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

To: Infoseeker who wrote (1820)	3/11/1998 7:04:00 PM
From: riposte	Respond to of 5827

Where's the Beef? Good afternoon, Mr. Seeker! First, whenever I post, I try to temper my enthusiasm...you'll never see a post with my name on it saying "Go [insert favorite stock]!!!!!". As a matter of fact, I almost sold it a couple of weeks ago, quite happy with the gains I made, and fully expecting a retrenchment. I can only speak for myself, but my "take" on what's going on is this: 1) There are only a few companies working on fuel cell technology. a) Ballard seems , from what I can gather, to have some key technology and patent protections which makes them a leader. 2) Ballard has entered into major partnership agreements with some very big players (Ford, Damlier Benz, etc.). 3) Whenever you see an article on fuel cells, you see Ballard's name. This adds to the "story" aspect of the stock, since the article (or whatever othe media you choose) is usually pretty upbeat. It's how I first found out about Ballard; an article in Car & Driver magazine, in, I believe, January 97. 4) Ballard was just added to the "Toronto 100" index...perhaps that's created some attention. 5) Might "their 'dream' come true"? Boy, I hope so! Seriously, part of the reason I've decided to stay in is because I've resigned myself to the fact that, since I'm not an insider, I can't know what the "Big Guys" know. So, if Ford decides to invest in Ballard, and Damlier-Benz decides to invest, and the company seems to be hitting its targets, I'll defer to their insider knowledge, and see what happens. As I mentioned before, I have not bet the farm, and if the stock continues to do well, that's great. If it goes to zero, and I can't get out in time, that's sort of crappy, but you will not see me jumping off a building because of it. There's lots of interesting companies around to invest in, and not a single reason in the world to put all of your money into any one of them. (Duh!) If you haven't already done so, check out the many links which have been posted on fuel cell technology. Hope this helps, Steve

To: Infoseeker who wrote (1820)	3/12/1998 6:50:00 PM
From: Infoseeker	Read Replies (4) \| Respond to of 5827

Fantasy vs. Reality Although Ballard Power is enjoying current success due to its expeditious rising stock price, did anyone ever to stop to think what will happen if all doesn't go as planned. This seems to be an issue that most of the public is not thinking about. Yes, it is wonderful to produce a new type of car that will enable us to become "environmentally conscious" people and to do our part to save the ozone. But there is no proof this will happen! Yes, engineers around the world are working on this project and yes, probably one day cars will function exactly the way we want to. After all we did put a man on the moon. But the issues that should remain at the forefront of everyone's mind is WHEN will this car be sold and at WHAT price. For those of you enthusiasts, make sure you understand and take note of all the information surrounding this issue - both bad and good. I have monitored this site and have enjoyed your propagandistic information gathering and personal opinions. You have all done a good job at protecting your investment. Boy, Ballard must be happy with its followers. Just remember that not everyone is as confident as you are. For even Ford's key fuel cell researcher Bradford Bates said "We really have no confidence these things will completely deliver on their promise. (Source - Business Week, March 2, 1998, Science and Technology) In light of everything stated above, lets start assessing some risks associated with the production of fuel-cell cars. In an article posted in Business Week - March 2, 1998 edition, Science & Technology Section. Titled - DETROIT'S IMPOSSIBLE DREAM. This article highlights some problems surrounding the production of fuel cell cars such as When, if ever, will this new type of car be available? How much will it cost? Will it be affordable? And will it sell? All of the below quotes were taken directly from the Business Week article. I encourage you to take a look at it. 1. When will this car be ready???? In this article General Motors Vice-Chairman Harry J. Pearce is stated as saying, "Our fuel cell test vehicle gets 80 miles per gallon and has a driving range of 300 miles." The writer of this article - Keith Naughton follows with "Sounds Wonderful. But GM's prototype, like all others in Detroit, Hasn't left the lab yet. Mercedes-Benz and Toyota Motor Corp. have actually rolled out operational fuel cell vehicles_but they're not yet for sale" 2. How much will it cost? Could I afford to buy one? Ford Chairman, Alexander J. Trotman states, "Cost is the biggest roadblock. If a Ford Taurus were outfitted with a fuel cell today, its sticker price could soar to $200,000 (USD)." Business Week's Nautghton writes, "So why the new optimism?" "Detroit now expects it can slash costs to $25 per kilowatt, from the previous target of $35", says Bradford Bates - A key fuel cell researcher at Ford. He adds, "for now it is just a dream." "With fuel cells, the per-kilowatt cost now stands at roughly $250. So just the fuel cell would run $20,000. Add on the tab for several other expensive elements and a fuel cell car is 10 times more costly. 3. Will this type of car sell? "Selling consumers on the safety of modern techniques for storing hydrogen gas could take longer than perfecting an economical fuel cell car, says Naughton. Besides nobody wants to mount a torpedo-like storage tank on the car's roof. Finally there are no hydrogen filling stations now_and building the infrastructure for distributing hydrogen to corner service stations would take billions of dollars. Another problem: It takes 10 minutes to warm up a fuel processor, says Naughton. The above statements extracted from Business Week (March 2, 1998) provide some interesting information with regard to the development of fuel cell cars. Even if fuel cells cars are produced and sold sometime in the next century, nobody can ignore some major issues - Will they work? Will they sell? And most importantly will all people from different socio-economic backgrounds be able to afford them? So the question remains - How much time, resources and money will it cost Ballard to produce fuel cells that are cheap enough to allow for a fuel cell car to be sold at a fair price on the marketplace? This whole thing sounds fantastic in theory, but remember Fantasy vs. Reality. Look for tomorrow's response to the Fortune Magazine article - "The Automakers' Big- Time Bet on Fuel Cells.