FuelCellsWorks

MISSISSAUGA, Ontario — Hydrogenics Corporation (Nasdaq:HYGS) (TSX:HYG) (”Hydrogenics”) a leading developer and manufacturer of hydrogen generation and fuel cell products, today announced that it will implement a share consolidation of its issued and outstanding common shares in order to comply with the Minimum Bid Price Rule of the Nasdaq Global Market (”NASDAQ”). The consolidation will be effective as of March 12, 2010, and will be implemented with a ratio of one post-consolidation share for every 25 pre-consolidation shares.

“With an interest in preserving the liquidity for our investors that is offered by the NASDAQ Global Market, we wanted to take this step now to ensure continued participation on this highly visible, prestigious exchange,” said Daryl Wilson, Hydrogenics President and CEO. ”The share consolidation will also provide the means for a broader base of institutional investors – specifically, those with minimum price criteria – to consider taking a position in the company.”

Subject to regulatory approval, Hydrogenics’ common shares, listed on the NASDAQ and the Toronto Stock Exchange (”TSX”), will begin trading on a consolidated basis when the NASDAQ and TSX open on March 12, 2010. The consolidation will reduce the number of shares outstanding from approximately 105,049,666 to approximately 4,201,987.

Registered shareholders of Hydrogenics will receive instructions by mail on how to obtain a new share certificate representing their consolidated common shares. No fractional shares will be issued as a result of the consolidation. If the consolidation results in a registered shareholder having a fractional interest of less than a whole share, such fractional interest will be rounded down to the nearest whole number. Hydrogenics shares held through a broker, bank, trust company, nominee or other financial intermediary will be adjusted by that firm.

ABOUT HYDROGENICS

Hydrogenics Corporation (www.hydrogenics.com) is a globally recognized developer and provider of hydrogen generation and fuel cell products and services, serving the growing industrial and clean energy markets of today and tomorrow. Based in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, Hydrogenics has operations in North America and Europe.

An ICHET lab technician is seen explaining the procedure for testing fuel cells they use to power vehicles fitted to use hydrogen in their engines.

Hydrogen could be the alternative fuel of choice given its zero-emission properties, but the age of hydrogen-powered public transportation roaming metropolitan cities seems ages away for a Turkey struggling to catch up to Europe.

As global warming continues to threaten economies, societies and entire populations of nations, hydrogen research becomes increasingly crucial to break free of our dependence on carbon-based fuels. The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) established the International Center for Hydrogen Energy Technologies (ICHET) for just this reason: to contribute to the research of technologies that will make hydrogen a feasible and efficient fuel in the developing world. Opening its doors in İstanbul in 2004 with a $40 million grant from the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, the center focuses on research directed mainly at creating hydrogen-based energy solutions for developing nations. Being located in Turkey, however, certainly has its advantages for the nation, as many of the projects are directed toward Turkey — turning the country into an emerging leader in hydrogen research.

“Because the center’s project portfolio is mostly based around domestic projects, Turkey is turning into a crucial hydrogen research point and will enter the world’s ‘hydrogen league’,” said the managing director of ICHET, Dr. Mustafa Hatipoğlu, speaking to Sunday’s Zaman. He added that although this center was created for technologies for the developing world, because their main slice funding was from Turkey, the number of international projects were limited and called for other developing nations to provide support.

New fuels, new buses

Hydrogen use in public transportation is one potential use of the fuel in vehicles and allows cities to switch to a potentially renewable alternative fuel while also relieving both carbon dioxide emissions and smog. Hatipoğlu discussed two projects in Turkey that they are currently working on, the first of which is a hydrogen-powered passenger and tourist boat in partnership with the İstanbul Ferry Lines (İDO) and the Greater İstanbul Municipality that will take trips on the Golden Horn in İstanbul and stop at six points along the waterway while refueling at Feshane in the Eyüp district. He revealed that the refueling station was currently in the works and that they had held a contest amongst Turkish universities to design and construct the boat for the project. There are currently five winners of the contest, he said.

The second public transportation project involves a partnership with the İstanbul Transportation Authority (İETT) to build the first hydrogen-electric hybrid bus to operate in İstanbul. Although projects such as HyFleet:CUTE are much more expansive, involving more than 47 buses in 10 countries, this would be the first Turkish bus of its kind, taking advantage of domestic industry and resources though funded mainly by ICHET. He revealed that the bus was being built by Güleryüz, one of the biggest domestic public transportation bus producers in Turkey and also the producer of many of the buses used in İstanbul’s İETT system today. The project is scheduled to be completed in 2010, though according to Hatipoğlu, this will most likely be 2011 due to the project being bogged down by bureaucracy.

“These kinds of projects could have come to fruition a while ago, but there’s a very extensive bureaucracy in Turkey, and we lose most of our time dealing with it. If the bureaucratic process was faster, we could complete projects in half the time we do now. Even if [İstanbul] Mayor Kadir Topbaş says yes to a project, we still need to deal with lower levels of bureaucracy,” Hatipoğlu stated.

Federico Campbell, senior project engineer at ICHET, speaking to Sunday’s Zaman, also shared a similar sentiment about government support of hydrogen-powered projects. “The technologies may have their drawbacks, but unless you as a country make the statement that you will change [your energy consumption], then this will never change,” he said. Nicolas Lymberopoulos, director of projects and programs at ICHET, speaking to Sunday’s Zaman, stressed that if the political decision to focus on such public transportation projects is made one day, then it could create a big market for hydrogen-powered buses. “This is what we support, this technological leapfrogging, or jumping to the greenest technologies,” he said.

Campbell opined that it would take at least three to five years — corresponding to the extent of the gap between industry leader Germany and Turkey — for fleets of hydrogen buses to exist in Turkey. “The good news is the municipalities have shown a willingness to adopt new technologies and methods for public transportation, such as the Metrobus in İstanbul. You can’t find something like this in Europe. It’s much more advanced than many European capitals,” Lymberopoulos added.

Technological setbacks

The technology, however, is far from perfect. Although hydrogen solves the pollution problem at the point of use as it only emits water during combustion, there is still pollution when producing the fuel. Because hydrogen requires an energy input to produce, the amount of cradle-to-grave pollution that hydrogen fuel requires depends on the input used. If the inputs are renewable sources, then the amount of non-renewable energy used is much lower than traditional fuels.

