a significant factor. So researchers at Virginia Tech are developing compression moldable composite bipolar plates with channels included. (more)

Indian auto makers and IndianOil Corp. explore hydrogen vehicles

8/31/05. Automobile majors like Tata, Mahindra and Mahindra and Eicher have joined hands with the state-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IndianOil) in a futuristic venture to explore the use of clean hydrogen fuel in vehicles. A few three-wheelers will soon start plying in the capital using a fuel mix of compressed natural gas (CNG) with hydrogen, seen as a renewable and clean fuel of the future, IndianOil officials said. (more)

Hydrogen from water, organic materials

8/31/05. Purdue University chemists have discovered a catalyst that can produce hydrogen without the cold temperatures or high pressures often required in other production and storage methods. They added a compound based on rhenium to laboratory modified organic molecules and water and hydrogen was produced. They estimated that about 7 gallons each of water could produce 6 1/2 pounds of hydrogen, which could power a car for approximately 240 miles. (more)

FuelCell Energy Reports Third Quarter 2005 Results

8/30/05. FuelCell Energy, Inc. (NasdaqNM:FCEL), a manufacturer of electric power generation plants for commercial and industrial customers, today reported results and accomplishments for the nine months ended July 31, 2005. FuelCell Energy reported a net loss to common shareholders for the third quarter of fiscal 2005 of $18.6 million or $0.38 per basic and diluted share, compared to $19.2 million or $0.40 per basic and diluted share in the same period of the previous year. Cash, cash equivalents and investments (U.S. Treasuries) as of July 31, 2005 totaled $191.5 million. (more)

Millennium Cell Awarded Phase II Funding for Common Core Power Production Program With DoD

8/29/05. Millennium Cell Inc. (NASDAQ: MCEL) announced Phase II funding to continue its program with the U.S. Air Force's Advanced Power Technology Office and the Department of Defense Fuel Cell Test and Evaluation Center operated by Concurrent Technologies Corporation. In the second year of the program, Millennium Cell will develop an advanced solid borohydride fuel module for the 5kW system that was successfully demonstrated at FCTec during the program's first phase. (more)

Startech workload expands

8/27/05. Wilton-based Startech Environmental (OTB: STHK) this month began production at its Bristol factory for a $40 million contract to provide two waste disposal and recycling systems for an Italian company. Startech's Plasma Converter System breaks down waste materials and converts them into hydrogen. Startech estimates that one facility using its technology can convert 2,000 tons of municipal solid waste a day into enough hydrogen to power 100,000 fuel cell vehicles for a year. (more)

Third Frontier fuel-cell grant proposals sought in Ohio

8/27/05. Ohio officials are searching for companies interested in going after Third Frontier money intended for fuel-cell development. The Ohio Department of Development, which oversees Third Frontier, released a request for proposals Friday for grants dedicated toward the effort. The state set aside $100 million to promote fuel-cell technology in Ohio. The grants are designed to have companies move products to market or develop working prototypes. (more)

Irvine officials head down hydrogen highway

8/24/05. Irvine Mayor Beth Krom and other Irvine officials will be taking turns at the wheel of a $1-million, hydrogen-powered fuel cell hybrid vehicle as part of a pilot program in conjunction with Toyota and the National Fuel Center Research Center at UC Irvine. Toyota is offering the use of one of its vehicles to Irvine to gauge public support for hydrogen-fueled cars, and city officials agreed to drive the prototype around town to show their support for alternative-fuel vehicles, they said. Production of such a vehicle is at least 10 years away. (more)

Quantum Subsidiary, Tecstar, Awarded Contract to Provide Manufacturing Expertise for Military Vehicles

8/23/05. Force Protection, Inc. (OCT Bulletin Board: FRPT) today announced that Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide, Inc., (Nasdaq: QTWW) through its subsidiary, Tecstar Automotive Group, has been awarded a $2.7 million contract to provide its
extensive manufacturing expertise to assist in setting up the processes to manufacture Cougar Joint EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) Rapid Response Vehicles (JERRVs) for the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines in the Middle East. (more)

Astris Energi Gets Order for Fuel Cells and Generator from Electronic Machining s.r.l.

