Petro-Canada, Ballard and Methanex Announce New Association: ''Fuelling a Cleaner
Canada''
VANCOUVER, June 11 /CNW/ - Petro-Canada, Ballard Power Systems and
Methanex today announced that they will lead the charge in Canada towards
making alternative fuel sources available for Canadians in preparation for the
next generation of vehicles powered by fuel cells.
Flanked by Federal Natural Resources Minister Ralph Goodale and British
Columbia Environment, Lands, and Parks Minister Cathy McGregor, Petro-Canada
CEO Jim Stanford, Ballard Chairman and CEO Firoz Rasul and Methanex CEO Pierre
Choquette announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding under which
the three companies would work together to prepare for the establishment of a
commercially viable fuel distribution network to meet the expected market
demand for fuel cell vehicles. Petro-Canada, Ballard and Methanex will
collaborate in laying the groundwork for a pilot project involving the supply
and distribution of appropriate fuel, starting with methanol to facilitate the
introduction of fuel cell vehicles .
''Canadians have looked to Petro-Canada for environmental leadership
including environmentally friendly options for fuelling their cars and
trucks'', said Jim Stanford, Petro-Canada CEO. ''Through our association with
Ballard and Methanex, we are proud once again to take the lead in helping to
fuel a cleaner environment for Canadians''. As Canada's gas station,
Petro-Canada brings to the association its established marketing and
distribution expertise and a broad, national network of conveniently located
outlets.
Ballard Power Systems continues to secure automotive companies for its
world-renowned fuel cell technology as the power source for the next
generation of vehicles. ''Advancements by our fuel cell Alliance with
DaimlerChrysler and Ford Motor Company continue as we work to reduce costs to
be competitive with conventional power train technology. We are pleased to
build on this success of our fuel cell technology through this Association
with Petro-Canada and Methanex'', said Firoz Rasul, Ballard's Chairman and
CEO. ''As the introduction of fuel cell powered cars approaches in the year
2004 and as these vehicles become more common, Canada will require a local
fuel distribution network for these vehicles, which this association begins to
address''.
''Petro-Canada is already the brand of choice for many Canadians'', said
Methanex CEO Pierre Choquette. ''We are looking forward to working with them
to develop a network for distributing methanol through a pilot project and
ultimately on a country-wide basis. Methanol has already been demonstrated to
be a clean, affordable source of fuel that will have widespread benefits for
Canadians''.
Federal Natural Resource Minister Ralph Goodale applauded the three
companies for their commitment to made-in-Canada solutions for addressing
alternative fuels and the environment. ''Once again, Canadian businesses have
demonstrated their commitment to finding innovative solutions to meet the
climate change challenge of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, both in Canada
and around the world'', said Minister Goodale. ''I look forward to the day
when Canadians from coast-to-coast can purchase alternative transportation
fuels for their new low or zero-emission vehicles at their local service
stations''.
B.C. Environment, Lands and Parks Minister Cathy McGregor hailed the
collaboration as one more success for the province's growing high tech
industry. ''By combining the resources of three strong, local partners, this
Association is certain to further B.C.'s status as a world leader in making
fuel cell technology practical for everyday use. Their success will encourage
other emerging high-tech businesses to consider locating in our province''.
Under the five-year Memorandum of Understanding, the three companies will
work towards establishing a demonstration pilot program for fuel cell vehicles
including the supply, distribution and marketing of appropriate fuels,
including methanol fuel. Petro-Canada, Ballard and Methanex will collaborate
in identifying a pilot site involving auto manufacturers and implementing the
emerging technology at the consumer level.
In conjunction with today's announcement, a round table of industry,
academic and government leaders will meet today to discuss the future of fuel
cell vehicles and methanol fuel with Federal Natural Resources Minister Ralph
Goodale, and Cathy McGregor, B.C. Minister, Environment, Lands, and Parks,
headlining the discussions. The round table will be live on the Internet at
www.petro-canada.ca, www.methanex.com, or www.ballard.com from 11:00 am -
12:30 p.m. PDT. This broadcast will be available for viewing after the event.
Headquartered in Calgary, Petro-Canada is one of Canada's largest oil and
gas companies, operating in both the upstream and the downstream sectors of
the industry. With a coast-to-coast network of close to 1700 retail outlets,
Petro-Canada and its more than 4,500 employees are committed to giving back to
the community in the areas of environmental sustainability, education and the
arts.
Ballard Power Systems is the world leader in developing, manufacturing
and marketing zero-emission proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells for use
in transportation, electricity generation and portable products. Ballard's
proprietary fuel cell technology is enabling automobile, electrical equipment
and portable power product manufacturers to develop environmentally clean
products for sale.
Methanex is a Vancouver based, publicly-traded company and is the global
leader in the production and marketing of methanol. Methanol is typically
manufactured from natural gas, and is a basic chemical building block used in
environmentally-friendly products such as recyclable plastics, reconstituted
wood products and cleaner-burning gasoline.
Petro-Canada's common and variable voting shares trade on Canadian stock
exchanges under the symbol PCA, and its variable voting shares trade on the
New York Stock Exchange under the symbol PCZ.
Ballard's Common shares are listed on The Toronto Stock Exchange under
the trading symbol ''BLD'' and on NASDAQ National Market System under the
symbol ''BLDP''. Ballard and the Ballard logo are registered trademarks of
Ballard Power Systems Inc.
Methanex shares are listed for trading on the Toronto and Montreal stock
exchanges in Canada under the trading symbol ''MX'' and on NASDAQ National
Market System in the United States under the trading symbol ''MEOH.''
Information in this news release may contain forward-looking statements.
By their nature, such forward-looking statements involve risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those
contemplated by the forward-looking statements. |
