leted work on Freedom II, its second-generation alkaline fuel cell (AFC) golf car. The Freedom II is powered by Astris’ 1.8-kW Model E7 AFC Generator, which provides double the power and double the acceleration of the original model, which was the world’s first alkaline fuel cell powered golf car using hydrogen.

http://www.astrisfuelcell.com/NE/NE10.php?item=1103208861

ZAP, Anuvu Sign Distribution Agreement for Fuel Cell Engines.

Electric vehicle manufacturer ZAP has signed a purchase order with Anuvu, Inc. for its patented Power-X™ hydrogen fuel cell engine systems. The two companies intend to deliver the first fuel cell-powered vehicles to consumers next year.

http://www.zapworld.com/about/news/news_zapanuvu.asp

Ballard Raises CDN$55 Million from Vehicle Partners.

Ballard Power Systems has exercised its right to call a CDN$55 million investment from its Vehicular Alliance partners, DaimlerChrysler AG and Ford Motor Company. DaimlerChrysler will purchase more than 2.4 million common shares of Ballard, while Ford will purchase more than 2 million shares.

http://www.ballard.com/be_informed/about_ballard/news/2004/12/17/DCFordInvest121704#

STATIONARY POWER

Tokyo Gas to Begin Leasing Residential Units in 2005.

Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd. plans on introducing the world’s first commercial Residential Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell (PEFC) Cogeneration System jointly developed with Ebara Ballard Corporation and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. into the market on limited scale in February 2005. The system generates electricity by extracting hydrogen from city gas and is capable of producing around 1 kW, about 60 percent of the electricity needs of a four-person household. The system will be offered on a 10-year contract with a total leasing charge of 1 million yen (US$9,707).

http://www.tokyo-gas.co.jp/Press_e/20041206-2e.pdf

USPS to Install Fuel Cell at San Francisco Processing Center.

Chevron Energy Solutions, a ChevronTexaco subsidiary and FuelCell Energy distribution partner, has sold a 250-kilowatt Direct FuelCell® (DFC®) power plant to the U.S. Postal Service's (USPS's) San Francisco Processing and Distribution Center (P&DC). Chevron Energy Solutions will develop, engineer and construct the project over the next year and provide a turn-key on-site generation solution to the facility. FuelCell Energy will provide the DFC300A power plant, technical support and system commissioning services.

http://investor.internationalpaper.com/ireye/ir_site.zhtml?ticker=IP&script=410&item_id=648858&layout=23

PORTABLE/BACKUP POWER

MTI Micro Launches First Micro Fuel Cell Product

MTI MicroFuel Cells Inc. (MTI Micro) announced its first production shipment of an integrated micro fuel cell product, powering a portable electronics device. MTI Micro´s first Mobion™ micro fuel cell product has been integrated into a portable radio frequency identification (RFID) reader from Intermec Technologies Corporation. This award winning Mobion™ based product delivers two important user benefits: instant cord-free re-charging, using a replaceable fuel cartridge, and extended run times between charges from three to five times longer when compared to existing Li-Ion battery technology.

http://www.mtimicrofuelcells.com/news/article.asp?id=197

Manhattan Scientifics Receives Fuel Cell Patent.

Manhattan Scientifics, Inc. has been issued U.S. Patent No. 6,808,834, Koschany – Fuel Cell Stack With Cooling Fins and Use of Expanded Graphite in Fuel Cells, for its NovArs fuel cell. Smaller than a brick and weighing less than two pounds, the hydrogen-powered NovArs fuel cell is intended to power a bicycle or a motor scooter for several hundred miles without having to refuel depending on type of use, weight of rider, road conditions and the size of the fuel tank. The company is currently aggressively pursuing a business plan to have the NovArs fuel cell manufactured for use on electric bicycles and scooters in Asia.

http://www.mhtx.com/media_center/pressrelease55.htm

CSA and UL to Develop New Micro Fuel Cell Standard.

