"Once the product is available and people see its performance, then they'll come out of the woodwork," said Dave McGrath, managing director of SiGEN, a Scottish fuel cell integrator.

Under an agreement announced Tuesday, SiGEN was named a distributor and service agent in the United Kingdom for Avista Labs' fuel cells. The agreement runs through May 2005. The fuel cells will be sold primarily as a backup power supply for industrial and commercial uses.

McGrath just completed a two-week tour of the U.S. fuel cell industry, during which he visited dozens of companies and research facilities. McGrath said one thing that sets Avista Labs apart is that the company actually has products available for sale.

"Many companies claim to have fuel cells, but when you push for delivery, they can't actually deliver," McGrath said.

In addition, McGrath said, Avista Labs' fuel cell met all SiGEN's requirements, including price and performance. The Spokane Valley company has already delivered its first 1-kilowatt fuel cell system to SiGEN. The product debuted at the All-Energy Conference in Aberdeen, Scotland, in May. SiGEN announced that the first customer for the fuel cell would be AMEC, an international engineeringservices company. AMEC plans to install the fuel cell at one of its northwest England offices as a backup power supply.

"We expect such systems to become widespread," said Alastair Rennie, head of renewables for AMEC, in a news release.

The fuel cells convert pure hydrogen into electricity through an electrochemical reaction. The only byproducts are heat and water.

Mike Davis, Avista Labs' CEO, said the agreement with SiGEN opens the door to the fuel cell market in the United Kingdom. The company has also established an agreement with an Italian company to promote and sell the fuel cells in that country. The fuel cells also are marketed in the renewable energy, telecommunications and railroad industries.

On Thursday, Avista Labs announced that its fuel cells are available for sale to federal agencies through the U.S. General Services Administration.

Avista Labs is a subsidiary of Avista Corp., which has stated it plans to sell at least 80 percent of the fuel cell company within weeks. Avista Corp. has said it does not have the cash to take the fuel cell company to the next level.