8/19/05. Astris Energi Inc. (OTC: ASRNF), a leading alkaline fuel cell technology company, announced today that it has received an initial order for a fuel cell generator and supporting test equipment from Italy’s Electronic Machining s.r.l. (El.Ma). The CDN$0.2 million order includes Astris fuel cells, test equipment, an E8 generator and engineering service fees. The majority of the order will be realized as revenue during 2005. (more)

Toyota's Fuel Cell SUV certified

8/18/05. Toyota's hydrogen fuel cell hybrid sports utility vehicle has been certified by Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport. It is the first fuel cell powered SUV to receive certification under the country's Road Vehicles Act. Toyota plans to sell hydrogen vehicles by 2015. The car company is the world's first to market fuel cell vehicles, but very few have been marketed. 11 have been leased in Japan and five in the US. Toyota's SUV, called the FCHV, is said to have higher reliability and durability than the previous model. It has a new high-pressure storage tank that can be used for 15 years, compared to the previous three-year lifespan. The company is actively applying its fuel cell technology to Japanese public buses, particularly in the capital city, Tokyo.

Toyota Fuel Cell Prius test drive major success

8/16/05. A prototype hydrogen-fueled car gets a definite thumbs up from Ted Curtis. Curtis got a chance Monday to test drive a fuel cell powered Toyota Prius developed by Michigan-based Energy Conversion Devices Inc. ``I was ready to find shortcomings,'' he said. ``But I didn't find any.... It was extremely quiet. You don't hear the engine. It handles well. It has pickup. There was no power lag. It really took me by surprise. I was very impressed.'' (more)

Centrica to announce joint venture with Ceres Power to build the UK's first commercial residential fuel cell

8/15/05. The energy group Centrica will tomorrow announce a joint venture with AIM-listed Ceres Power to build the UK's first commercial residential fuel cell. It will be marketed by Centrica's subsidiary British Gas, could cut households' energy bills by more than a third. It emits far less pollution than conventional boilers and can also generate electricity. Executives hope to have the boiler, which will cost around £2,500, in the shops in three years' time. (more)

Sanyo, IBM to develop micro fuel cells

8/12/05. IBM and Sanyo Electric Co. Ltd. have teamed up to create prototype notebook computer batteries using long-lasting fuel cell technology. The prototype fuel cell system can provide eight hours of battery life using replaceable methanol fuel cartridges. This is a step toward the mass-market use of fuel cells for powering portable electronics and aims to show how IBM is still innovating ahead of its planned merger with Lenovo Group Ltd. of China, IDC industry analyst Roger Kay said. The IBM-Sanyo system is a hybrid fuel cell system that combines fuel cell technology with existing, rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. (more)

British Island may become world leader in creating hydrogen economy

8/11/05. The island of Unst, in Shetland, has already developed a pioneering hydrogen project, which could now form the foundation of a much bigger venture. Professor Tony Marmount noted the island is unique. It has wind that could produce a lot of energy. It has rainfall which could be converted into hydrogen and has the sea around it which means it could export the hydrogen in tankers to rest of the world. Marmount's idea is for the locals to become experts on the mechanics of the hydrogen economy and export their expertise to the rest of the world. (more)

New Report: Fuel Cell Vehicles — Revolutionizing Automotive Industry

8/10/05. It has been estimated that commercialization of this technology will render a steep rise in the fuel cell sales from $25 million in 2000 to $450 million in 2005. The report reveals the efforts that are being put globally to overcome the technical and economical hurdles with an aim to change the future of the automotive industry. It discusses the current scenario of the industry, the government policies and future plans, and the leading energy and automotive companies. This report gives an insight on the manufacturers of key components of fuel cells designed for use in motor vehicles in countries outside the United States as well as the technical progress of companies in the global market. (more)