The costs associated with producing hydrogen are also significant. Hatipoğlu, speaking on this issue, stated that much of the equipment used to produce hydrogen gas is mostly for research purposes and thus limited in quantity — and therefore pricy. The cheapest way to make hydrogen is by putting water through a chemical process that consumes natural gas, which may strip hydrogen of its alternative fuel status. “We want to produce hydrogen from renewable energy sources like the sun, but right now renewable energy ends up being three times more expensive than using electricity from the local power stations,” Hatipoğlu noted. The infrastructure to support such public transportation projects also does not exist in Turkey.

“It may take 20 to 30 years to see whole fleets of hydrogen-powered buses,” Campbell noted. When asked whether he could envision public transportation projects such as Metrobus retrofitted and revamped to use hydrogen-powered vehicles, Campbell said with enthusiasm, “This would be a dream project.” Further asked whether they would be willing to undertake such an endeavor, he revealed that they were actually in talks with the Ministry of Transportation to build a hydrogen-powered train and that they would gladly take on a project like Metrobus, even though “it would take an entire power plant to get the system running.”

Whether such power plants or hydrogen stations will start appearing soon is not known, though it is obvious that more research, public support and a political shift in direction need to occur before Turkey sees water-emitting buses on it’s roads.

MEHMET ŞEFLEK   İSTANBUL

A new kind of domestic fuel cell boiler powered by liquefied petroleum gas, is being developed by Calor and Ceres Power, and is aimed at the two million rural households currently off the mains gas grid. Calor claim it offers a radical alternative to the Government’s expensive and controversial renewable energy measures.

The new boiler is designed to cut by 50 per cent a year carbon dioxide emissions at the average domestic house using heating oil.

Details of the new approach were released amid opinion polling suggesting that the public is reluctant to make major financial sacrifices to address climate change. Under current plans, Ministers plan to impose extra costs on consumers to fund a switch to energy sources such as biomass (wood chip boilers) and wind turbines.

The fuel cell boiler developers believe that higher electricity, gas and heating oil prices will be used to subsidise a switch to biomass and wind – the officially preferred technologies for hitting the Government’s target of reducing carbon emissions by 34 per cent by 2020. Ministers are committed to raising the renewable element in energy generation from 1.5 per cent today to 15 per cent by 2020.

The developers say the new British boilers, to be launched on LPG in 2012, will also generate up to 80 per cent of the electricity required at the average property, and that they will cost around £5000 – far less than the £14,000 cost of installing a wood chip boiler.

British Gas is developing a similar system to be used by families on mains gas, and this will hit the market in 2011.

Read Entire Article Here

During a short presentation at the GreenZone Open House in January, Oglesby explained the evolution of Hydrogen buses in our area as well as the critical role that SunLine has taken to advance this field. In the 1990s, SunLine became known for its commitment to developing alternative fuels when it converted its vehicles from diesel fuel to CNG. Then in the early 2000s, SunLine began the testing and advancement of hydrogen technology. Under Oglesby’s leadership during the last five and a half years, SunFuels was created which is the only public multi-fueling station of its kind in the United State and offers three types of alternative fuel—CNG, HCNG, and hydrogen. All profits from SunFuels are reinvested into the transit infrastructure, benefiting both residents and visitors of the Coachella Valley.

Read the Entire Article Here

Israeli fuel-cell startup CellEra has kept its activities under wraps since it raised $2 million from Israel Cleantech Ventures last year. But a German press release from angel investor group BrainsToVentures has revealed the company has raised another $2 million, from BrainsToVentures and Israel Cleantech Ventures, and has developed its first prototype. CEO Zin Gottesfeld confirmed the news, telling us the cash represents part of a larger round.

Gottesfeld also told us CellEra already is working with a major manufacturer and is integrating its fuel cells into backup power systems. CellEra plans to use its new cash to turn its working prototype into its first commercial product, he said, adding that the company aims to have products ready for the market in two years.

According to the release, CellEra believes it can cut fuel-cell development and manufacturing costs by more than 70 percent by eliminating the most expensive material – platinum. The precious metal, which is by far the costliest part of a fuel cell, is normally used as a catalyst to create the electrochemical reaction that converts hydrogen, air and water into electricity.

The key to CellEra’s platinum-free fuel-cell technology is its proprietary electrodes, Gottesfeld said, which are the positively and negatively charged areas where the reaction takes place. The company isn’t developing the platinum-free catalysts itself, instead working with partners that use raw materials such as iron, cobalt or silver, he added.

Read Entire Article Here

Even apparently identical twins can differ in their appetite. The discovery of two crystals identical in appearance and chemical formula – and even with the same crystal symmetry – turn out to differ wildly in their capacity for storing hydrogen, much to the surprise of the chemists who made them.

The finding hints that there may be a previously unknown class of crystals that would be useful for gas storage or catalysis.

Hong-Cai Zhou at Texas A&M University in College Station and colleagues discovered the new crystal forms as part of their search for materials that will hold large quantities of hydrogen or methane to act as future fuel tanks. Like rival teams, they are concentrating on a family of crystalline compounds of metal ions and organic molecules called metal organic frameworks.

Read the entire article here

A modular fuel cell technology can convert just about any fuel into clean electricity using a chemical process.  Technology Management, Inc., of Cleveland, plans to market this distributed energy solution within the developing world where they don’t have power, enabling them to grow their own.

Last month, I got a call from Benson P. Lee, CEO of Technology Management, Inc (TMI), which is a developer of a fuel cell system that can convert just about any fuel into clean electricity using a chemical process, without modification of the system from one fuel to the next.

TMI, based in Cleveland, Ohio, USA, has a 1 kilowatt solid oxide fuel cell system and is preparing for field testing with end user applications.  The plug-and-play 1 kW systems are modular, which means they can be configured in multiples when more power or redundancy is required. Each 1 kW system is small enough and light enough to be handled by one person.

The slogan on their website is: “Developing fuel cells for use anywhere, anytime, by anyone.”

Read entire story Here

LATHAM, N.Y.,– Plug Power Inc. (Nasdaq:PLUG), a leader in providing clean, reliable energy solutions today announces that it signed a commercialization agreement with CITIC GuoAn Mengguli Power Science & Technology Co., Ltd. (MGL), a leader in advanced lithium-ion batteries and materials, for the joint marketing and sales of their co-developed high power lithium-ion battery systems into automotive applications.

In its on-going effort to improve performance and reduce cost of its GenDrive™ products for the material handling market, Plug Power began the development of a lithium based hybrid battery system to replace its nickel-metal hydride hybrid batteries. In November, 2008, Plug Power partnered with MGL to develop an advanced lithium based platform that could be easily configured to meet a range of applications.

