Several years ago, (2009) I posted an article entitled, the future of energy, where I laid out the probability of Fuel Cell stacks such as Ballards stacking technology, being developed to the point where they will easily power buses, fork lifts, ships, trains, small towns, and eventually big cities. In the beginning, many pundits speculated on the development of pure hydrogen fuel cell cars. Eventually those same people began to discount what they called the hydrogen economy, saying that fuel cell cars probably would not ever replace the internal combustion engine.
Since then, there have been inumerable articles and arguments both con and pro, fuel cell investments. Ballard, (and a number of other fuel cell companies nicknamed baby Ballards, such as Plug Power) saw their share prices subsequently wane as investors grew weary of the argument. Ballard, having partnered earlier with auto makers such as Ford and Chrysler, basically sold off their auto technology to those entities. They concentrated on larger vehicles such as buses, and most recently, the fork lift industry.
Think of towns and cities of the future being powered entirely by hydrogen fel cells, with absolutely no pollution as the only byproduct of the technology is pure water (H2O). How about cruise ships, tankers, industries and buildings being powered in the same way. Ballard recently contracted with India to supply over 10,000 smaller stacking units for their growing wireless industry in that country.
Ballard now has fuel cell buses being tested in London, California, Vancouver and Amsterdam. They are now building fuel cell fork lifts and plan on supplying that market, anywhere in the world where clean energy is a must. Now, Daimler has announced that it will power its fuel cell fleet with Ballard technology.
This technology, especially its use in stacking up to power plants capable of powering entire populations, just makes sense. Couple hydrogen fuel cell plant power with the emergence of the electric vehicle industry (our investments in lithium production) and, I believe, you will have a big winner, especially in places like China and India. Here in North America natural gas is very abundant with new fracking technologies allowing for an untapped bonanza of natural gas energy capable of powering us for 200 years.
As it turns out, natural gas is a great feed source for hydrogen. In other words, Fuel cells can easily run on natural gas!
Image via WikipediaPeak oil! We've debated that term since the 1970's oil shocks. Back then some experts were predicting peak oil by the turn of the 21st century. Some said 2010, others as far out as 2030. However, according to the IEA, we passed the date for peak oil almost 5 years ago, in 2006. According to other distinguished scientists, who peer reviewed the IEA data, in Stockhold Sweden, even the IEA data is somewhat skewed toward the positive, indicating a dirth of oil is already upon us, and forshadowing prices that will make 2011 look like the good old days of cheap oil.
Review the video for yourself and make your own conclusions!
Then, invest accordingly.
Solid oil plays in the medium to long term.( We like SuncorSU and CenovusCVE)
Alternatives like wind, solar, nuclear, fuel cells (we like BallardBLD)
And lithium, (we like TalisonTLH, RodiniaRM and TNRGoldTNR) in the long term!
It's the size of a tractor trailer, it's on wheels and completely transportable, with the capacity to power a small town. And now the world's largest hydrogen fuel cell - one of the world's cleanest and greenest sources of energy - will soon be on its way from Burnaby, B.C., to Eastlake, Ohio for a five year trial run - the first ever deployment of its kind.
Ballard Power Systems (TSX: BLD; NASDAQ: BLDP) today announced the successful completion, during second quarter, of factory testing of a utility-scale distributed generation system using the company's proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells. Installation and commissioning of the system for a multi-year demonstration at FirstEnergy Generation Corp's Eastlake Plant in Ohio is planned for third quarter of this year. FirstEnergy Generation Corp. is a subsidiary of Akron, Ohio-based FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE).
Ballard designed the generator to provide clean energy peaking capacity, which is particularly useful during heavy energy demand periods in the summer months, and tested the generator to a power level of one megawatt. Because fuel cells use hydrogen to produce electricity - with heat and water as by-products - this technology is a more environmentally-friendly means of generating power than diesel or coal alternatives. In addition, the Ballard generator is transportable so it can be relocated to other sites on a seasonal basis.
"We are pleased to have passed this key customer milestone," said Michael Goldstein, Ballard's Chief Commercial Officer. "Once commissioned, this will be an important 'first' for us, meeting a key 2010 Ballard growth milestone and further demonstrating the benefits of fuel cell systems for clean distributed generation applications in the energy sector."
