Canada's Fastest-Growing Companies thriving despite tough labor market

TORONTO, June 1 /CNW/ - PROFIT magazine today reveals its most anticipated annual ranking of Canada's Fastest-Growing Companies, the PROFIT 100. This year's ranking reveals that Canada's fastest-growing
companies are growing at an amazing pace despite an economy with a shortage of the right labor capital. In the past five years, these companies have created 14,466 jobs and averaged revenue growth of 1,976%.
 
"We're pleased to welcome this year's PROFIT 100 winners to the only peer group of its kind in Canada," says Ian Portsmouth, editor. "Canada's Fastest- Growing Companies are assembling the best and brightest teams in an economy where good jobs outnumber great people to fill them."
 
The first place spot goes to Hydrogenics Corp., a Mississauga, Ont.-based manufacturer of fuel cells and fuel-cell testing equipment, with revenue growth of 16,298% over the past five years. 

Cabot Corporation (NYSE: CBT) announced today that it has purchased the assets of Superior MicroPowders, LLC (SMP), a privately-held company located in Albuquerque, New Mexico. SMP is an advanced materials development and manufacturing company with proprietary nano- and micro- powder production systems and manufacturing capability. While in the development stage, SMP has been working with several major companies to develop particle applications for use in the electronics, fuel cell, display, and other markets.

Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide, Inc., (Nasdaq: QTWW) announced that The K2 Principal Fund L.P., a Toronto-based institutional fund, has entered into a voting agreement with Quantum in which K2 agreed to vote its common shares of Global Thermoelectric, Inc. (Toronto Stock Exchange: GLE.TO) in favor of the proposed combination of Quantum and Global.  K2 currently holds over 2 million shares of Global, representing approximately 7% of the outstanding common shares of Global.  K2's obligation to support the combination is subject to a number of conditions, including the absence of any superior acquisition proposal for Global.  Quantum has filed the Voting Agreement with K2 under cover of Form 8-K.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd (MHI) said Monday it has developed what it calls the world's smallest fuel cell.

The cell is 100 by 60 by 30 centimeters, about half the size of conventional systems, and is capable of generating 1 kilowatt of electricity, the leading heavy machinery maker said. (Kyodo News)

Jemmytex International Corporation launched its first fuel cell demonstration units to the Taiwan Power Industry, the Telecommunications Industry, the Government, the Military and the Academia. 

The units are direct hydrogen fuelled, 1 kW machines with the Ballard Nexa fuel cell unit at the core and were integrated into compact - rigid frame units with ample ventilatioon. Electrical control and monitoring was incorporated as was a powerful solid state inverter to give clean 60HZ / 110V / single phase power outlet. On these units fueling was achieved with six compact interconnected metal hydride canisters stored in the base of the unit where the weight factor gives the unit added stability. These canisters give each unit a load running time of four hours. Both machines have been extensively tested during the last 8 months and have already been demonstrated to many interested parties. 

FuelCell Energy, Inc. (Nasdaq: FCEL) has signed an agreement with Alliance Power, Inc. to integrate FuelCell Energy's ultra-low emission Direct FuelCell(R) (DFC(R)) power plants into Alliance Power's portfolio of distributed generation solutions.
    
Alliance Power is a developer of distributed generation facilities ranging in size from 1 megawatt to 49 megawatts.  Alliance Power will focus its marketing efforts initially in the state of California, seeking to take advantage of high-electric rates, a favorable regulatory environment for fuel cell power plants and currently available state incentives.

FuelCell Energy, Inc. (Nasdaq: FCEL) has signed an agreement with Alliance Power, Inc. to integrate FuelCell Energy's ultra-low emission Direct FuelCell(R) (DFC(R)) power plants into Alliance Power's portfolio of distributed generation solutions.
    
Alliance Power is a developer of distributed generation facilities ranging in size from 1 megawatt to 49 megawatts.  Alliance Power will focus its marketing efforts initially in the state of California, seeking to take advantage of high-electric rates, a favorable regulatory environment for fuel cell power plants and currently available state incentives.

Entegris Inc., (Nasdaq:ENTG) a materials integrity management company specializing in products for the fuel cell and other technology-driven industries, today announced that John Goodman, president of its fuel cell market sector, has been elected to the executive and policy committees of the United States Fuel Cell Council (USFCC). Goodman accepted the national post during the recent USFCC board meeting and 2003 U.S. Congressional Fuel Cell Expo in Washington, D.C.
    