Plug Power led the mechanical development as well as creation of a robust battery management system to ensure product performance and safety. MGL focused on optimizing its high power lithium cells and establishing the manufacturing capacity for the cells and the finished battery systems. By the fall of 2009, Plug Power had successfully introduced these products into its class-2 and class-3 GenDrive power units.

Based on the successful introduction of the lithium battery systems into GenDrive products, it became evident that other adjacent markets could also benefit from this sophisticated and configurable technology. While Plug Power and MGL intend to address global market opportunities, the most significant near term market for their battery system technology supports the rapidly growing Chinese hybrid automotive industry. Through this agreement, Plug Power and MGL will first introduce their products to the Chinese automotive industry, where “New Energy” sponsored programs are supporting the deployment of at least 500,000 hybrid and pure electric vehicles over the next four years.

“Plug Power’s GenDrive products have realized significant improvements in both performance and cost through the introduction of this lithium battery system technology,” said Adrian Corless, Plug Power’s CTO. “Plug Power and MGL are now able to use this flexible technology platform to design, build and sell hybrid battery systems which extend into automotive applications that share similar requirements to our GenDrive products.”

“Plug Power is encouraged to see this sophisticated technology adopted into hybrid vehicle applications,” said Andy Marsh, CEO for Plug Power. “Plug Power and MGL are able to build upon a solution developed specifically for our GenDrive product requirements and satisfy the needs of a complimentary business. Most importantly, we were able to do this with limited investment from either company.”

“We are very pleased to continue to expand our technical and business relationship with Plug Power,” said Dr. Wang Yahe, General Manager for MGL. ”We believe that both companies will significantly grow their businesses by addressing the large new market opportunities in automotive hybrid battery systems.”

About Plug Power Inc.

Plug Power Inc. (Nasdaq:PLUG), an established leader in the development and deployment of clean, reliable energy solutions, integrates fuel cell technology into motive and continuous power products. The Company is actively engaged with private and public customers in targeted markets throughout the world. For more information about how to join Plug Power’s energy revolution as an investor, customer, supplier or strategic partner, please visit www.plugpower.com.

SOUTHBOROUGH, Mass.–Protonex Technology Corporation (LSE: AIM: PTX and PTXU), a leading provider of advanced fuel cell power systems, today announces that it has received an incremental $1.49 million contract award from the U.S. Army CECOM to deliver additional advanced portable battery charger / APU fuel cell products. This follows the US Army CECOM’s decision to exercise an option in its original contract with the Company which was announced on 20 January 2010.

This award increases the total funded value of the overall contract to $3.34 million and additional options remain within the contract which, if awarded, could increase the total value of the contract to $6.4 million.

Under the terms of this eight-month, phase two program, Protonex is expected to deliver 30 additional portable battery charger / APU products to the U.S. Army for field use. The M250-CX units will include all of the next-generation improvements developed during the phase one program, which include increased power output, further integrated battery management and charging capabilities, additional ruggedisation and reduced overall size and weight.

Commenting on the news, Greg Cipriano, Vice President, Marketing & Military Development, at Protonex said:
“This additional phase two program is another important milestone for Protonex as our M250-CX power systems move closer to deploying to our U.S. soldiers. We are excited about delivering on our first low volume order for the M250-CX, one of the Company’s flagship military products.”

Protonex’ M250-CX system is a lightweight, 250-watt portable power system designed to meet the stringent demands of a wide range of military battery charging and auxiliary power unit applications. The unique design combines advances in fuel cell energy conversion and battery charging technology into one complete product solution to provide military battery charging and 28V auxiliary power with extremely low weight, noise, and thermal signature.

About Protonex Technology Corporation

www.protonex.com

Protonex Technology Corporation develops and manufactures compact, lightweight and high- performance fuel cell systems for portable power applications in the 100 to 1000-watt range. The Company’s fuel cell systems are designed to meet the needs of military, commercial and consumer customers for off-grid applications underserved by existing technologies by providing customizable, stand-alone portable power solutions and systems that may be hybridized with existing power technologies. The Company is headquartered in Southborough, Massachusetts.

•    SFC Smart Fuel Cell delivers briefing on the use of fuel cell solutions in support of defense applications in both the US and Germany
•    Secretary William S. Cohen: “There is a tremendous need for reliable power solutions with applications in the defense and security markets as well as a market in its infancy state – electric mobility”.
•    State Minister Schneider: “SFC provides innovative high-tech products ‘Made in Bavaria’ and sets a clear signal for the importance of CleanTech”

VANCOUVER– Ballard Power Systems (TSX: BLD; NASDAQ: BLDP) today announced its 2009 achievements for the year ended December 31, 2009 and provided an outlook for 2010. All amounts are in U.S. dollars, unless otherwise noted.

2009 has been widely acknowledged as a difficult year for energy technology companies, with the confluence of the global recession, crises in financial markets, and negative conditions in both the automotive and energy sectors. This backdrop had negative impacts on Ballard in 2009, initially in its supporting business segments of contract automotive and material products and subsequently in fuel cell products also.

Given this backdrop, Ballard took decisive actions to streamline its cost base to solidify its path to profitability, and augment its cash reserves, further strengthening its solid balance sheet. With these actions and some signs of improvement in the economy, Ballard ended the year with relatively strong fourth quarter revenues and significant improvement in cash flow from operations.

John Sheridan, President and CEO said “We were pleased to have closed 2009 with stronger revenue in the fourth quarter and a solid foundation for growth. We have started 2010 with a streamlined cost base and a strong order book. We expect to build growth momentum through the year, to position Ballard for positive EBTIDA performance during 2011.”

    Key 2009 Achievements

    Financial
    ---------

        -  Generated revenues of $46.7 million (unaudited) for the full year,
           a decline of 22% or $12.9 million from 2008. Over half of this
           decline was due to the exit from automotive and residential
           cogeneration development programs. Fourth quarter revenue was
           $16.5 million (unaudited), 13% lower than the same period last
           year, but growth of 83% relative to the third quarter of 2009 and
           reflects 35% of full-year revenue.
        -  Reduced the cost base by approximately $18.0 million, or 30%, on
           an annual run rate basis, primarily through restructuring
           activities in March and August.
        -  Reduced operating cash consumption(1) by 5% to $27.7 million
           (unaudited) for the full year. Fourth quarter operating cash
           consumption was ($4.3) million, representing positive cash
           contribution to the business, consistent with expectations.
        -  Augmented cash reserves by monetizing rights under the Share
           Purchase Agreement (SPA) with Ford Motor Company relating to
           Ballard's 19.9% equity interest in Automotive Fuel Cell
           Cooperation Corp. for total gross proceeds of approximately $44.5
           million; $37 million received up front and an additional
           contingent payment of $7.5 million due upon maturation of the SPA.
        -  Ended 2009 with cash reserves of approximately $82 million.