It is believed that, when the generator is commissioned and operating at the FirstEnergy Generation Corp. facility, it will be the largest PEM fuel cell generator deployed worldwide.
This information follows on the heels of Plug Powers announcement to extend it's partnership with Ballard Power through 2014. Ballard will exclusively supply fuel cell stacks for Plug Power's full suite of GenDrive™ power units. In addition, Plug Power will become the exclusive systems integrator for Ballard’s fuel cell stack into solutions addressing the material handling market in North America. (fork lifts etc.) Ballard is supplying 10,000 generators to India for their wireless power generation system, and has partners in europe developing fuel cell generation in Scandinavia.
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.
CONTACT: Investor Relations: Lori Rozali, Work: +1.604.412.3195, investors@ballard.com; Public Relations: Guy McAree, Work: +1.604.412.7919, media@ballard.com
(Updated March 25th 2010)
We have been high on Ballard Power Systems for awhile now. Today Ballard was added to the new, clean Tech Index on the TSX, and the spike in the stock price (and the high trading volume) is a direct result of that. If you act quickly, you may be able to get in on the upside of this trade.
(Also added to that index was another of our clean tech stocks, Azure dynamics.)
Ballard, situated in Burnaby, a suburb of Vancouver, is the grand daddy of the fuel cell industry. It's founder is considered the father of the hydrogen fuel cell industry and the company has spawned other companies known as "Baby Ballards" like plug power. It has for the past 20 years, been on the driving edge of the green energy revolution.
Ballard has produced working hydrogen fuel cell buses for several cities (Chicago and LA are two) and recently delivered a fleet of 20, brand new, hydrogen fuel cell buses to the Vancouver transit authority. Those buses shuttled athletes and fans by the thousands to the winter Olympic Games in Whistler. The International press also got to ride these buses.
At a time when the world is looking for green energy solutions, and the world press is falling over themselves for stories to run about this part of Canada, Ballard Power Systems showcased to the world a bus that runs on pure hydrogen. You can drink the water from it's tailpipe because that is the only by product of their fuel cells, pure H2O. No doubt, every politician interviewed will mention it and want to be seen standing beside those buses.
Ballard is expanding it's reach into Europe and India as they partner with European companies to supply fuel cells on the continent and they recently signed an agreement with India to supply 10,000 fuel cell powered back-up units for the Indian telecommunications industry for their wireless infrastructure which is ramping up.
No doubt the international reporters will also comment on the fuel cell forklifts Ballard is now supplying to companies from Chicago to Shanghai, and the possibility of stacking their fuel cells to power trucks, ships and to build giant, utility grade generators to power cities. More buses were delivered this week to California, London and Amsterdam. On March 17th 2010, Ballard CEO, John Sheridan, will present at the 9th, Jefferies Global Clean Tech Conference in New York City.
If you like green energy investments then you cannot discount this first mover in the fuel cell space, especially this year, as it ramps up and finally become profitable. Disclaimer: We have owned Ballard Power Systems ( BLD-TSE) (BLDP-Nasdaq) for several years. Over the past 12 months the stock has gained 84%. In the midst of the first pull back of 2010, Ballard was one of the few stocks that actually traded a little higher. We believe it will go higher still. Much higher! Updates: COLLEGE PARK, MD and VANCOUVER, April 27 /CNW/ - Ballard Power Systems (TSX: BLD; NASDAQ: BLDP) today announced the launch of a new center of excellence for the advancement of fuel processing technology, with founding partners University of Maryland (UMD) and U.S. Department of Defense Army Research Laboratory (ARL). The new center - named FuelWorks(TM) - will be located at the University of Maryland in College Park.
John Petersen, an alternative energy expert with a strong background in electric battery technology, makes a very good argument for investors to shy away from the hype and keep a solid foundation in "facts" instead of "hype". I recommend you read this informative article at Seeking Alpha. Once you have read this, and digest the argument, you may no longer wonder "who killed the electric car"! It may be that the electric car killed itself.