Groups push hydrogen to fuel South Carolina economic growth

8/08/05. South Carolina is at the forefront of budding efforts to power cars and homes with hydrogen, rather than fossil fuels such as oil and gas. Now, scientists, politicians and business-development officials are hoping the vanguard research can help accelerate the state's economy. S.C. lawmakers are making a strong push to win federal hydrogen-fuel research money. Meanwhile, a handful of officials from governments, universities and businesses are crisscrossing the state enlisting support from private-sector companies, venture capitalists, environmentalists and any other concerns that can help South Carolina go toe-to-toe with alternative-energy giants such as California. (more)

Sunlight used to produce hydrogen

8/5/05. Solar Researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel have harnessed sunlight to extract zinc metal, which can then be used to produce hydrogen simply by pouring water over it. The team is trying to produce lighter metals, such as magnesium, in the same way. If a clean way can be found to make these low-density metals, they could be used to produce hydrogen right in the tank of a car, eliminating the need to transport it. (more)

Startech Environment Begins Next Phase of StarCell Hydrogen Program For Department of Energy

8/5/05. Startech Environmental Corporation (BULLETIN BOARD: STHK) , a fully reporting company, announced today that Phase One of the Company's StarCell(TM) contract with the Department of Energy (DOE) to demonstrate the production of hydrogen from Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), and also coal, processed through the Plasma Converter System(TM) is near successful completion. The Company has received the additional $500,000 for Phase Two of the Program to continue the demonstrations and development for optimization and scale-up. The work for Phase Two has begun. (more)

Toyota demonstration fuelled by Air Products’ hydrogen

8/4/05. Air Products recently supplied hydrogen to Toyota’s Technology Seminar 2005 which took place in Gründau, near Frankfurt, Germany. Amongst the vehicles being demonstrated was Toyota’s latest Fuel Cell Hybrid Vehicle (FCHV). This vehicle has been designed to run on a combination of hydrogen fuel cell and battery power to maximise the efficiency of the powertrain…(more)

ITM Power grant a boost to 'Hydrogen Island'

8/3/05. PLANS to create a major research centre into energy technologies in Sheffield have been boosted by an £800,000 grant from regional development agency Yorkshire Forward.
The funding has been made available to ITM Power, a leading technical innovator of fuel cell technologies for the hydrogen industry, to encourage the company to expand its laboratory and workshop space in Sheffield. (more)

Federal Transportation Bill Includes Funding for Major Hydrogen Bus R&D Program

8/3/05. Congress has provided funding for an ambitious, competitive four-year hydrogen and fuel cell bus research and development program supported by WestStart-CALSTART that can make America a leader in this new, clean technology arena and help address critical energy security challenges. Congress approved $49-million in funding for the National Fuel Cell Bus Technology Development Program as a component of the just-passed $287-billion Transportation Equity Act of 2005. The program will speed work to make hydrogen and fuel cell buses commercially viable, focusing on critical areas of technology development. (more)

Solid Oxide Fuel Cells Made Cooler for Portables

7/31/05. Companies are considering SOFCs for portable electronics. The output density is significantly higher than that from the DMFCs. At Small Fuel Cells 2005, a seminar held in Washington DC at the end of April 2005 for portable equipment applications, three firms presented papers on SOFC supplies.
None of the technologies being developed can be made small enough to fit into a mobile phone or a notebook PC; most instead target military applications, or the replacement of portable generators. Some of the constituent technologies being used, however, may well shrink significantly in the future. (more)

Cidetec unveils prototype fuel cell bike

7/29/05. CIDETEC exposed a prototype of an electric bicycle with an assisted cycling designed in its laboratories. This bicycle is powered by a hydrogen/air polymeric membrane fuel cell. The battery, the control module and the compressed hydrogen bottle are placed on the carrier and the frame. The estimated autonomy of this prototype is 25 km, similar to the one provided by the original battery. (more)