    Please note that 2009 financial results are unaudited. Ballard expects to
release its audited 2009 financial results on March 10, 2010.

    Operational
    ----------
     -  Progressed market penetration of fuel cell solutions, as evidenced
        by:

        -  Motorola's deployment of Dantherm Power's backup power system
           incorporating Ballard's FCgen(TM)-1020ACS fuel cell product;
        -  Supply agreement with FirstEnergy Corp. for a 1 MW distributed
           generation system for use in a utility load management;
        -  Plug Power's progress with commercial orders for their
           GenDrive(TM) fuel cell-powered forklift customers, including
           Central Grocers, Wegmans, Whole Foods and Coca-Cola;
        -  Sales order for five FCvelocity(TM)-HD6 power modules from
           Advanced Public Transportation Systems bv for 18-meter (60-foot)
           articulated Phileas buses; and
        -  Supply agreement with Daimler AG for FCvelocity(TM) fuel cell
           products, representing minimum revenue of approximately $24
           million in 2010 and 2011.
     -  Continued to develop fuel cell systems for the wireless telecom
        supplemental power market in India with its partners IdaTech, LLC
        and ACME Group under a new, more flexible distribution agreement.
     -  Acquired a controlling interest in Denmark-based Dantherm Power on
        January 18, 2010, partnering with co-investors Danfoss A/S and
        Dantherm A/S. Through Dantherm Power, Ballard is now actively
        involved with delivery of complete backup power systems, in addition
        to providing fuel cell stacks and power modules to leading fuel cell
        companies including IdaTech, LLC, Plug Power Inc., Baxi Innotech GmbH
        and ISE Corporation, in other markets.

    Business Outlook

    Growth Milestones in 2010
    -------------------------
    -   Begin shipments of Ballard's fuel cell stacks for deployment of
        IdaTech, LLC's reformate-based supplemental power systems for the
        Indian telecoms market.
    -   Deployment of Dantherm Power hydrogen-based backup power systems in
        one major new network.
    -   Commission the 1 MW distributed generation system for FirstEnergy
        Corp. in Ohio.
    -   Book the first distributed generation system sale utilizing
        by-product hydrogen.
    -   More than double volumes of stack shipments in material handling, in
        line with Plug Power's 2010 shipment target of 1,100 GenDrive(TM)
        systems.
    -   Book new fuel cell bus contracts to support the deployment of more
        than 25 buses.

    Path to Profitability
    ---------------------
    -   Grow revenues in excess of 35% over the 2009 level
    -   Improve cash flow from operations by 30% from the 2009 level.
    -   With this performance trajectory in 2010, Ballard expects to be
        positioned for positive EBTIDA performance during 2011.

    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Endnotes:
    ---------
    (1) Operating cash consumption is a non-GAAP measure used to assist in
        assessing Ballard's financial performance. Non-GAAP measures do not
        have any standardized meaning prescribed by GAAP and are therefore
        unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other
        companies. Operating cash consumption measures the amount of cash
        required to fund the operating activities of our business (net of
        restructuring and related costs) and excludes financing and investing
        activities except for capital lease payments and additions, net of
        proceeds on sale, of plant and equipment.

Conference Calls

Ballard will hold a conference call on Thursday, February 4, 2010 at 8:00 a.m. PST (11:00 a.m. EST). John Sheridan, President & CEO will present Ballard’s 2009 achievements and provide an outlook for 2010. Ballard will also hold a conference call to discuss its 2009 financial results on March 11, 2010. The live calls can be accessed by calling +1-604-638-5340. Alternatively, live audio webcasts can be accessed through a link on Ballard’s homepage (www.ballard.com). Following the calls, the audio webcasts will be archived in the Investor Events & Conference Calls section of Ballard’s website.

About Ballard Power Systems

Ballard Power Systems (TSX: BLD; NASDAQ: BLDP) provides clean energy fuel cell products enabling optimized power systems for a range of applications. To learn more about Ballard, please visit www.ballard.com.

Change in Directors or Principal Officers
Item 5.02. Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.

Item 5.02(b) Resignation of Director

On January 29, 2010, the Board of Directors of FuelCell Energy, Inc. (the “Company”) approved the slate of directors to be voted upon at the Company’s Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be held on March 25, 2010 and included in the Company’s definitive Proxy Statement for that Meeting. In connection with that approval, Glenn H. Epstein determined not to stand for reelection in 2010 due to other personal commitments. Mr. Epstein will remain on the Board of Directors of the Company until its Annual Meeting of Shareholders.

LOUGHBOROUGH, United Kingdom & LONDON–Intelligent Energy, the leading clean power systems company, and the Suzuki Motor Corporation today jointly unveiled the Suzuki Burgman Fuel Cell Scooter in London’s Living Room, City Hall, London.

First presented at the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show, the city friendly Burgman Fuel Cell Scooter builds upon the success of the Crosscage fuel cell motorbike unveiled in 2007. The Fuel Cell Burgman takes the next step towards offering cleaner, more efficient motorcycles in a practical and accessible form with the potential to significantly reduce emissions around the world.

Chair of the London Hydrogen Partnership and London’s Deputy Mayor for policing, Kit Malthouse, who opened the event at London’s City Hall, said, “I am incredibly excited by the Burgman Fuel Cell Scooter. It’s a fantastic piece of kit which shows how we can combat climate change without all having to wear hairshirts. This scooter, which produces nothing but water, is a triumph of human ingenuity. I hope Londoners will dump their 20th century motorcycles and buy one built for the 21st century.”

The scooter is equipped with the latest version of Intelligent Energy’s unique and proprietary air-cooled, clean fuel cell power systems and is fuelled from a cylinder of hydrogen, which can be re-fuelled in a few minutes and gives a riding range of 350km comparable to a conventional Burgman scooter.

“The zero-emissions Fuel Cell Burgman scooter is the latest product of the successful commercial relationship between Suzuki and Intelligent Energy,” commented Dr. Henri Winand, CEO at Intelligent Energy. “Clean fuel cell engine powered motorcycles are designed for the real world and can be widely available to a large global market in the near future. Fuel cell vehicles in general have entered a period of fleet tests, and our two companies will soon be releasing details of the first public road testing and demonstration of the Burgman Fuel Cell Scooters, which will begin in the UK later this year.”