However, this begs the question, why is Honda going with it's new fuel cell vehicle? Is Honda's management stupid or has it done due diligence that makes it run in the opposite direction of the herd mentality! Why has Ford contracted with Azure Dynamics to have their electric drive train in Fords new, "Truck of the year".
After all, a herd mentality led to the over production of SUV's in the 1990's. A herd mentality led to every asset and stock market bubble in history, including the meltdown of 2008. Mr. Petersen makes a very strong argument for seeking a contrarian investment strategy when it comes to Electric vehicles replacing the internal combustion engine. Here is our contrarian view.
Fuel Cells
Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the entire universe. When astro physicists send out "signals" into the universe to look for intelligent life, they always include the atomic weight of hydrogen in their message. That is how common this element is. Pure hydrogen is also the best fuel for fuel cells used in cars and buses. There is, however, a problem with storage of pure hydrogen, given it's volatility, however at the outset of the production of the internal combustion engine, volatility of gasoline was also a problem, which was eventually overcome. The production and storage of pure hydrogen will also, eventually, be overcome. Where does that leave the fuel cell industry in the meantime?
Natural Gas is the most abundant and cleanest source of hydrogen today, and it is already in production throughout North America, which houses the largest deposits of natural gas on the planet. That gas has only recently become available in abundance, thanks to the fractionation technology developed to extract it from Shale (Shale gas). Natural gas is also easily utilized in fuel cells and although it doesn't have a neutral effect on the environment as does pure hydrogen, it is a much cleaner fuel that any other fuel available, especially when used in fuel cells.
Fuel cell buses are already on the road and in production at this writing. You will see them ferrying athletes and spectators to the Winter Olympics in February. Fuel cell trucks (running on natural gas and eventually pure hydrogen), fuel cell ships and finally large fuel cell stacks to replace coal fired electric plants. Can a battery do these things?
Natural gas and eventually pure hydrogen fuel cells may be the future of transportation, the future of back-up power and the future of power plants in general. Lithium will power the wireless market and, with advances in technology, may power electric vehicles. North America will lead the way, (China is ramping up) and this will no doubt affect your Retirefunds over the next few years, no matter where the market is today!
Manufacturing always follows an advance in technology. Automobile technology preceded Auto manufacturing. Aircraft technology preceded Aircraft manufacturing. Wireless technology preceded wireless manufacturing, and so on and so on.......
Just the same as when there was "any" technological advance in history, Nanomanufacturing (Nanoman) is following Nanotechnology (Nanotech). It is a natural course of business. Technology gets invented, business finds uses for that technology and engineers manufacture the instruments needed for that technology to deliver value to the masses.
In 2009, there are exciting things happening in Nanomanufacturing, however, to follow the jargon of the scientists and engineers making these things happen, is like an Englishman trying to understand someone speaking in Urdu. After awhile you get tired, throw up your hands and say, I don't understand. That is why much of the new technology in the pipeline is flying under the radar of investors, so they make the mistake that it doesn't really matter until someone in the investment community can explain it. That my friends, will be too late.
Thinking that nanotech or nanoman is new, is also a mistake. Many scientists agree that the birth of nanotechnology can be traced back to 1959 and a lecture and subsequent paper by Richard Fenyman called "There's plenty of room at the bottom"! The anniversary of that paper will no doubt be reflected upon in December of this year by those in the nano manufacturing community as the 50th anniversary of the birth of Nanotechnology.
Don't be surprised! Many technologies existed for decades before the masses became generally aware of their value to the human race. Fuel Cell Technology being one of them. That technology was first invented more than 100 years ago and it is only now gaining prominence as a revolutionary green technology with the ability to save the planet as the actual fuel cells are now being produced by manufacturers. Solar power has been toyed with for centuries as has wind power. Manufacturing and production is the last part of the evolutionary journey of every technology useful to mankind.
