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

To: Jim who wrote (3325)	12/1/1998 8:00:00 AM
From: riposte	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 5827

Ballard and EBARA Complete C$47.7 Million Transaction Oddly, no mention of the Y2K problem <g>... Steve Tuesday December 1, 4:21 am Eastern Time Company Press Release Ballard and EBARA Complete C$47.7 Million Transaction To Commercialize Ballard Stationary Power Plants TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 1, 1998--BALLARD POWER(NASDAQ:BLDPF - news; TSE:BLD. - news) Ballard Power Systems announced today that its subsidiary Ballard Generation Systems has completed its US $31 million (C$47.7 million) agreement with EBARA Corporation. The agreement includes an investment by EBARA in Ballard Generation Systems and the creation of a jointly held company with exclusive rights to sell, distribute, service and later manufacture, Ballard Fuel Cell stationary power plants for the Japanese market. Representatives met in Tokyo, Japan, to complete and sign the final alliance agreements. The companies have worked toward this objective since signing a memorandum of understanding on May 20, 1998, in Vancouver, Canada. In this transaction, EBARA will invest US$15 million in cash (C$23.1 million) for a 5.2 percent interest in Ballard Generation Systems and two 250 kW Ballard Fuel Cell power plants for field testing in Japan. In addition, Ballard Generation Systems and EBARA will jointly invest US$16 million (C$24.6 million) to form a new company in Japan called EBARA Ballard Corporation. EBARA Ballard will sell, distribute, service and later manufacture fuel cell power plants developed by Ballard Generation Systems for customers in Japan. The initial investment in EBARA Ballard consists of US$8.16 million (C$12.57 million from EBARA for a 51 percent interest, and US$7.84 million (C$12.07 million) from Ballard Generation Systems for a 49 percent interest. ''Following the completion of our European alliance earlier this year and the groundbreaking for our initial production facility, the completion of our agreement with EBARA is another important step forward on our path to commercializing Ballard Fuel Cell stationary power plant products.'' said Scott Weiner, President of Ballard Generation Systems. ''This partnership brings us important understanding and access to the Japanese market and extends Ballard Generation Systems' global reach beyond North America and Europe with the formation of EBARA Ballard.'' ''Supported by EBARA's commitment to the Zero Emission concept, Ebara focused on Ballard's PEM fuel cells as an indispensable technology for building clean energy systems,'' stated Hiroyuki Fujimura, Chairman of EBARA Corporation. ''EBARA will be involved in the development of cogeneration systems by combining Ballard Fuel Cell stationary power plants and EBARA's absorption chillers. EBARA also aims to build ultra low emission energy systems based on Ballard Fuel Cell stationary power plants using methane gas from water treatment and waste treatment facilities as the fuel.'' Ballard Generation Systems is a venture between Ballard Power Systems, GPU International, ALSTOM, and EBARA Corporation. Following the completion of all investments which have been committed to by the partners, the ownership interests in Ballard Generation Systems will be 61 percent Ballard, 14 percent GPU International, 20 percent ALSTOM and 5 percent EBARA. GPU International is the non-regulated arm of GPU Inc. [NYSE:GPU - news], a major international electric company based in New Jersey. GPU serves a worldwide population of over 13 million people with 4.4 million customers located in 12 countries. ALSTOM is a world leader in the design, manufacture, supply and installation of equipment, systems and complete solutions for the power generation and transmission industries and for rail transport. Headquartered in France, the Company is established internationally, with a total of 110,000 employees in 60 countries. EBARA is globally recognized as a major developer, manufacturer and distributor of fluid machinery and systems, precision machinery and environmental engineering systems and as a leader in zero emission technology. Headquartered in Japan, EBARA is established internationally with subsidiaries and affiliates in 17 countries. Ballard Power Systems is the world leader in the development of proton exchange membrane fuel cell power systems. At the heart of its products is the Ballard Fuel Cell, a proprietary zero-emission engine that converts natural gas, methanol, gasoline, or hydrogen fuel into electricity without combustion. Ballard Fuel Cells are currently being used by leading international companies including DaimlerChrysler, Ford, General Motors, Nissan, Honda, Volkswagen, Volvo, Matsushita Electric Works, GPU International, ALSTOM, EBARA Corporation, and Cinergy to develop zero-emission engines for vehicles and clean stationary power plants. This report contains forward-looking statements reflecting Ballard Power Systems' current expectations as contemplated under the Safe Harbor provisions of the US Private Securities Litigation Reform Law of 1995. Investors are cautioned that all forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, product development delays, changing environmental regulations, the ability to attract and retain business partners, future levels of government funding, competition from other fuel cell manufacturers, competition from other advanced power technologies, competition from existing power technologies, evolving markets for generating electricity and power for transportation vehicles, and the ability to provide the capital required for product development, operations and marketing. Investors are encouraged to review the Management's Discussion and Analysis section in Ballard's 1997 Annual Report titled ''Operating Results, Capital Requirements, and Risks'' (pages 22 to 26) for a more complete discussion of factors that could affect Ballard's future performance. Ballard's Common shares are listed on The Toronto Stock Exchange under the trading symbol ''BLD'' and on the Nasdaq National Market System under the symbol ''BLDPF''. Contact: Ballard Power Systems Inc. Michael Rosenberg, 604/412-3195 604/412-4700 (FAX) investors@ballard.com www.ballard.com or Ballard Power Systems Inc. Debby Roman, 604/412-4740 604/412-3131 (FAX) debrom@ballard.com or EBARA Corporation Yoshio Muraki, 011/81 3 3743 6589 (FAX) muraki@ebara.co.jp

To: Jim who wrote (3325)	12/1/1998 9:10:00 AM
From: Sid Turtlman	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 5827

Jim: This article backs up exactly what I have said for a long time, which is that the bus market is minuscule: Mercedes hopes to sell 500 buses per year in 2004 and maybe 1000 per year after that. The fuel cell engine is unlikely to have a value above $50,000 per bus or the buses would be too expensive and no one would buy them. (I am probably being generous here, because bus engines aren't a whole lot bigger than car engines, and if engine part of the car doesn't cost a whole lot less than $50,000 there aren't going to be a lot of fuel cell cars on the road. Furthermore, the car engines will run on reformed gasoline or methanol, which will make them more expensive than the bus engines, which can use hydrogen because of the ease of refueling from a central depot. Probably the bus engine will have a value closer to $10,000 than $50,000, but let's go ahead with the higher number.) So, in 2004, if Mercedes sells all 500 units that will represent $25,000,000 worth of fuel cell engines. But that money doesn't go to Ballard - it goes to DBB Fuel Cell Engines, the joint venture, in which Ballard owns only 27%. So Ballard's share of the joint venture's sales are $6,750,000 in 2004 and twice that thereafter, if Mercedes succeeds in its goal of selling 1000 buses per year. If Ballard had a $3 million market cap, the prospect of having $6,750,000 in sales six years from now might be considered a plus. At $3 billion market cap? You tell me. If the correct figure is $10,000 per engine rather than $50,000 Ballard's share of the revenue would be $1,350,000 in 2004 and twice that in 2005. Yes, I do know that Ballard will sell fuel cells to the joint venture to be made into complete engines, so its sales would actually be a little higher, but whether those sales would be profitable to Ballard is questionable. That depends on the transfer price between Ballard and the JV, and I continue to believe that the dominant partner, Daimler, will not allow Ballard to make any noticeable amount of money while the JV is in the red, which it is expected to be for a few years after fc cars first hit the market. Of course, all this assumes that Ballard's fc buses will actually work. Evidently that wasn't the case in Chicago.