Hydrogenics Provides Mid-Year Update on Light Mobility Initiatives

7/29/05. Hydrogenics Corp. (TSX:HYG) (NASDAQ:HYGS), reports that the Company's light mobility program, undertaken two years ago as a key strategic priority, is achieving desired outcomes in the areas of targeted early adopter engagement, focused product development, and potential distribution channels. Hydrogenics targets fuel cell-ultracapacitor hybrid forklifts, specifically for 24 hour operations, believing that forklifts might be one of the first viable markets to adopt fuel cell technology. (more)

Millennium Cell Reports Second Quarter Results

7/28/05. Millennium Cell Inc. (NASDAQ:MCEL), a leading developer of hydrogen battery technology today reported a net loss for the quarter ended June 30, 2005 of $5.8 million, or $0.14 per share, as compared to $2.9 million, or $0.08 per share in the same period of 2004. The increase in net loss is attributable to non-cash charges of $2.4 million associated with issuance of the Series A Preferred Stock to The Dow Chemical Company ("Dow") in April 2005. Excluding the impact of these charges, the Company's results were within expectations for the quarter. (more)

American Security Resources Enters Discussions to Acquire Proprietary Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technology Company

7/28/05. American Security Resources Corporation (OTCBB:ARSC), announced today that ARSC has initiated discussions to acquire a company with patents pending for hydrogen fuel cells which can be used as energy sources for everything from power supplies on circuit boards to larger arrays for homes, hospitals, schools and office buildings. The fuel cells have wide application for emergency preparedness and homeland security, as well as military field operations that require self-contained modular energy sources. ARSC expects the discussions to lead to a Letter of Intent in the current quarter. (more)

Hydrogenics to Announce Second Quarter Results

7/27/05. Hydrogenics Corporation (TSX:HYG) (NASDAQ:HYGS), will release financial results for the second quarter of 2005 on August 4, 2005 prior to market opening. Management will host a conference call and webcast at 10:30 a.m. (EDT). Participants should dial 416-695-9753 to access the conference call or visit Hydrogenic's website at least 15 minutes early to register for the webcast. The webcast will be available following the conference call on our Web site. (more)

Microorganism splits water, produces hydrogen

7/25/05. Researchers at the university, led by chemical engineering professor James Swartz, have discovered a soil microorganism that absorbs photons and subsequently metabolizes the energy to split water, a chemical reaction that produces hydrogen, Jim Plummer, Stanford's dean of engineering, said during a presentation at the AlwaysOn conference taking place at the university this week. (more)

Vestel to market fuel cells

7/22/05. Vestel, Turkey's leading producer of home electronics, has invested US $10 million to design fuel cells it hopes to market within three years. It hopes to bring a micro fuel cell to power hand held electronics to market in late 2006 and a stationary fuel cell to power homes and small businesses to market as early as 2007. (more)

Intelligent Energy Secures $14 Million Equity Financing

7/21/05. Intelligent Energy Holdings Plc announced that it has secured up to 8 million pounds Sterling (approximately $14 million) in additional equity financing, to be raised in 2 stages, 2.56 million pounds Sterling (approximately $4.5 million) immediately and 5.44 million pounds Sterling (approximately $9.5 million) thereafter from Evolution Placements Corporation. (more)

AEC Demonstrates Hydrogen Production Unit

7/20/05. Alternate Energy Corporation (AEC) (OTCBB: ARGY) demonstrated its first alpha-stage hydrogen on-demand production unit, the H2 1500-A1, before two multinational engine companies in the U.S. These meetings begin a series whereby Alternate Energy Corporation will showcase its hydrogen production technology to a long list of prospective commercial customers, potential licensees, select government and institutional contacts and other interested commercial parties. (more)

Ranger station using fuel cell technology

7/19/05. The Big Horn National Forest prepares to install the first fuel cell to power a Forest Service facility at the remote Big Goose Ranger Station on the Tongue Ranger District. The Acumentrics 10kw solid oxide fuel cell will provide electricity to two cabins, an office/shop, five trailer sites, as well as electricity to the drinking water and wastewater pumping systems. Hot water will be recycled to provide heat to one of the cabins. The fuel cells will be monitored, allowing engineers to understand the actual relationships between electrical output and cogeneration of waste heat, day-to-day operational characteristics, and the efficiency of the fuel cells in a practical field application. (more)

