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

To: John Curtis who wrote (2880)	7/11/1998 12:29:00 PM
From: Mad2	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 5827

John, I appreciate your comments and that fact that you bought into ballard early deserves respect. As a non-participant in bldpf I have tried to understand the issues and make a judgment on where this thing could go. The more I look the more confused I get. Couple of points: Global warming - Jury is still out here, certianly lab evidence supports the fact that CO2 can contribute here, but put real world analysis has yet to prove this. Certianly it's something that needs be understood, not only CO2 but all other contributing factors. Anyway as it pertains to fuel cells, they need hydrogen. If it comes from the the grid (electrolysis) supplied by coal plants no environmental gain here, in fact the battery is likely to win this niche. If it comes from LPG, gasoline well the benifits are not in elimination of CO2 emmission, rather in the potential higher efficiency of FC vs ICE (???supposedly FC's can perhaps acheive 60% vs the 30% for carrnot limited ICE's). OK, then the potential benifit to society becomes better utilization of the energy value of HC fuels compared to IEC engines, however at this point one has to start throwing in other technologies and sizing up the features, benifits and costs for various applications. In my opinion if we are really serious about reducing our contribution of CO2 to the atmosphere we need a national effort towards a nuclear program (eg like the French where they standardize design and minimize cost). Getting back to bldpf however the decision is what upside potential exists balanced against a understanding of downside risk. Follows are some good links covering the FC: www.designnews.com See their article of June 22 www.tinaja.com Don Lancaster's home page that I was lead to by his article in August's Electronic News (for this go to www.gernsback.com and find his Aug 98 article). Additionaly www.fuelcells.com which has probably been posted here before gives all kinds of links. One link shows that 577 companies are working in this area. Summing it up John, congtrats on your early decision, obviously you can ride this in any direction. As a interested outsider my gut tells me that too many players are vying for position with technology that is trying to become cost efficient and the time it will take for this to get sorted out will be measured in years. If we assume that FC's will suceed at some point ask who will win (ownership of technology) and how will they make money (license or manufacturer). I have to tell you that being a supplier to the auto industry or to any large OE manufacturer is brutal. To quote a respected Detroit business owner "They'd rather steel it from you than pay for it!!!"