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

To: Rickmas who wrote (3957)	4/2/1999 12:49:00 AM
From: HarveyO	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 5827

Girsky says...Ballard could be the Intel of the automobile business Wall Street still wary of alternative cars But payoff could be big, key analyst says By Steve Gelsi, CBS MarketWatch Last Update: 1:21 PM ET Apr 1, 1999 NewsWatch NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- Wall Street has yet to embrace cars that run on batteries or alternative fuel, but the payoff could be huge if consumers adopt vehicles using the new technologies, a leading auto analyst said at a panel Thursday. Girsky, ranked as the No. 1 auto analyst by Institutional Investor for the past seven years, headed up a panel on future technology in the auto business at the New York International Auto Show. Steve Girsky, managing partner of Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, said forays by the big auto companies and suppliers into battery powered vehicles and other experimental technologies aren't well regarded on Wall Street, yet. "It's too far away," Girsky said. "It's hard to imagine what it'll be like in the marketplace." Wall Street is following the lead of consumers, who prefer gas-powered cars over alternative cars because the price of oil is so cheap. "The public says they want cleaner cars, but their pocketbooks say they're not interested," said Girsky. Ballard Power Girsky said one company, Ballard Power Systems (BLDP), has attracted interested on Wall Street after it drew roughly $1 billion in capital and equipment from DaimlerChrysler (DCX) and Ford (F) to develop fuel cell technology. "If (fuel cells) work, it could be the Intel of the automobile business," said Girsky, referring to the huge boost that the chip maker got from supplying technology to the PC industry. Neil Ressler, vice president of research and technology for Ford, said battery-powered cars will only serve a "niche" market in the future and that the industry is focusing on fuel cell technology instead. Fuel Cells Fuel cells use hydrogen to produce electricity, which in turn powers a car with none of the pollution. Fuel cell engines emit distilled water. Right now the auto industry is "ahead of the public" in its interest in alternative fuel, but as concern grows over air quality and global warming, demand for these vehicles will grow, Ressler said. Although various electric and hybrid cars, which use a combination of gas and electricity, are on the market now, the industry is gearing up to offer a wider range of affordable cars that run on alternative fuel by the year 2004.