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Technology Stocks : FCL - FuelCell Energy
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To: Daniel Schulman who wrote ()1/13/1998 6:27:00 PM
From: Terry Lyon  Read Replies (1) of 407
 
I am new to this thread and hold a small position in ERC.

I have heard no discussion of a fuel cell hybrid car, i.e., a small fuel cell could be used to charge an electric vehicles batteries. I seem to remember that it takes 5 to 10 hp to maintain a car on level ground at highway speeds therefore a 4 to 8 kW fuel cell would provide the necessary power to continuously keep the batteries nearly fully charged. Isn't this small by comparison to Ballard's.

The advantage is that the fuel cell for a hybrid could be made much smaller and could also operate at a relatively low voltage using a DC to DC converter to raise the voltage and charge the batteries. This would translate into a less expensive fuel cell.

Currently ERC is in the utility power business however the molten carbonate fuel cell may be very well suited for a hybrid electric car. The hybrid fuel cell could operate 24 hrs a day to keep the batteries fully charged which would also maitain the critical fuel cell temperature. The other big advantage is that hydrogen would not be necessary for fuel.

I contacted ERC with my suggestion but was politely but bluntly informed that ERC manufactures 2 to 10 MW power plants which are relatively large in size.

Am I missing something here? This may be a more viable hybrid than motor generator hybrids and Ballard's all fuel cell vehicle. IMHO.

Terry Lyon
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