The USFCC is an industry association focused on the commercialization of fuel cells in the U.S. Members include some of the world's leading fuel cell developers, manufacturers, suppliers and customers. The association's executive and policy committees include industry leaders from Plug Power, DuPont, W.L. Gore, Teledyne, and SiemensWestinghouse.

Fuel Cell Technologies Corporation reports that its operating subsidiary Fuel Cell Technologies Ltd. - collectively "FCT" - shipped its first 5 kW SOFC to a customer.
"This is a landmark moment for FCT," said John Stannard, FCT's President and Chief Executive Officer. "We are pleased with how FCT has moved through product development to enter the demonstration phase for the 5 kW SOFC unit."
The 5 kW (kilowatt) SOFC (solid oxide fuel cell) unit provides prime power on
site by electrochemically converting a variety of readily available fuels into electricity and heat.

BURNABY, BC, June 3 /CNW/ - QuestAir Technologies Inc. announced today that it will receive $720,000 in partnership funding from the Government of Canada and the Government of British Columbia under the Western Economic Partnership Agreement (WEPA), to support the research and development of QuestAir's hydrogen purification technology.

"Our hydrogen purification technology provides pure hydrogen more efficiently and at a lower cost," said Jonathan Wilkinson, QuestAir's President and CEO. "This improves the performance and durability of fuel cells, making them more economical and environmentally friendly".
    
"Our advancements in hydrogen purification will help get fuel cells and related products such as fuel cell powered cars from the development stage to consumer markets sooner, and bring the world one-step closer to a more sustainable energy future," Wilkinson said.

Plug Power Inc. (Nasdaq:PLUG) introduced today the GenCore(TM)5T, the Company's new 5-kilowatt fuel cell system, designed to provide extended run back-up power specifically for the telecommunications industry in the demanding outside plant (OSP) market.
    
GenCore(TM)5T is Plug Power's first direct hydrogen product based on a proprietary, modular, scaleable, architected GenCore fuel cell platform. Future products from this platform, ranging from 2-12 kilowatts, will be marketed to the cable broadband and uninterruptible power supply (UPS) industries.

Rogers Corporation (NYSE:ROG) today announced that it is working to develop and sell fuel cell stacks in systems requiring 20 watts to 5 kilowatts of power.
    
Mr. Walter E. Boomer, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Rogers Corp., remarked, "We are excited about our new role in developing stacks for the fuel cell industry. This is an emerging industry that will be enabled by creative use of specialty materials. This opportunity is consistent with our strategy to leverage Rogers' specialty materials competence into growth markets."

PolyFuel, a leading provider of catalyst coated membrane technology for portable fuel cell systems announced today that it was awarded a Medal of Achievement in the 2003 Computerworld Honors Program. PolyFuel President and CEO Jim Balcom accepted the award on behalf of PolyFuel at the June 2nd award ceremony held in Washington D.C. PolyFuel was one of six finalists in the Environment, Energy and Agriculture category.
    
"We are honored to receive this prestigious award and to be recognized for our work in the field of micro fuel cell technology," said Jim Balcom, President and CEO of PolyFuel. "Micro fuel cell technology is the key to enabling portable power systems that will deliver unlimited, unplugged runtimes for mobile computing and numerous other applications."

Land Warrior, next generation combat vehicles, and portable electronics may all be the beneficiaries of fuel cells, as dictated by efforts by the U.S. Department of Defense to increase spending on higher efficiency energy sources for military power supplies. Fuel cells have the potential to replace current power supplies of batteries and diesel generators, or even supply essential, reliable power in the digital battlefield, claims research firm Allied Business Intelligence (ABI) in their latest study, "Military Fuel Cell Markets: Market Potential and Opportunities in a New Era of Military Applications."

"Agility, survival, and deployment are three 'must haves' for U.S. military paraphernalia. Future military systems will require more energy delivered in more efficient packaging," explains Atakan Ozbek, Director of Energy research at ABI. "Fuel cells have the potential to create lighter and more compact power supplies, from portable units to APUs (auxiliary power units)."

ABI expects the first military fuel cell units, to be deployed in 2006, to number in the low thousands, and are expected to reach 45,000 units by 2014. However, certain scenarios and market dynamics have to be analyzed first before fuel cells can generate multi-billion dollar revenues from military market applications. The ABI study assesses market dynamics and trends of end-use markets from portable applications, potential APU use, and stationary applications, along with their shipment projections for the decade. Major market segments and their characteristics, along with their future needs, are also included in the report to more clearly illustrate market application dynamics.