CSA America and Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL) announced plans to jointly develop and publish a new standard that will set requirements for micro fuel cell power systems and associated fuel cell cartridges. The new standard, entitled Handheld or Hand-Transportable Fuel Cell Power Units with Fuel Containers, will be developed and proposed as an American National Standard and will parallel work being conducted within the international standards community. The standard, which has an anticipated completion date of December 2005, will set requirements for minimum safe fueling, design, safety-based performance, installation, and disposal of packaged micro fuel cell power systems and associated fuel cartridges.

http://www.csagroup.org/news/releases/default.asp?articleID=8303&language=English

FUELS/REFORMERS/STORAGE

Plug Power Receives Contract to Provide Hydrogen at DTE Power Plant.

Plug Power Inc. has won a contract award to provide on-site hydrogen generation to The Detroit Edison Company’s Saint Clair Power Plant. The hydrogen will be used to provide cooling to six generator units currently in operation at the Saint Clair facility. The GenSite™ hydrogen generator has already been shipped to the Saint Clair facility and is expected to be fully operational early next year.

http://www.plugpower.com/news/press.cfm

Hydrogenics to Supply Hydrogen Generator to ChevronTexaco.

Hydrogenics Corporation has undertaken a second work order with ChevronTexaco Technology Ventures, LLC under the master services agreement signed between the two companies earlier this year. Hydrogenics' contract is for the provision of engineering and product-related services to integrate a fully packaged hydrogen generator based on proprietary natural gas reforming technology being developed by ChevronTexaco. Plans for the facility include ultimately having the capacity to generate 150 kg/day of hydrogen to serve the fueling needs of a fleet of fuel cell demonstration buses at AC Transit in Oakland, California. The station is under construction and scheduled for completion in the Fall of 2005.

http://www.hydrogenics.com/ir_newsdetail.asp?RELEASEID=150341

NRC-IFCI Showcases Renewable Hydrogen Generation System.

Researchers at the National Research Council Institute for Fuel Cell Innovation (NRC-IFCI) unveiled a solar powered hydrogen generation system. The system uses electricity from photovoltaic panels to power a Hydrogenics HyLYZER™ electrolyzer module, which generates hydrogen from water. This hydrogen will soon be used to fuel a Ballard Nexa® RM Series fuel cell module to provide back-up power to the NRC-IFCI research facility.

http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/newsroom/news/2004/solarhydrogen04-nr_e.html

Hydrogen Solar Awarded $400,000 for Demonstration.

Hydrogen Solar Ltd. has been awarded $400,000 by the University of Nevada Las Vegas Research Foundation for the first year of a multi-year project to demonstrate solar hydrogen production using Tandem Cells™. The project involves joint research and development on a hydrogen refilling station in Las Vegas, Nevada.

http://www.hydrogensolar.com/november24.html

Nanomix Receives Two U.S. Patents for Hydrogen Storage Advancements.

Nanomix Inc. has been issued two U.S. patents in hydrogen storage technology. Using novel nano-materials, Nanomix hydrogen storage systems are targeted towards automotive and portable electronic applications.

http://www.nano.com/nr-pr-h2storage.html

FUEL CELL COMPONENTS

FuelCon Receives Additional Orders from VW.

FuelCon has received a repeat order for a large number of Evaluator® C600 test stations from Volkswagen AG. These test stations will allow VW to test high power density PEM single cells, short stacks and complete stacks.

http://www.fuelcon.com/en/news/index.html

Acumentrics and NiSource Selected for DOE Funding.

Acumentrics Corporation and NiSource announced that NiSource has been selected to receive a $1.7 million Cooperative Agreement from the U. S. Department of Energy. The purpose of the Cooperative Agreement is to study the potential for sequestering or isolating the carbon dioxide effluent from a tubular solid oxide fuel cell system.

http://www.acumentrics.com/DOEAward.htm

Cambridge Consultants Develops Evaporative Cooler.

Cambridge Consultants announced the availability of its ‘evaporative cooler’ concept design for cooling fuel cell-powered laptop computers. The design takes its inspiration from plant-life and uses evaporation to cool the processor, reduce package space and improve the user experience.

http://www.cambridgeconsultants.com/news_pr133.shtml

Advanced Measurements to Provide Kettering with Test Stand.