However, Nanomanufacturing will impact all of the above technologies, as well as, well, almost every other technology and industry on earth from Medicine to aerospace, from steel production to agriculture, from computers to camping. If it can be manufactured in the traditional sense, then someday, it will be manufactured at nanoscale. Without getting into all the details, here are just some of the products on the drawing boards of a number of companies racing to be first in their field:
1. Airplanes that weigh 6 times less than current airplanes, and can get 200 mpg of fuel.
2. Batteries, that look and feel like paper, but can deliver 6 times the power of any conventional battery and can be used as the "skin" of a vehicle, or as wall paper or any similar use. (oh yes, they're bio degradable too).
3. Steel that is six times lighter than, and 10 times stronger than current steel.
4. Injectable nanobots for cleaning your arteries of plaque buildup to avoid stroke.
5. Gold tipped nano solar arrays, that will increase the electrical production of solar panels by 100 fold.
6. Roof shingles that last longer than any current roof, and double as solar panels powering your home.
7. Clothes that are self cleaning, warm or cool your body in tandem with the weather, and act as battery packs for any devices you wish to operate.
8. Wall paper that can change color and design with the flick of a switch, and doubles as both TV and Computer screen in any size happen to want that day.
9. And how about using Seawater (Nano particles of sodium and water) as a battery to power electric vehicles, which is now being researched extensively by a California Company. (Jules Vern anyone)
I could go on and on, but you get the picture.
Many elements actually change their properties at the Nano level (One Billionth of a meter)
The Nanoman revolutions is upon us, so do your research and find out which companies are going to win in their respective markets, because those markets will be huge. If you wait until they are already shipping huge quantities of their products, and analysts are already covering them, it will be too late, because the big dogs will have already driven up the stocks by buying up the companies.
Investing in energy can enhance your Retirefund in a very positive way, especially at this important juncture in history. Such investments are doing that for me right now. Do some research before you jump in, but don't be afraid to jump in, just be cautious. You wouldn't buy a new car without first doing research. Investments are no different, but make no mistake, the market has been the driving force of wealth for 100 years, and will be for the next hundred years.
Energy! It is such a complex and compelling subject. From the peak oil scare, to giant wind farms in Texas funded by lifelong oilman T.Boone Pickens. ( note: there are massive wind farms throughout Germany right now) Giant solar farms in California and Arizona. Presidential candidates pushing for 20 new nuclear plants and screaming "drill baby drill"! What can be made of all of this?
There is one energy source that has been discussed for the past 20 years as the energy of the future. Because of the short attention span of many investors, and the slower pace of solid science and engineering, this energy source has been flying under the radar for the past 5 years at least.
When scientists such as astro physicists explore space for signs of life other than that which is found on our small planet, they always include one molecule, or at least the atomic weight of one molecule hoping that intelligent life out there will understand. There is one reason for this. It is not only the most common element on this planet, it is not only the most common element in this solar system, it is not only the most common element in our galaxy, but it is "the" most common element in the universe. It is hydrogen, and it will power our future!
Hydrogen fuel cells have been touted as the future of the automobile industry. However it is not in the automobile industry that we will feel the first major effects of this abundant energy source. No it is not in the Buses running through the streets of Chicago or Vancouver that use hydrogen fuel cells produced by Ballard Power Systems (BLD-T) It is not in the cars that already operate with these fuel cells on the highways of California. Though this is certainly the future of the Auto industry, the beginning is much more modest.
It is on the factory floors, the warehouses, storage companies, moving companies, big box stores and myriad of other businesses throughout the world that will be the first to tap into this wonderful, not so new, technology. It is the humble forklift that will be the catalyst which speeds this technology into overdrive.
Ballard Power Systems has been methodically working on their fuel cell technology for over 20 years. It holds over 200 of the original patents in this technology and it has spawned it's own competitors, sometimes called "baby Ballards" such as, Fuel Cell Technologies, Plug Power and Hydrogenics, in much the same way that "Ma Bell" spawned "baby Bells" when it became dominant in it's business. Not to say that Ballard is dominant in it's business, but it certainly is dominant in owning the patents for the underlying technology, and far ahead of the kids in development. This year, it is shipping hundreds of fuel cell generators to India and the far East, to power wireless systems. It is shipping fuel cell fork lifts to a number of companies. These are the first breaths of a sleeping tech giant in my humble opinion.