The first public road tests of the Suzuki Burgman will be conducted initially at Loughborough. These will be extended to controlled fleet tests in cities such as London, where zero emission vehicles such as a fuel cell scooter have the greatest initial potential.

About Intelligent Energy

Intelligent Energy is a clean power systems company, with a range of leading fuel cell and hydrogen generation technologies. The company is focused on the provision of cleaner power and low carbon technologies. Intelligent Energy partners with leading companies globally, in the transportation, oil and gas, aerospace, defence, distributed generation and portable power markets. Current partners and customers include Scottish & Southern Energy plc with whom the company has formed a joint venture to commercialise fuel cell combined heat and power (CHP) systems, and The Suzuki Motor Corporation. Intelligent Energy’s successes in recent years include the development of the world’s first hydrogen fuel cell motorbike and supplying the fuel cell system to Boeing which powered the world’s first manned fuel cell aircraft. The company also recently supplied Airbus with a multi-functional fuel cell auxiliary power unit (APU) aimed at on-board power and other loads in future commercial airliners.

www.intelligent-energy.com

About the Suzuki Motor Corporation:

The Suzuki Motor Corporation is one of the rare manufacturers in the world to produce both motorcycles and automobiles. The company designs and manufactures passenger cars, commercial vehicles, motorcycles, ATVs and outboard motors. Its motorcycle products range from scooters to large motorcycles to meet the diverse demands of its customers around the world. Suzuki’s automobile business has a large share of the Japanese mini car market and develops a range of unique products such as SUVs and mini-vans for the global market, focusing on the compact car market in response to increasing concerns for the good of the environment.

The company vigorously promotes technical cooperation through numerous joint ventures overseas and its main production facilities are located in 22 countries and regions around the world, enabling Suzuki to operate as a global organization serving 196 countries and regions.

www.suzuki.co.jp

The two major hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicle groups — the National Hydrogen Association (NHA) and the U.S. Fuel Cell Council (USFCC) — might decide to merge in 2010 as a result of both the recession and to make their congressional lobbying more robust and their educational outreach to states more widespread, especially in those states that have adopted California’s zero emission vehicle (ZEV) standards that hydrogen-powered cars can help meet, say advanced vehicle proponents.

This image illustrates that an applied electric field polarizes hydrogen molecules and the substrate, inducing hydrogen absorption with good thermodynamics and kinetics. Image courtesy of Qian Wang, Ph.D./VCU.

An international team of researchers has identified a new theoretical approach that may one day make the synthesis of hydrogen fuel storage materials less complicated and improve the thermodynamics and reversibility of the system.

Many researchers have their sights set on hydrogen as an alternative energy source to fossil fuels such as oil, natural gas and coal that contain carbon, pollute the environment and contribute to global warming. Known to be the most abundant element in the universe, hydrogen is considered an ideal energy carrier – not to mention that it’s clean, environmentally friendly and non-toxic. However, it has been difficult to find materials that can efficiently and safely store and release it with fast kinetics under ambient temperature and pressure.

The team of researchers from Virginia Commonwealth University ; Peking University in Beijing; and the Chinese Academy of Science in Shanghai; have developed a process using an electric field that can significantly improve how hydrogen fuel is stored and released.

“Although tremendous efforts have been devoted to experimental and theoretical research in the past years, the biggest challenge is that all the existing methods do not meet the Department of Energy targets for hydrogen storage materials. The breakthrough can only be achieved by exploring new mechanisms and new principles for materials design,” said Qiang Sun, Ph.D., research associate professor with the VCU team, who led the study.

“We have made such an attempt, and we have proposed a new principle for the design of hydrogen storage materials which involves materials with low-coordinated, non-metal anions that are highly polarizable in an applied electric field,” he said.

“Using an external electric field as another variable in our search for such a material will bring a hydrogen economy closer to reality. This is a paradigm shift in the approach to store hydrogen. Thus far, the efforts have been on how to modify the composition of the storage material. Here we show that an applied electric field can do the same thing as doped metal ions ,” said Puru Jena, Ph.D. , distinguished professor in the VCU Department of Physics.

“More importantly, it avoids many problems associated with doping metal ions such as clustering of metal atoms, poisoning of metal ions by other gases, and a complicated synthesis process. In addition, once the electric field is removed, hydrogen desorbs, making the process reversible with fast kinetics under ambient conditions,” he said.

The team found that an external electric field can be used to store hydrogen just as an internal field can store hydrogen due to charge polarization caused by a metal ion.

“This work will help researchers create an entirely new way to store hydrogen and find materials that are most suitable. The challenge now is to find materials that are easily polarizable under an applied electric field. This will reduce the strength of the electric field needed for efficient hydrogen storage,” said Jena.

The research is published online in the Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and will be highlighted in the front section of the print edition, “In this Issue.”

The research is based on a 1992 published polarization theory by Jena, the late B.K. Rao, a former professor of physics at VCU, and their student, J.Niu.

This work is supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Foundation of National Laboratory for Infrared Physics, the National Grand Fundamental Research 973 Program of China, the U.S. National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy.

Washington, DC— U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced  the selection of five projects to receive more than $20.5 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.  Two of these projects will be fuel cell projects.

Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) (Sacramento, CA)
SMUD will install the state’s first-ever ‘Solar Highway’, which will feature three PV system installations on 2 miles of highway right-of-ways  (300kW of concentrating PV, and 400 and 800 kW of flat plate PV distributed at 2 sites), with total capacity of 1.5 MW. SMUD will also install a full scale co-digestion process of fats, oil and grease (FOG) and liquid food processing waste with sewage to produce biogas with estimated power recovery of 1 – 3 MW, and install two low-NOx anaerobic digesters fed by two dairy facilities that will produce 500 kW of combined heat and power, and generate 600 kW of electricity through a molten carbonate fuel cell. The projects will demonstrate that solar PV and anaerobic digesters can be readily implemented through collaborative partnerships, and avoid siting issues and transmission constraints that pose barriers to renewable energy capacity additions.  SMUD will partner with the State of California (CEC, CalTrans, and CARB) and DOE to promote replication of their approaches, technologies and implementation strategies statewide and nationally. DOE share: $5,000,000

University of California at Davis (Davis, CA)
UC Davis’ proposed Waste-to-Renewable Energy (WTRE) system is one component of a campus oriented mixed housing and commercial development venture. The system would generate power from a renewable biogas fed fuel cell.  The organic waste will enter a receiving station in which it can be collected and prepared for digestion.  Once the appropriate mix has been created in buffer tanks, the waste will flow to the reactor where methanogenic bacteria will generate methane and carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, etc. These gases will flow to the Bio-methane Upgrade System for hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide removal, so that cleanup is to a level appropriate for use in a fuel cell system, and the cleaned gas is stored. Housed alongside the WTRE system within the Community Energy Park will be an advanced storage battery and a 300kW fuel cell that will be fueled by the on-site biogas and provides electric power to West Village end-users.  DOE share: $2,500,000
http://www.energy.gov/news/8536.htm

Proton Power Systems plc (AIM:PPS), a leading designer, developer and producer of fuel cells and fuel cell electric hybrid systems, is pleased to announce that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (”MoU”) with Smith Electric Vehicles (”Smith”), the commercial electric vehicle division of The Tanfield Group Plc.  Under the MoU both parties will collaborate to build and market a battery-powered commercial vehicle, equipped with a Proton Power fuel cell system as a range extender.  The collaboration will aim to supply systems to local authorities and other fleet operators across Germany initially, and will address projects in the UK and North America.