THE first of seven fuel cell cars will hit the roads here early next year. 

Powered by hydrogen, these Mercedes A-Class cars will emit no pollution and will be among the world's quietest vehicles.

The cars, not expected to be on the market until 2010, will be run here as part of a worldwide trial by German-American car giant DaimlerChrysler. It will custom build each car.

In college Leroy Ohlsen was the kind of kid who watched Discovery Channel documentaries about fuel cells for fun. "I was watching this hydrogen-powered bus running around Vancouver, and a light bulb went off," says the 29-year-old founder of Neah Power Systems, who then decided to become a fuel-cell engineer. Did we mention that even the nerds wanted nothing to do with him?

This inventor sees huge opportunities for entrepreneurs in hydrogen power. And sooner than you think.

Every job I ever had, people always seemed to want to think small," says Geoffrey Ballard by way of explaining why he went into business for himself. The 70-year-old Canadian engineer--whose efforts to promote vehicles powered by zero-emission hydrogen-based fuel cells have earned him such accolades as being named a Hero for the Planet by Time magazine--is on his second company, having co-founded General Hydrogen in 1999. 

His earlier venture, Ballard Power, built the first commercially available fuel cell before going public in 1993. (It also gained worldwide recognition for giving rides on the first hydrogen-powered bus.) At General Hydrogen, Ballard's mandate is broader: to work with other companies to help build an infrastructure for what he refers to as the coming "hydrogen economy."

NTT DoCoMo Inc 9437.T said on Thursday it expects to launch a mobile phone powered by a fuel-cell battery for extended hours of use as early as 2004, a potential boost for its high-speed third-generation (3G) service.

 DoCoMo's 3G service, which offers video conferencing and speedy access to the Web, had until recently met a cool reception due mainly to the poor battery life of its handsets.

 User growth of the 3G service has picked up pace since DoCoMo, Japan's top cellphone operator, launched new handsets with longer battery life earlier this year.

 But the battery duration of those new models is still substantially shorter than the topline 2G models.

 "If everything goes smoothly, we will see the first model next year or the year after that," NTT DoCoMo President Keiji Tachikawa told a news conference.

 Users of cellphones with a fuel-cell battery would carry a cigarette lighter-type fuel container to refuel the battery.

 Tachikawa said its 3G subscribers totalled about 480,000 as of Wednesday, up from 421,000 users at the end of April.

An ingenious house powered by the technology of tomorrow could be built in Blackheath this summer. 

The pilot project will be the first of its kind anywhere in the world and features a hi-tech hydrogen cell providing energy for heating and lighting. 

Plans were due to go before Sandwell Councils planning committee and councillors were recommended to back the scheme. 

The futuristic bungalow off Darby Street has been supported by a grant from the Department of Trade and Industry and designed by the Black Country Housing Group. 

Description:  As part of their “Emerging Technology and Industry Best Practice Seminar” series, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA, hosted a one-day conference on "Fuel Cell as a mean of Green power generation". This conference hosted about 150 people with all areas of the industry represented: government agencies such as the US DOE (Department of Energy) and DOT (Department of Transportation), companies, investors, suppliers, and others interested in learning more about the newest developments in Fuel Cell. The main focus of the conference was on Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) but new developments on PEM fuel cells were presented as well. Topics ranged from materials' developments to design improvements and applications while discussing driving factors and regulations. 

Ballard Power Systems (TSX: BLD; NASDAQ: BLDP) fuel cell power trains will power a fleet of five Ford Focus fuel cell vehicles, in Vancouver, in a three year field trial program to begin early in 2004. This demonstration is a collaboration between Fuel Cells Canada, Ford Motor Company and the Provincial and Federal Governments. 

"Ballard is proud to support the launch of Ford's customer demonstration fleet here in Vancouver, which marks Canada's first fuel cell car demonstration program," said Dennis Campbell, Ballard's President and Chief Executive Officer. "These five cars are the first of up to 100 Ford fuel cell vehicles, powered by Ballard(TM), that will be placed in service through 2005. With this demonstration program, the Government of Canada is helping Canadians remain at the forefront of the fuel cell industry and furthering the commercialization of fuel cell vehicles."