Now it is well documented that one of the barriers to utilizing Hydrogen fuel cells is the storage of the hydrogen itself. Pure hydrogen (of which the only byproduct from using it in fuel cells is pure water) is volatile and must be cooled tremendously to be stored properly (at least with today's technology). Engineers and scientists are working on this problem and, no doubt, like Edison's light bulb, they will solve it, given time. So what happens in the mean time?
Natural gas! That's what happens. You see, as hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe, it is found in many things, not the least of which is simple water (H2O or two parts hydrogen, one part oxygen). It is also found in every hydrocarbon, including, you guessed it, natural gas. Now let me see....hmmmm which continent has the most abundant supply of natural gas hmmmm..... Why it's right here in North America of course. Canada, and the USA are sitting on enough natural gas to power the whole planet for the next two hundred years and beyond.
Storing natural gas is also a challenge, but is already being done on a massive scale. Using this "first source" of hydrogen in fuel cell vehicles (from fork lifts to buses, trucks, railways, boats, cruise ships, huge power plants and then cars)will reduce current carbon emissions by over 70%. Talk about the "green energy" of the future!
Yes I know, there are hybrid gas electric vehicles on the road and now some electric vehicles etc These "stop gap" measures were talked about by "all" of the CEO's of the major car companies in the world from GM to Honda, back in the late nineties as exactly that: "STOP GAP: technologies that will pave the way to a hydrogen economy. Even if the pure electric vehicle finally wins the battle as a dominant technology, where will the electricity come from? It will come from power plants utilizing huge fuel cell stacks, burning at first, natural gas and then, eventually, pure hydrogen. It couldn't get any greener than this.
That economy is a lot closer than many investors know, and it all starts this year with fuel cell fork lifts being shipped around the world, mobile back up power generators for wireless systems in India, Germany and Denmark . Back up home generators in North America and Japan and this is only the beginning. Sooner than you think, large dirty coal power plants from Beijing and Mumbai to New York and Mexico City will be replaced with giant stacks of Fuel Cells to generate electric power to a hungry planet. No more dirty air! No more nuclear scares. Yes, there will still be the cry to "drill baby drill" but it won't be for oil near our coastal cities or our pristine northern wilderness. It will be for natural gas, in the largest pool of on land, natural gas fields in the world! Right here in our back yard.
And it's all thanks to one small company (soon to be a big company), Ballard Power Systems of Vancouver British Columbia whose founder had a vision for the future of this planet, and acted upon that vision.
Now do you think this information will affect your Retirefunds? I don't think it will, I know it will.
"The Ardour Global Alernative Energy Index announced that Ballard Power Systems to be added to the index on September 20th 2009".
"The Ardour Global Alternative energy Index (SM) is a Capitalization-weighted, float-adjusted, index of the most prominent alternative energy stocks in the world. To be included in the AGIGL index, companies must be a pure-play and the stocks must pass multiple screens, including for capitalization, float, exchange listing, share price and turnover"!
Mr. Reid believes that this stock is greatly undervalued and has great upside potential due to it's strong patent portfolio.
In the interest of disclosure, In early March I increased our holdings 10 fold in this Ottawa based company this was before I read the evaluation at SiliconInvestor.com.) Wi-Lan now holds over 500 patents, the majority of which are in the wireless business.
During this time of uncertainty in the markets, I have solidified some mutual fund holdings into cash or money market funds, while hunting for what I believe are undervalued companies with great upside potential.
To this end I have also increased 10 fold, my investment in Ballard Power Systems as I believe the Obama Administration's push to green energy technology, coupled with the companies long history and strong patent portfolio in the area of fuel cell technology, will serve to help increase the value of these holdings over the next year.
Buying these stocks at what is essentially penny evaluations, reminded me of an old saying passed down to me.
"Look after the pennies and the dollars will look after themselves"!
I am betting these stocks will increase my Retirefund
Where I believe Ballard really shines is in their fuel cell stacking technology which last year, allowed them to supply a small town in Ohio with a fuel cell power plant as a factory size test of such technology. (see: Worlds largest fuel cell power generations system being tested in Ohio) 
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