This partnership will target Smith’s highly successful Edison range of electric light-duty vehicles, which are currently used by leading UK brands such as Sainsbury’s, Scottish & Southern Energy and Royal Mail.  Smith has also rolled out its larger Newton vehicle in North America, through its associate company Smith Electric Vehicles US Corp.

Proton Power and Smith will present the first prototype at the Hannover Fair in April 2010, a premier trade event for the power industry.  Thereafter, the partners plan to roll out the vehicle in transport and maintenance applications across German municipalities, with the first vehicles due to be delivered in the last quarter of 2010.  The German-based hydrogen and electric vehicle promotion organisation (’NOW’) – backed by the German government – has expressed an interest in providing funding support to operators of electric vehicle fleets and local authorities in Germany for the purchase of up to 20 vehicles with specifications similar to the prototype which will be presented at the Hannover Fair.

Electric vehicles integrated with a fuel cell expand the addressable market for zero emission vans and trucks. Pure electric commercial vehicles have a limited range and are restricted to low mileage, urban operations.

Proton Power’s PM200 fuel cell will improve the range of vehicle operation (from 160km to up to 300 km) enabling the vehicles to have a wider application within large fleets.  It will also provide an on-board electrical supply which will boost the ease of maintenance work, improving a vehicle’s suitability for every-day back-to-base applications, while also supporting auxiliary functions such as air conditioning and heating.

Commenting on the MoU, Thomas Melczer, CEO of Proton Power, said: “Our partnership with Smith Electric Vehicles is a major milestone for the Group.  Fuel cell range extenders are an attractive option for overcoming the current problems of electric vehicles.  There are strong initiatives, such as NOW, in Europe towards the adoption of electric vehicles and there is also considerable interest in the United States and Canada.  We aim to use our fuel cell range extender to help electric vehicle manufacturers such as Smith break further into these markets.

“Smith has extensive experience with electric vehicles and a strong reputation in the market. We look forward to working with them to roll out our fuel cells as vehicle range extenders in Germany and beyond.”

GLOUCESTER, England–Ultra Electronics Precision Air Systems, a leading pneumatic systems company, has secured an £400,000 grant from the government-funded Technology Strategy Board. The funds, won in competition as part of the Board’s “Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Technologies” programme will be used to develop advanced balance of plant solutions for hydrogen fuel cell based power generation systems.

Ultra Electronics is leading a consortium which comprises Diverse Energy Limited, Dynamic Boosting Systems Limited, City University London (Centre for Energy and Transport) and TURBOCAM Europe Limited. The consortium will address the need to improve the performance of the ancillary subsystems which manage gas flows and humidity within a hydrogen fuel cell system. These subsystems have a critical influence on the overall energy efficiency of a hydrogen fuel cell power plant and through life operating costs.

The consortium will be focussing on developing an advanced power plant for off-grid deployment for uses such as remote telecoms base stations and other critical infrastructure applications. The global market shows high growth potential for such applications within the next decade.

Andy Yates, Managing Director of Ultra Electronics Precision Air Systems, commented “This award marks an exciting move into a new sector for the business. It is one where Ultra can apply its systems engineering skills to integrate and optimise sub-systems and components to improve the overall performance of a fuel cell power system. I look forward to the project’s successful conclusion and the resultant business opportunities that will follow.”

About Ultra Electronics

Ultra Electronics is a group of specialist businesses designing, manufacturing, and supporting electronic and electromechanical systems, sub-systems and products for defence, security and aerospace applications worldwide. The Group focuses on obtaining a technological edge in niche markets, with many of its products and technologies being market leaders in their field.

About Diverse Energy Limited

Diverse Energy makes emission-free, low-cost PowerCubes® to replace diesel generators, powering cell-phone towers in rural developing countries. Silent, clean fuel cells, powered by readily available ammonia, improve the local environment, are more efficient and reliable, and give cellular providers a green alternative.

About Dynamic Boosting Systems Limited

Dynamic Boosting Systems Ltd is a spinout company from Imperial College London. They are developing and commercializing an innovative patented forward-swept, shrouded, centrifugal turbomachine, ‘TurboClaw’. The company has extensive expertise to design and develop electric machines and drives. This includes high-speed permanent magnet disc and drum configuration topologies and associated power and control electronics.

About City University London – Research Centre for Energy and Transport

The Research Centre for Energy and Transport is focussed upon research in basic and computational fluid dynamics, development of new experimental technologies and their application to internal combustion engines, compressors, alternative energy systems and combustion research towards the achievement of environmentally sustainable transportation systems and improved efficiency in fluid power systems.

About TUBOCAM Europe Limited

TURBOCAM specialise in providing manufacturing solutions for complex components, with a core competency in 5-axis machining supported by in-house developed software. The company is a leading supplier to major Automotive, Aerospace and Turbomachinery industries. The TURBOCAM group of companies have over eighty 5-axis machining centres, plus other CNC machines and equipment, with manufacturing sites in the UK, USA, India and Romania.

About the Technology Strategy Board

The Technology Strategy Board is a business-led executive non-departmental public body, established by the government. Its role is to promote and support research into, and development and exploitation of, technology and innovation for the benefit of UK business, in order to increase economic growth and improve the quality of life. It is sponsored by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). For further information please visit www.innovateuk.org.

Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited (AIM/ASX: CFU), a leading developer of high efficiency and low emission electricity generation units for homes and other buildings, has received an order for its BlueGen power and heating unit from Kiwa Gas Technology in The Netherlands for delivery in Q2 2010.

