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Fuel
Cells
AVA, BLDP, MDRA.PK,
DTE, ENER, FCEL, HOKU, HYGS, IDA, MAG,
MCEL, MDTL, MHTX, MKTY, MOD, PLUG, QTWW, SATC, UQM,
UTX
Fuel cells are a
promising new technology which produces clean
energy -- the only emissions are pure water vapor
and heat. Electricity is produced from
hydrogen, which is obtained from renewable or
non-renewable sources. This technology is still
mostly in the development stage, and commercial
applications are expected soon. Typical uses
include powering homes, electric vehicles, and even
providing the source energy for power plants. Fuel
cells have the potential to dramatically improve
air quality by reducing toxic emissions currently
generated by petroleum-burning cars and power
plants.
While fuel cells are
clean burning, it's not clear to me whether they
are truly sustainable. While it's true that
hydrogen is the most plentiful element in the
universe (which is the mantra you hear from the fuel cell companies),
right now fuel cell companies seem to
prefer non-renewable sources for their hydrogen
such as natural gas and petroleum. (And see other
problems with natural
gas.) Of course, fuel
cells are still in their infancy, and there are
many potential sources of hydrogen. From Ballard
Power's website:
Hydrogen can be
produced in large amounts from primary energy
sources, such as fossil fuels (coal, oil, or
natural gas), from a variety of chemical
intermediates (refinery products, ammonia,
methanol) and from alternative resources such as
biomass, biogas, and waste materials. Hydrogen
can also be produced by water electrolysis,
which uses electricity to split hydrogen and
oxygen elements.
Also, be aware that
many of these companies may have (or may soon have)
military contracts. DCH, for example, says that
5-10% of its company's business is
military-related, although it doesn't directly sell
to the Defense Department. FCEL says it has
contracts with the Department of Defense.
All of the companies
listed below have information on their websites
about how fuel cell technology works. Here are
some more resources for information about fuel
cells and the companies making them:
1. Hydrogen
& Fuel Cell
Investor
2. Fuel
Cells 2000
3. Union
of Concerned
Scientists' report on
fuel cell-powered cars
4. American
Methanol Institute
5. California
Air Resources Board
A further extensive
source of reference material is a book entitled
"Fuel Cell Systems", Editor Leo J.M.J. Blomen,
Publisher Plenum Press, ISBN: 0-306-44158-6.
Here are some companies
we found who are involved with developing fuel cell
technology.
-- Editor,
1-00
AVA - Avista
Labs
Avista Corporation is a diversified
energy services company that operates through
four lines of business: Energy Delivery,
Generation and Resources, National Energy
Trading and Marketing, and Non-Energy. Energy
Delivery provides electricity and natural gas
distribution and transmission services in a
26,000 square mile area in eastern Washington
and northern Idaho with a population of
approximately 825,000. (Yahoo, 2-00) The company
is also involved with fuel cells. An investment
by Bill Gates caused the stock to shoot to $68
on 1-24-00, just days after its 52-week low of
$2.50.
BLDP - Ballard
Power
Ballard Power Systems makes fuel cells
which convert natural gas, methanol, or hydrogen
fuel into electricity with no combustion and no
pollution. (See the problems
with natural gas.) (MBJ, 12-99)
DaimlerChrysler owns 18.46% of the
outstanding common shares and Ford Motor Company
owns 13.85%. (Ballard's Management Proxy
Circular, April 30, 2000)
MDRA.PK
- Medra Corporation
DCH Technology became Medra Corporation. Dive
to ten percent of DCH's business
was military related, although it didn't sell
directly sell to the Defense Department. (From
the company's website, 12-99). It's unclear if Medra Corporation has
any military-related business.
DTE - DTE
Energy
DTE Energy Company is a holding company
with no operations of its own, holding instead,
directly or indirectly, the stock of Detroit
Edison, its principal operating subsidiary, and
other subsidiaries engaged in energy-related
businesses (including Plug Power). (Yahoo!,
5-00)
ENER - Energy
Conversion Devices
ECD makes solar panels, batteries for
electric vehicles, and data storage products for
computers. I have one of their solar panels and
it works great. They're also involved with fuel
cells. Texaco, the third-largest U.S. oil
company, bought a 20% stake in ENER in June
2000. (MBJ)
FCEL - Fuel
Cell Energy
Company has contracts with the
Department of Defense. Its website lists the
Navy as a partner. Appears to have acquired
Energy Research Corp. (going to ERC's site now
automatically redirects to Fuel Cell's), and
some of ERC's products are used in weapons
systems. (MBJ)
HOKU - Hoku
Scientific, Inc.
Focuses on fuel cells, but is also involved in
solar energy. (RS, 6-08)
HYGS - Hydrogenics
Hydrogenics Corporation designs,
develops and manufactures proton-exchange
membrane (PEM) fuel cell automated test
stations. Its test stations are used to aid in
the design, development and manufacture of PEM
fuel cell systems. A PEM fuel cell system is a
power generator that produces electricity
through an electrochemical reaction of hydrogen
and oxygen with the principal by-products being
heat and water. A PEM fuel cell system is
comprised of three major sets of components: a
hydrogen fuel processor, which derives hydrogen
from fuels such as propane or natural gas; a
fuel cell or stack of fuel cells; and power
conditioning equipment, which regulates the type
and level of power transferred from the fuel
cell. The other components and subsystems of a
fuel cell system are known as the "balance of
plant" of a fuel cell system. (Yahoo, 5-01)
IDA - IdaCorp
A holding company with its tentacles in
traditional power (Idaho Power Company), affordable housing,
hydroelectric power, and most notably fuel cells with IdaTech. (RS, 6-08)
MAG - MagneTek
MagneTek, Inc. makes electronic and
electrical products used in data processing and
telecommunications, building and factory
automation, lighting and other markets.
