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

To: Sid Turtlman who wrote (2428)	4/22/1998 10:45:00 PM
From: Stephen O	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 5827

Pls allow me to ask of either the pro or con Ballard types how much platinum will there be in one auto fuel cell engine?

To: Sid Turtlman who wrote (2428)	4/22/1998 10:53:00 PM
From: michael a. rowe	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 5827

Gasoline, methanol, natural gas etc... are currently mass distributed for consumption....wouldnt it be possible if hydrogen was, that it too would be cheaper? Hydrogen is by far the most plentiful element in the universe. Hydrocarbons are very much more rare...maybe we shouldnt just burn them up.

To: Sid Turtlman who wrote (2428)	4/23/1998 1:45:00 AM
From: smw3	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 5827

>> People have been conditioned by the digital age to expect the price of everything to plummet with volume. But fuel cells are not semiconductors. Have you ever seen one? There are a lot of pipes, heat exchangers, high priced metal alloys to withstand high temperatures (in the fuel cell itself, or in the reformer to create the hydrogen), wires, and all kinds of other components that are already produced in vast quantities; producing lots of fuel cells won't reduce their cost at all. << As a matter of fact, I have seen several fuel cells...last year I worked at the Schatz lab at HSU. I've seen them built from the ground up, been involved in their installation into vehicles, dealt on a daily basis with the many stumbling blocks making it difficult to fit one between four wheels. I've also spent a lot of time looking at PV and other renewable power systems, including the solar hydrogen systems built by the Schatz team. I'm well aware that fuel cells are expensive to build today, but the fact is that there's nothing to them that volume won't make cheaper. DuPont and Gore both guarantee their membranes will get cheaper with volume, and if I'm not mistaken, Ballard makes their own now. The platinum isn't even an issue; Ballard's success at increasing power density while reducing costs is due largely to the fact that they're more efficient at lower platinum loadings. Look, I don't know jack about finance; I'm a student of engineering. I'm never going to get rich in stocks, and the best I hope for is a decent living doing what I know. You can argue all you want about whether Ballard is overvalued or not. I'm into this company, and thus this thread, because I've spent the last seven years studying thermodynamics, and I know what works and what doesn't. Fuel cells work, particularly with hydrogen as their fuel source. Petroleum is finite, and to suggest that it's not is just not looking down the road. To base all of your judgement of this technology on the state of fiscal state today's market, in today's dollars, is neglecting the much bigger picture with which we must all eventually deal. I for one am ecstatic that there's a company such as Ballard, run by people whose vision is so much clearer than yours.