Kiwa Gas Technology provides services in the area of gas technology nationally and internationally. Its expertise in the area of extraction, distribution and utilisation of gas is used for, among other things: advising, engineering, consultancy, product development and training. Kiwa Gas Technology serves many global customers, including many large energy companies.

Follow up:

Kiwa Gas Technology will test and operate the BlueGen unit at its facility in Apeldoorn, The Netherlands, on behalf of leading gas utility GasTerra.

GasTerra, also based in The Netherlands, is an international supplier and trader of natural gas and a Fortune 500 company. GasTerra is owned by Shell, ExxonMobil and the Dutch government and has a strong position in the Dutch gas market. In 2009 GasTerra recorded revenues of 25 billion Euros (approx. A$40 billion).

GasTerra is actively investing in the development of highly efficient gas appliances like small scale power and heating products (mCHP). Jur Kruger, project manager Energy Transition at GasTerra, recently told the parliament of the Dutch province Groningen that GasTerra believes that within the next ten years one million mCHP units could be installed in The Netherlands.

BlueGen is the latest breakthrough in small scale electricity generation. About the size of a dishwasher, each BlueGen unit can produce twice the electricity needed to power an average home, with the surplus electricity sold back to the grid. BlueGen also produces heat, to make enough hot water for an average home.

BlueGen units can generate electricity more efficiently than the current European power grid, significantly reducing a home’s carbon emissions and cutting energy bills.

The order from Kiwa Gas Technology is Ceramic Fuel Cells’ second order for BlueGen units in Europe, following a recent order from German utility EWE. Ceramic Fuel Cells has also deployed fully integrated mCHP products with leading energy companies and appliance manufacturers in France and the United Kingdom.

Acta, the provider of clean energy products and environmental catalysts, issues the following trading update today for the year to 31 December 2009.  The preliminary results are expected to be announced on Thursday 25 March 2010.

Commercial and Technical Review

During January 2010 Acta has shipped the Company’s first hydrogen generators and power generators to distributors for testing and demonstration purposes, and has received encouraging technical and commercial feedback.

Following the strong level of demand for distribution rights that the Company received through its trade fair programme in November and December 2009, fifteen European distributors have been selected to cover key sectors and applications.  Product samples are now being shipped to these distributors, and framework distribution agreements will be concluded over the next three to six months, giving the Company access to a wide distribution network into key early-adopter sectors such as leisure (nautical and camping), UPS and automotive accessories (fuel saving and emission reduction).

The current level of product demand has exceeded management’s expectations, and the Company is now implementing a program to increase production facilities and supply chain capacity to meet this demand.  The Company’s production strategy, incorporating subcontract manufacture of components and internal assembly and quality control of finished products, minimises the investment requirements and timeframe needed to achieve commercial production levels.  A production capacity of 100 units per month is planned by the end of 2010, and thereafter the Company intends to use the processes and experience gained during this year to increase production capabilities up to breakeven volume capacity by mid-2011, to be financed from existing resources.

Acta has also continued to pursue partnerships and opportunities in the Italian photovoltaic installation sector.  This activity aims to complete the Company’s renewable energy value chain, from solar or wind source, through compressed hydrogen generation from intermittent power, to end user products (consumer applications, energy independent homes, etc).  The Italian market is currently attracting a high level of PV installation investment interest, and the Company is hopeful of announcing concrete progress in these activities in due course.

Financial Review

During 2009 Acta has benefitted from the cost reduction programme introduced in late 2008 and pursued through the last year, with significant overhead savings compared to 2008 levels.  The growth of new commercial activities in 2010 will require cost commitments in new staff and sales and marketing activities, and modest investments in production capacity, and these will be carefully managed from within the Company’s existing financial resources.

Paolo Bert, Chief Executive, commented:

“2009 saw the start of a substantial transition in the Company’s commercial strategy and market positioning, based upon the exceptional opportunities that we see for our unique hydrogen generator product range. During 2010 we will be focusing on bringing these products through to full commercial operations, while continuing to pursue the wider opportunities from solar to fuel cells available to us in the renewable energy and clean technology sectors.”

Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited [AIM/ASX: CFU], a leading developer of high efficiency and low emission electricity generation units for homes and other buildings, today welcomed the United Kingdom Government’s decision to introduce a feed-in tariff from 1 April 2010 for small low-emission electricity generators, including small scale power and heating products.

The Government’s decision to introduce a feed-in tariff – a premium rate paid for electricity fed back into the electricity grid from designated renewable and low emission electricity generation sources – will greatly assist customers who buy Ceramic Fuel Cells’ gas-to-electricity units.

Under the feed-in tariff, energy retailers are required to pay homeowners 10 pence for every kilowatt hour of electricity generated by the product, plus an additional tariff of 5 pence for every kilowatt hour of electricity exported to the local power grid.  The tariff lasts for ten years.

The tariff is available for micro power and heating products, like Ceramic Fuel Cells’ products, that generate 2 kilowatts of power or less.  The tariff is available from 1 April 2010, for the first 30,000 micro power and heating products installed, with a Government review when 12,000 units have been installed.

Ceramic Fuel Cells is developing integrated power and heating products for homes with E.On UK, one of the largest energy companies in the UK. The first integrated units are installed at the Blackpool facilities of Gledhill, Ceramic Fuel Cells’ appliance partner.

Ceramic Fuel Cells has also developed a modular power and hot water product called BlueGen that can be configured to suit a range of different markets and installations.  Ceramic Fuel Cells has sold BlueGen units in Australia, Japan and Germany, with units to be available for demonstration sites and early customers in the UK from April 2010.

Both products convert natural gas into power and heat, using Ceramic Fuel Cells’ world leading fuel cell technology.  Each unit can generate between 12,000 and 17,000 kilowatts of power per year, more than twice the power requried by the average UK home.  Homeowners can offset their electricity bill and sell excess power back to the grid.

Ceramic Fuel Cells has achieved electrical efficiency of 60 percent, far higher than any other technology in the rapidly expanding market for small scale power and heating generators.  When heat is recovered from the electricity production process, total efficiency is up to 85 percent – twice as efficient as the average among current European power stations.  .

By generating power close to where it is used, Ceramic Fuel Cells’ products can meet the future demand for electricity without the need for huge investments in electricity transmission and distribution infrastructure.

Ceramic Fuel Cells Managing Director Brendan Dow said: “The UK Government’s decision to offer a feed-in tariff for small low-emission electricity generators is a significant step forward for Ceramic Fuel Cells.  British electricity consumers will be able to buy our fuel cell units in the knowledge that they are assisting the environment, plus offsetting their energy bills by selling power back to the grid.”