MagneTek's primary product lines include power
supplies, lighting ballasts and motor drives.
(Yahoo!, 5-00) They also make
"digital-electronic power conditioners," which
convert the direct current produced by the fuel
cells into the alternating current required to
run lights and industrial robots.
(TheStreet.com, 5-00)
MDTL - Medis
Technologies
Has developed a portable fuel cell device to
power personal electronics. (RS, 6-08)
MCEL - Millennium
Cell
Millennium Cell Inc. is an emerging
technology company engaged in the development of
a patented alternative energy source based on
boron chemistry, generating energy in the form
of hydrogen or electricity. (Yahoo, 1-01)
MHTX
- Manhattan
Scientifics Inc.
From the company's website: "Capable of
being produced in economical mile-long, thin,
printed sheets (much like printed circuits),
[our] Micro Fuel Cells may eventually
obsolete small batteries. Better, smaller,
less-costly, environmentally safe, and much more
efficient, the patented technologies of the
methanol-based Micro Fuel Cell are expected to
drive a digital cellular telephone on standby
for 6 months as opposed to 2 weeks with lithium
ion batteries. In addition, the Micro Fuel Cell
will, when developed, provide 1 week of talk
time instead of the current 5 hours that lithium
ion battery-powered cell phones now provide."
(1999) Note: A May 2000 press
release on the company
website says that they're developing fuel cells
for use by the U.S. Army in communications
equipment. As of May-08, the stock has become a penny stock.
One of our readers
writes: "MHTX has a 900 million market
cap, appears controlled by an offshore
investment company, and has no employees. The
entire 'company' is basically one guy working on
an idea, without manufacturing capabilities,
with the idea of licensing a technology that is
unlikely to work. The unfortunate thing is that
he has apparently sold his soul to a shell
company, and would be a terrible situation for
green folks to accidentally stumble upon."
(1999)
MKTY - Mechanical
Technology
An energy incubator that owns about 31%
of Plug Power and a big chunk of SatCon. (MBJ
5-00, 11-00)
MOD - Modine
Manufacturing
Makes thermal management products with various
applications, including fuel cells. (RS, 6-08)
PLUG - Plug
Power
Plug Power is partially owned by
General Electric, the largest producer of jet
engines for military aircraft. GE is also
involved in nuclear energy. (See shareholders'
concern about this mentioned on GE's
website.)
Plug Power is mostly owned by Mechanical
Technology (MKTY, above) and DTE, which own
31.5% each. Plug is also partially owned by
Satcon. (MBJ 11-00)
QTWW -
Quantum
Technologies
Makes fuel cells for fuel cell-powered
vehicles. They also design technologies for solar and hybrid cars.
However, they do have contracts with the military. (RS, 6-08)
SATC - SatconTechnology
Makes components and peripheral
equipment for fuel cells, microturbines and
related things. In other words, it wins if the
technologies succeed, regardless of which
company ends up selling the actual generators.
(from TheStreet.com, 5-00)
UQM - UQM Technologies
According to their site, they develop "electric
power systems for battery electric, hybrid electric and fuel cell
electric vehicles." (RS, 6-08)
UTX - United
Technologies
UTX has four principal operating
segments: Otis (elevators and escalators),
Carrier (heating, ventilating and air
conditioning systems), Pratt and Whitney
(aircraft engines and space propulsion
[including military products]), Flight
Systems (helicopters electrical systems).
(Yahoo!, 5-00) They also have an International
Fuel Cells operation. (TheStreet.com, 5-00)
Other Companies
HPOW - H
Power Corporation
[In Dec. 2004 I noticed that
their symbol was no longer listed and the web
address I had for them no longer worked.] H Power Corp. is a fuel
cell development
company, and believes that it was the first to
complete a commercial sale of proton-exchange
membrane, or PEM, fuel cell systems. The Company
is now offering for sale five portable and
mobile fuel cell systems ranging in power from
35 watts to 250 watts under the trade name
PowerPEM. These products are designed as battery
substitutes and power sources for potential
applications ranging from traffic systems to
golf carts to consumer devices.
PWREQ.pk
- Ocean
Power
In June 2008, I noticed it was no longer
trading. Ocean Power makes mass-produced
seawater desalination systems, powered by fuell
cells. These systems purify water for drinking. (Note: as of 5-08,
trading below a penny)
[In Dec. 2004 I noticed their
stock symbol was no longer listed and they
didn't list a new one on their website.] PRTN designs, develop and
manufactures
proton exchange membrance, or PEM,
electrochemical products that are employed in
hydrogen generating devices and regenerative
fuel cell systems. (Yahoo, 1-01)
©1998-2011 Michael Bluejay | All rights reserved
I'll cry if you don't link to me.
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If you like this site, you might also like some of my other sites: Which battery is best? We cover
rechargeable and alkaline batteries to show you what's hot,
what's not, and the best way to charge them. (visit
now) |
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