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Technology Stocks : Ballard Power -world leader zero-emission PEM fuel cells
BLDP 2.710+1.1%Nov 21 9:30 AM EST
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To: yard_man who wrote (2148)4/3/1998 11:30:00 PM
From: smw3  Read Replies (3) of 5827
 
Barry,
You may be the one dreaming...a bad dream. Economy of scale is exactly what we're going to see happening in the very near term. Economy of scale means that DuPont can put out Nafion for 10% of its current cost with every factor of 100 increase in production (Ballard makes its own membrane, but if DuPont can do it, so can Ballard). Economy of scale is the reason ONSI's PC25 is already half the price it was when it first became commercially available 5 years ago. Economy of scale is the very reason why, when fuel cells are mass produced within the next 10 years, decentralized power will be the norm rather than the exception.

The fact is and has been for some time, though, that economy of scale no longer applies to power produced in large scale centralized plants. Why in the world do you think you pay a lower base rate residentially, then a higher rate once your consumption passes a baseline benchmark? Why in the world would utilities promote consumer efficiency programs as they have been? Specifically because the costs to them to meet increased demand is greater than the cost of meeting preexisting demand with existing facilities.

Count on this: The utilities will move in on the fuel cell industry (no doubt to Ballard's benefit) when the time is ripe...and the time, Barry, is very nearly ripe.
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