Store will be First Supermarket in California and Third Whole Foods Market to Generate Bulk of Power with Fuel Cell

SOUTH WINDSOR, Conn. — UTC Power, a United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX) company, today announced that Whole Foods Market has chosen to power a new store in San Jose, Calif., with clean, reliable on-site fuel cell power.  This marks the third Whole Foods Market to install a PureCell® system provided by UTC Power.  The other stores are in Dedham, Mass., and Glastonbury, Conn.

Fuel cells are one of the cleanest energy-generation sources available in the world and meet the strictest U.S. emission standards.  Highly energy efficient and virtually pollution-free, fuel cells produce electricity, heat and water through an electrochemical process.

The new Whole Foods Market, located at the south corner of Blossom Hill Road and Almaden Expressway in South San Jose, is now under construction and will cover approximately 50,000 square feet.  The UTC Power fuel cell system will generate 90 percent of the store’s electricity needs and its byproduct thermal energy will be used for store heating, cooling and refrigeration for an overall efficiency of approximately 60 percent, nearly twice the efficiency of the U.S. electrical grid.

By generating most of its power on-site with a fuel cell, the Whole Foods Market Blossom Hill, San Jose, store will prevent the release of more than 370 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually — the equivalent of planting more than 85 acres of trees. The reductions in nitrogen oxide emissions compared to a conventional power plant are equal to the environmental benefit of removing 92 cars from the road.

“Whole Foods Market is excited to be able to use this clean and highly efficient technology at our new San Jose store,” said Kathy Loftus, Whole Foods Market global leader of sustainable engineering, maintenance and energy. “This will help reduce our impact on the environment and lessen our overall energy demands from traditional sources.”

“We’re proud to be associated with Whole Foods Market, a company always looking for innovative ways to do business more sustainably, and very pleased the company has chosen to fully integrate the thermal and electrical energy produced by  a UTC Power fuel cell at a third store,” said Neal Montany, director of UTC Power’s stationary fuel cell business.  ”Businesses that need reliable power around-the-clock and that can use the fuel cell’s thermal energy are well-suited for fuel cells.”

UTC Power is part of United Technologies Corp. (UTC), which provides energy-efficient products and services to the aerospace and building industries.  UTC is a founding member of the U.S. Green Building Council and the Pew Center on Global Climate Change and has been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index each year since it was launched in 1999.  Based in South Windsor, Conn., UTC Power is the world leader in developing and producing fuel cells that generate energy for buildings and for transportation, space and defense applications.  For more information, please visit www.utcpower.com

About Whole Foods Market®

Founded in 1980 in Austin, Texas, Whole Foods Market (www.wholefoodsmarket.com), a leader in the natural and organic foods industry and America’s first national certified organic grocer,  was named “America’s Healthiest Grocery Store” in 2008 and was recognized as one of “America’s Healthiest 100″ in 2009 by Health magazine. The Whole Foods Market motto, “Whole Foods, Whole People, Whole Planet”™ captures the company’s mission to find success in customer satisfaction and wellness, employee excellence and happiness, enhanced shareholder value, community support and environmental improvement. Thanks to its 51,100 Team Members, Whole Foods Market has been ranked as one of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” in America by FORTUNE magazine for 13 consecutive years. In fiscal year 2008, the company had sales of $8 billion and currently has more than 280 stores in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Whole Foods Market, Fresh & Wild™, and Harry’s Farmers Market® are trademarks owned by Whole Foods Market IP,LP.  Wild Oats® and Capers Community Market™ are trademarks owned by Wild Marks, Inc.”

WASHINGTON–The U.S. Fuel Cell Council (USFCC) has named Ruth Cox, a successful businesswoman with wide ranging experience in high-tech industries, as its Executive Director, USFCC President Mike Hicks announced today.

“Ruth Cox has an impressive and well-rounded background in management, marketing, business and politics. These skills will strengthen the council’s ability to be an effective advocate for fuel cell commercialization,” Hicks said. “With more than 20 years in the telecommunications and computer technology industries in the U.S., Europe, and Asia, she has experience with burgeoning industries and knows what it takes to build successful businesses.”

“This is an exciting opportunity for me and an exciting point in the development of fuel cells for portable, stationary and transportation applications.” Cox said. “Hydrogen and fuel cells are critical components in the nation’s strategy to lower greenhouse gas emissions, cut smog, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and grow our economy.

“Cost reductions and performance and durability improvements have opened several early markets for fuel cell products, and competitive systems are in development for many other markets. Success means good, high paying jobs and energy and environmental security benefits, in the U.S. and wherever markets open for fuel cells,” she said.

“I look forward to working with the USFCC member companies, allied organizations and the Obama Administration to hasten the commercialization of the fuel cell family,” she said.

Ms. Cox was marketing director for a number of Silicon Valley firms introducing leading edge technologies for rich media communications, and earlier was telecommunications marketing director for Oracle, Hewlett Packard Corporation and Tandem Computers. She was the Vice President of Strategy for the Dutch telecom provider now known as KPN, during a critical period after privatization.

Ms. Cox has also been involved in Democratic politics, and worked on President Obama’s campaign in several key states. Most recently she served as interim Executive Director of 21st Century Democrats, a political action committee. Ms. Cox’s appointment is effective immediately.

Robert Rose, the USFCC’s founding executive director, will remain to work on communications and strategic planning.

About the U.S. Fuel Cell Council: The USFCC is an industry association dedicated to fostering the commercialization of fuel cells. Our members include the world’s leading fuel cell developers, manufacturers, suppliers and customers.

NEWPORT, R.I., 26 Jan. 2010. U.S. Navy undersea technology researchers are set to award a sole-source contract to Delphi Corp. in Troy, Mich., for a 30-cell solid oxide fuel cell stack (SOFC) system to power unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) applications

To negotiate the sole-source contract are undersea researchers at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division, Newport (NUWCDIVNPT) in Newport, R.I.

A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that produces electricity from a fuel tank by producing a reaction between the fuel and an oxidant. Fuel cells can operate virtually continuously as long as the necessary flows are maintained.

The Navy is awarding the contract to Delphi sole source because researchers find that solid oxide fuel cell stack technologies from other companies have shown either unacceptable levels of gas leakage, lower power density, or too high an operating temperature, Navy officials say.

Delphi experts will supply the 30-cell solid oxide fuel cell stack, set-up and initiate fuel processor testing, and do post run autopsy and analysis of the stack.

For more information contact the Naval Undersea Warfare Center online at www.navsea.navy.mil/nuwc/newport/, or Delphi Corp. at http://delphi.com.