Graphite may be ideal Hydrogen Storage medium

7/18/05. Researchers at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon that graphite may be the optimal material for hydrogen storage, a better option than carbon nanotubes, because it is far easier and less expensive to prepare. Their report is a pre-print from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. They emphasize that work remains to be done -- researchers still need to figure out the optimal graphite structure for H2 storage, and (moreover) figure out how to actually get graphite into that structure. (more)

Hydrogen Produced from Chicken Litter

7/15/05. Gas Technology Institute has successfully demonstrated that chicken litter can be gasified to produce hydrogen and generate electricity using a solid oxide fuel cell. Under a project funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Earth Resources, Inc., GTI, and the University of Georgia are working to convert chicken litter into energy and fertilizer. As part of this USDA-funded project, GTI conducted a test to demonstrate the suitability of chicken litter as a low-Btu fuel for the SOFC. (more)

CMR Fuel Cells Completes Series B Funding

7/15/05. CMR Fuel Cells, the winner of the 2005 Carbon Trust Innovation Award, has completed a series-B funding round from a syndicate of institutional and individual investors. The amount of funds was not made public but it will be used to strengthen and accelerate CMR’s technical and commercial development. CMR is a fuel cell stack technology and the company's patented design architecture aims to make fuel cells 10 times smaller and more powerful and up to 80% cheaper than competing products. It is developing fuel cell stacks for use in applications such as battery chargers, auxiliary power units, laptops, power tools, robotic devices, portable generators, and portable military applications. (more)

Bighorn gets first fuel cell

7/14/05. The Bighorn National Forest is the first in the country to install a fuel cell to power a Forest Service facility, officials said this week. The remote Big Goose Guard Station on the Tongue Ranger District will host the fuel cell, which will chemically convert propane to generate power and heat. Fuel cells convert energy stored by hydrogen into electricity, heat and water. Because the cells do not burn their fuel, the produce virtually no pollution. The ranger station houses up to 18 seasonal employees and volunteers from June through September every year.

Los Angeles Airport Honored for Hydrogen Filling Station

7/13/05. Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) has won this year's Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA) Environmental Achievement Award in the large-airport class for constructing the first retail hydrogen-fueling and generation station at an airport. Hydrogen is produced on-site by using electrolysis, applying electricity to water in order to separate hydrogen molecules from oxygen molecules.

American Power Conversion installs Fuel Cell Back-Up

7/12/05. American Power Conversion last month unveiled a backup power system for data centres that uses fuel cell technology to keep the centres running during a power failure. The InfraStruXure with Integrated Fuel Cells system, which fits within a single 42U rack, provides up to 30 kilowatts of power using bottled hydrogen gas as fuel. It sells for between US$50,000 and US$100,000 and is aimed at data centres where generators are impractical – such as in high-rise buildings – and that require longer runtimes than universal power supplies alone can deliver. (more)

USC teams up with Fraunhofer Institute

7/11/05. Hydrogen fuel research will get another major international player today when the University of South Carolina signs its second partnership in its Next Energy initiative with Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems of Freiburg, Germany, one of the world’s leading research groups focusing on the commercialization of new energy technologies. The agreement will include research on fuel cells, hydrogen storage, hydrogen production, chemical energy conversion and other electrochemical storage devices. (more)

$500,000 proposal for DSU Hydrogen Study

7/08/05. Delaware State University stands to gain $500,000 for a proposed hydrogen fuel-storage research center under an Energy and Water Bill appropriation approved by the House, Rep. Mike Castle, R-Del., said Thursday. The plan, already supported by a three-year, $515,000 grant from BP Foundation, would expand university efforts to develop materials that can absorb and release hydrogen gas for fuel cell-powered automobiles and other devices. (more)

