To All Interesting Ballard Petro-can Methanex release.Rampant
Petro-Canada, Ballard and Methanex Announce New Association: Fuelling a Cleaner Canada'
VANCOUVER, June 11 /CNW-PRN/ - 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. |
