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Technology Stocks : Plug Power Fuel Cells (PLUG) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Krowbar who wrote (24)	1/23/2000 12:01:00 AM
From: AnnieO	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 83

Del, I read PLUG's description of the product. Thank you for posting this information. They did a nice job of presenting their concept. I did not see where you got the information on the amount of oz of platinum needed for the unit. Could you also post a link to the information on the number of oz mined per year. I also wonder how much Platinum that Ballard is going to need for their car fuel cells? I understand from reading some research that the membrane to make all this happen is still in developmental stages? I also understood that there is energy lost when these cells are stacked, as plug is doing in this home product? Keith posted this link on research information on the production, transport, and end use of hydrogen technologies. This is a survey of 100 publications from the National Renewable Energy Lab. It is a "Survey of Economics of Hydrogen Technologies". eren.doe.gov The economics of this system may not be feasible. Also in this article PLUG has stated that these units will cost around $8,500 in 2001. Regards, AnnieO

To: Krowbar who wrote (24)	1/25/2000 2:27:00 AM
From: Erik T	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 83

A few more thoughts on PLUG. The overall pollution is far less per KWH than from traditional generation. Actually, no longer true. A company in California has a combustor for natural gas turbines that has lower emissions than a Plug Power fuel cell. They have achieved NOx <1.5 ppm and carbon monoxide <2 ppm. Plug's fuel cell emits about 50 ppm CO and does not publish data on NOx emissions. As for cost, natural gas turbines blow away fuel cells, and probably will for the next 10-20 years. As for supporting the current valuation, the market is acting like Plug Power is the only company working on this stuff. Here is a list of the multitude of others doing similar work. 216.51.18.233 I agree with you, though, that there is a niche market for Plug's product. I recently saw a home gas range selling for $5,000. If there are people willing to pay that for a gas range, they would certainly be willing to pay $7,000-$10,000 for a reliable power source. As for savings, however, I put my info into Plug's calculator, and I would save $3 per month on my electric bill. Hard to justify initial cost of the unit, yearly maintenance and major overhaul every 40,000 hours (4.5 years). Granted, I live in a temperate climate and have very reliable power, so my perceptions are a bit skewed. Appreciate the discussion here and must admit, even though I do not believe this technology is quite ready for mainstream use, I would bet that Plug Power is successful before Ballard. Erik