Patented microbial fuel cell creates electricity from wastewater

7/08/05. Lars Angenent, Ph.D., assistant professor of Chemical Engineering, and a member of Washington University's Environmental Engineering Science Program, has devised a microbial fuel cell which he calls an upflow microbial fuel cell that is fed continually and, unlike most microbial fuel cells, works with chambers atop each other rather than beside each other. A description of the process and research is in the July issue of Environmental Science and Technology. "We are doing basically the same thing as is done in a hydrogen fuel cell with our microbial fuel cell," said Angenent. "We've found that the bacteria on the anode electrode can act as the catalyst instead of platinum." (more)

Energy Bill Good For Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Economy

7/07/06. According to Steven Eschbach, FuelCell Energy’s Director of Investor Relations and Communications, “The Senate bill has two provisions that are truly helpful for our technology...one is called the Investment Tax Credit which is a 30% investment tax credit up to $1000 per kilowatt...the second is a production tax credit which is a 1 ½ cent per kilowatt benefit for fuel cells." The energy bill has the potential to promote the developement of fuel cells and the hydrogen economy. Michelle Cormack, Ballard Power Systems said, "(The) industry and government partners will be able to accelerate the arrival of the hydrogen economy and the commercialization of fuel cell technology."

Light bulb's power could drive car around the world

7/05/05. An eco-car that can travel the world using a fraction of the electricity it takes to power a light bulb, was unveiled by its British creators today. According to gases firm BOC, its hydrogen-powered BOC Ech2o needs just 25 Watts - the equivalent of less than two gallons of petrol - to complete the 25,000-mile global trip, while emitting nothing more hazardous than water. On Thursday, the BOC Ech2o will be put to the test in a bid to smash the world fuel efficiency record of over 10,000 miles per gallon. (more)

California-based company claim Hydrogen powered Airplane tested

7/05/05. AeroVironment has contended that it has successfully tested an aircraft powered by liquid hydrogen. The company says that the liquid hydrogen stored on board in combionation with the oxygen extracted from the air powers the fuel cells. AeroVironment adds that an unmanned plane powered by this fuel can be kept air-borne for close to 24 hours. The craft has been named as Global Observer and bears close resemblance to a glider rather than a plane. The craft has got a wingspan of over 15m. Other interesting additions to its contour include small fuselage slung underneath and an extended "dragon-fly" tail. The front edge of the wing has got a line of eight propellers. (more)

ITM Power eyes key tests

7/1/05. ITM Power travelled higher today after the fuel cell technologies group reported “excellent” progress and said it remains on track to achieve key milestones over the next 12 months. The green fuel outfit said it aims to announce results on longevity testing on both fuel cells and electrolysers over the next year. ITM believes that the development of its low cost durable modular electrolysers will be the key contributor to realising the hydrogen economy and, if the tests are successful, its innovations could help replace fossil fuels. The loss before tax for the year to 30 April was £1.26m, with cash balances at £8m. The group raised £10m via a placing when it joined AIM in June last year. (more)

Hydrogenics Stock Coverage

7/1/05. Analyst J Michael Horwitz of Pacific Growth Equities initiates coverage of Hydrogenics (ticker: HYGS) with an "equal weight" rating. In a research note published this morning, the analyst mentions that the recent acquisition of Stuart Energy has strengthened the company's position in the on-site hydrogen generation and fuel cell testing equipment markets. The sales of Hydrogenics' power segment are gaining momentum in the light mobility material handling market, the analyst says. According to Pacific Growth Equities, there is limited visibility into the growth prospects of the company's test business. (more)

Quantum Schedules Fiscal 2005 Fourth Quarter and Year End Financial Results Conference Call

6/30/05. Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide, Inc., will hold a conference call to announce its fiscal 2005 fourth quarter and year end financial results. The call will be held on Thursday, June 30, 2005 at 1:30 p.m. Pacific Time. Call five to ten minutes prior to the starting time: (706) 643-3625, Conference ID# 7520464. An operator will check your name and organization and ask you to wait until the call begins. (more)

