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Technology Stocks : Ballard Power -world leader zero-emission PEM fuel cells -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Michael Cash who wrote (4853)	1/20/2000 12:21:00 PM
From: Hawkeye	Respond to of 5827

Be my guest Cash! Meanwhile the story just keeps getting better. Bloomberg sports Thu, 20 Jan 2000, 12:14pm EST BWT Rises After It Introduces New Fuel-Cell Membrane (Update2) (Adds closing prices in 1st and 2nd paragraphs) Mondsee, Austria, Jan. 20 (Bloomberg) --BWT AG shares rose 8.8 percent after Europe's biggest maker of water-purifier systems said it is expanding into the fuel-cell market by introducing a recyclable membrane. The shares gained 12.24 euros to close at 151.74 euros, the largest gain in more than 14 months. Fuel-cell technology is used to produce electricity through a chemical reaction that doesn't pollute. Mondsee, Austria-based BWT said yesterday it's introducing a membrane used in fuel cells that doesn't contain fluorine, which pollutes when disposed of. It hopes to tap a market that could be worth 3 billion euros by 2005. BWT ''seems to really be in a position to play a central role in this interesting market,'' said Ralf Burchert, an analyst at Erste Bank der oesterreichischen Sparkassen AG, who raised his recommendation to ''outperform'' from ''neutral'' yesterday. The shares added to a 5.7 percent gain yesterday, when Plug Power Inc., an Albany, New York-based developer of fuel cells, soared along with other fuel cell companies on optimism demand for the technology will increase. BWT's membrane was developed by its FuMA-Tech unit in Germany, which specializes on custom-made membranes and environment-friendly plant engineering for the chemical, pharmaceutical, metallurgical, food and beverage industries. Potential partners The company, whose main market is Europe, said it's currently in talks with others to promote its membrane in the U.S., though it declined to identify any potential partners. ''You can use fuel cells basically wherever you need electricity,'' said Burchert. About 60 businesses are currently active in cell-fuel development, he said. Rivals such as Germany's Celanese AG and DuPont Co., the world's largest chemicals company, as well as smaller companies such as Watertown, Massachusetts-based Ionics Inc. are also producing membranes for fuel cells. Some analysts this month began touting fuel-cell stocks on the Internet, while automakers announced plans to develop cars powered by the technology. Utilities are also interested in this technology. Plug Power, based in Albany, New York, rose $2 9/32, or 2.9 percent, to 80 1/32, after advancing 22 percent yesterday. The shares have more than doubled this year. Ballard Power Systems Inc., of Burnaby, British Columbia, rose C$8.9, or 10.5 percent, to 93.90. Fuel Cell Energy Inc., of Danbury, Connecticut, rose $3 1/2, or 9.3 percent, to 41.