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Non-Tech : IMPCO Technologies (IMCO), formerly AirSensors (ARSN) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jim Oravetz who wrote (201)	7/22/2000 12:37:30 AM
From: Jim Oravetz	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 298

Ballard didn't actually come up with the alchemy of the energy industry. General Electric (NYSE: GE) held the patents to PEM fuel cells until 1983, but once they expired, Ballard registered its own PEM patents. And it's Ballard that has brought the core technology to a point where it's powerful enough to drive buses and cars. "We have studied how Intel has written the rules for the microprocessor industry," Mr. Rasul says. "They used their position as the leaders of a hip technology to create the strategic relationships they needed to establish a key position." Ballard has used its position as the developer of the PEM fuel cell to build joint ventures with Ford Motor (NYSE: F) and DaimlerChrysler (NYSE: DCX), sold the technology to key competitors like General Motors (NYSE: GM) and Toyota (NYSE: TM), and kept its focus on intellectual property by registering over 350 patents. "The point is that with any enabling technology such as the fuel cell or the microchip, you've got to put the technology in the hands of the people who can develop products, even if they're your competitors," says Mr. Rasul. +++++++ If there's going to be a winner in the fuel-cell sector, it will probably be Ballard. Last year, Ford and DaimlerChrysler pumped a staggering $1.1 billion into Ballard to spin off a new subsidiary, Xcellsis Fuel Cell Engines, which will concentrate on powering the next generation of automobiles. In fact, Xcellsis is already providing prototypes for Ford's P2000 and DaimlerChrysler's NECAR 4 hydrogen-powered electric vehicle, and it boasts customers including Nissan (Nasdaq: NSANY), GM, Honda (NYSE: HMC), and Toyota. However, it's not just the automobile industry that will benefit from fuel cells. Ballard hopes that everything from trains to cell phones to laptop computers will use the technology. redherring.com Jim