First Solar Powered Hydrogen Filling Station Opens in Germany

6/29/05. The co-operative project in Wolfsburg, Germany between Volkswagen AG and Solvis will use solar power to produce hydrogen. The facility’s solar-panel surface is used to generate the electricity which powers an electrolyser used to produce an electrochemical reaction which allows de-ionised water to be broken down into its separate components: hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen thus produced is subsequently cleansed and forwarded to a temporary storage unit, at which stage it has achieved the highest possible grade. After compression, the hydrogen is stored in a high-pressure unit, ready for filling into motor vehicles. (more)

Quantum Added to the Russell 2000(R) and Russell 3000(R) Indexes

6/29/05. Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide, Inc. , a leading designer, manufacturer and integrator of packaged fuel systems and accessories for specialty vehicles and applications including hydrogen fuel cells, hybrids and alternative fuel applications, today announced that the company has been added to the Russell 2000(R) and Russell 3000(R) indexes. The newly reconstituted Russell indexes became effective at the close of the U.S. markets on June 24, 2005. Quantum is one of approximately 31 technology companies added to the index this year. (more)

Power And Energy Establishes Branch Office In Japan

6/28/05. Power and Energy, Inc. has recently established a branch office in Yokohama City, Japan. This office will provide sales and customer support to new and existing customers of P+E's hydrogen purifier and separator product lines. According to P+E's founder and CEO, Dr. Peter Bossard, "The establishment of a branch office is a direct reflection of Power and Energy's commitment to Japan's semiconductor and fuel cell industries. Japan has consistently represented a large portion of our hydrogen purifier business. With the establishment of our new line of hydrogen membrane products designed to specifically to extract hydrogen from reformed fuels, we believe that Japan will also represent a major market for fuel cell and related hydrogen energy applications." (more)

'Apollo Program' For Hydrogen Energy Needed, Stanford Researcher Says

6/28/05. Scientist advocates an 'Apollo Program' for generating electricity from wind and producing hydrogen using wind-generated electricity. Such a program would involve fossil sources paying their true health and climate costs. An Apollo Program would provide additional subsidies for wind and other renewable energy sources. While wind subsidies are on the order of $100 million per year, other energy sources hog subsidies of $15 to $20 billion. He advocates supporting the infrastructure needed for wind production of hydrogen to a level similar to the $20 billion recently proposed for a new natural gas pipeline from the continental United States to Alaska. (more)

Research and Markets to cover Fuel Cell Sector

7/07/06. Research and Markets has announced the addition of Fuel Cell Vehicles -- Revolutionizing Automotive Industry to their offering. The world automotive industry is about to witness a revolution--a revolution that will be ushered in by fuel cell technology. In the future, we will see light and heavy vehicles powered by eco-friendly efficient energy sources. The fuel cell technology is yet to be introduced in the mass market, but it has been predicted that, in the years to come, this technology will be the most significant long-term source of power for petroleum and emission-free, mass-produced light vehicles, as well as some of the heavy vehicles. (more)

Regi/Reg Acquires Exclusive Rights from Anuvu for Fuel Cell Technology

7/06/05. (OTCBB:RGUS) /Reg Technologies, Inc. (TSX::RRE) (OTC:REGRF) announce an exclusive distributor agreement for Canada for Reg Technologies, Inc., and an option for REGI U.S., Inc. for European exclusive rights, has been successfully completed with Anuvu Incorporated. Anuvu agrees to build a working fuel cell model prototype, for a vehicle, for demonstration purposes in Canada and Europe, on behalf of Reg Technologies, Inc. and REGI U. S., Inc. (more)

Europe Opens New Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Testing Facility

7/07/06. European Commissioner for Science and Research, Janez Potocnik today opens new hydrogen and fuel cell testing facilities at the Commission’s Institute for Energy in Petten, the Netherlands. The new facilities are part of the Commission’s endeavour to provide policy-makers and industry with independent evaluation of the performance of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies in terms of efficiency, safety, environmental impact and reliability, through simulating lifetime operational conditions of fuel cells and hydrogen fuel tanks. (more)