GENERAL INTEREST / BALLARD GENERATION & natural gas fuel cellS
VANCOUVER, Aug. 25 /CNW/ - Ballard Generation Systems Inc. (BGS), a
subsidiary of Ballard Power Systems announced today the successful start-up of
its prototype natural gas fueled Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) Fuel Cell
Power Plant. This prototype of BGSE initial product, a 250 kilowatt natural
gas fueled power plant, successfully generated electricity and delivered its
output to the BC Hydro grid.
``This announcement marks the successful culmination of five years of
development activity and is a significant achievement for the Ballard family
of companies,'' said Firoz Rasul, President and Chief Executive Officer of
Ballard Power Systems, the parent company of BGS. ``The power plant is the
world's largest PEM stationary power plant and includes the world's most
powerful PEM fuel cell stack which was developed and manufactured by Ballard
Power Systems.''
``The successful operation of this prototype is a major step on our path
to commercializing stationary PEM Fuel Cell Power Plants,'' said Scott A.
Weiner, President of Ballard Generation Systems. ``This unit incorporates
numerous technical accomplishments including the smallest natural gas reformer
for its capacity in the world. We are aggressively proceeding towards our
goal of market introduction of the 250 kilowatt product in 1999.''
During the next 18 months, the unit will go through a series of
performance tests as the company prepares for the development and manufacture
of its next generation units for field testing. BGSE field testing program is
planned to begin during 1999.
Commercial units of the compact 250 kilowatt power plant will be used in
a variety of applications including, premium power for customers who require
high quality electrical power for sensitive equipment, commercial and
industrial distributed power applications to produce power at the user's site,
and power for locations remote from the central grid. These units will
cleanly and efficiently convert natural gas into electricity, and will be
substantially smaller and lighter than other stationary fuel cell power plants
with similar output capacities.
Ballard Generation Systems, with offices in Canada and the U.S., is
engaged in the development, manufacture and sale of PEM fuel cell power plants
for stationary electric power applications. The company is a venture between
Ballard Power Systems, the Vancouver based world leader in the development of
proton exchange membrane fuel cell power systems, and GPU International, a
major international electric company based in New Jersey. At the heart of
Ballard Generation Systems' products is the Ballard Fuel Cell, a proprietary
technology which converts hydrogen into electricity with zero emissions.
Ballard Fuel Cells are also being used by leading international automotive
manufacturers including Daimler-Benz, General Motors, Honda, Volkswagen and
Volvo to develop zero-emission vehicles.
Ballard Power Systems' Common shares are listed on The Toronto Stock
Exchange under the trading symbol ``BLD'' and on the Nasdaq National Market
System under the symbol ``BLDPF''.
For further information: Danielle Smith, Ballard Generation Systems,
phone (604) 421-7475 or fax (604) 444-2400 or dansmi(at)ballard.com or
for media information: Debby Roman, Ballard Generation Systems, phone
(604) 412-4740 or fax (604) 412-3131 or debrom(at)ballard.com or for
investor information, Kristen Mucha, Ballard Power Systems Inc., phone
(604) 454-0900 or fax (604) 412-4700 |
