"Our analysis provides a view of realistic environmental benefits that can be anticipated from fuel cell adoption in commercial markets," said John Sheridan, Ballard's President and Chief Executive Officer. "There are a range of market applications for which fuel cell based products provide competitive advantage, while at the same time significantly reducing GHG emissions."

The analysis focused on fuel cell applications most likely to achieve near-term commercialization, specifically residential cogeneration, distributed generation, backup power systems, materials handling and public transit buses. Results show that global GHG reductions through the year 2025 from these applications could be in the range of 31 to 116 million metric tons, depending on assumptions made regarding production of hydrogen. Running this data through the U.S. Climate Technology Cooperative Gateway Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator ( www.usctcgateway.gov/tool/) shows that by 2025, this level of GHG reductions equates to the removal of 1.4 to 5.6 million cars from the world's roads in that year.

"With today's increased global awareness around the impacts of climate change, it's increasingly important that corporate decision-makers drive incremental value through a focus on the sustainability of their products, operations and corporate cultures," said Roger Saillant, President and CEO of Plug Power. "This analysis provides an important benchmark that helps confirm the value of continued investment in the fuel cell industry."

The results of Ballard and Plug Power's work have been independently verified by the Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies ( www.ceert.org), a Sacramento, California based non-profit organization focused on promotion of sustainable resources and nonpolluting technologies.