Advanced Measurements Inc. has received a contract from Kettering University to deliver a solid oxide fuel cell test stand for Kettering's new Center for Fuel Cell Systems and Powertrain Integration facility.

http://www.advmeas.com

REPORTS/MARKET STUDIES

Fuel Cells 2000’s New Fuel Cell Directory is Here!

The Eighth Edition of Fuel Cells 2000’s Fuel Cell Directory is here, and at 241 pages with 1,085 listings, it is the perfect tool for anyone involved or interested in the fuel cell and hydrogen industry. Since the last edition in 2002, Fuel Cells 2000 added more than 500 new companies and updated current listings with new contacts and information. Fuel Cells 2000 has also deleted more than 300 listings. Entries include address, phone number, email, company URLs, stock symbols, investor, sales, media and human resource contacts, and the name of the President or CEO, as well as a description of the company and current research projects. To make searching easier, the Directory is indexed by contact name, fuel cell type and company type.

The printed Eighth Edition of the Fuel Cell Directory costs $125.00. Non-profit organizations, college and university libraries, and news outlets may request a free PDF copy of the Fuel Cell Directory. Electronic versions of the Directory are available on CD-ROM in MSExcel or MSAccess format for $500.00 for unlimited use.

http://www.fuelcells.org/directoryorderform.pdf

Fuel Cell Today Releases Survey of 2004 Worldwide Fuel Cell Activity.

A new survey published by Fuel Cell Today has shown growth of over 55% in the number of fuel cell systems produced globally in comparison to 2003. This was mainly attributed to growth in the portable sector which has shown an increase of roughly 75 per cent in 2004, with almost 3,000 new systems manufactured. The report also features developments in hydrogen infrastructure, progress in fuel cell transport, large stationary power generation and military markets as well as Fuel Cell Today’s expectations for 2005.

http://www.fuelcelltoday.com/FuelCellToday/FCTFiles/FCTArticleFiles/Article_924_WorldWideSurvey2004.pdf

Fuel Cell Industry Assessment Report.

The Houston Advanced Research Center has released its Fuel Cell Industry Assessment Report. The report provides short capsules outlining the activities and technical approaches of key fuel cell technology developers and system manufacturers. It is a useful quick reference summarizing trends in the growing fuel cell market and the industry's key players.

http://www.harc.edu/harc/Projects/FuelCell/Reports/eCommerce/ShowDocument.aspx?documentID=2

MISCELLANEOUS

Bush Nominates Bodman for Secretary of Energy.

President George W. Bush nominated Sam Bodman as the new Secretary of Energy. Bodman has worked as a professor of chemical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as the president of an investment firm, and as the chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Cabot Corporation, a global chemical company. Over the past four years, Bodman has served the Bush administration as Deputy Secretary of Commerce and Deputy Secretary of the Treasury. http://www.energy.gov/engine/content.do?PUBLIC_ID=16982&BT_CODE=PR_PRESSRELEASES&TT_CODE=PRESSRELEASE

Deck the Halls with Hydrogen and Fuel Cells.

Plug Power Inc. provided a GenCore® 5T hydrogen fuel cell product to provide electricity for the holiday tree located in Trafalgar Square, in London, England. The GenCore 5T fuel cell system provides up to 5 kW of power to the tree 24 hours a day. This project is sponsored by the BOC Group plc, Johnson Matthey and Plug Power. Other partners in the project included the Greater London Authority, the London Hydrogen Partnership and siGEN.

CONFERENCES

For a complete list of conferences, please go to http://www.fuelcells.org/news/conf.html.

Clean Heavy Duty Vehicle Conference.

The Clean Heavy Duty Vehicle Conference 2005 will be held February 22-24, 2005, at La Quinta Resort, La Quinta, California. For details, please go to http://www.calstart.org.

Asia Power 2005.

Asia Power 2005 will be held March 1-3, 2005, at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Singapore. For more information on Asia Power 2005, please visit http://www.terrapinn.com/2005/ap%5FSG/.

Hydrogen Expo USA 2005.

Hydrogen Expo USA 2005 is being held in conjunction with the National Hydrogen Association's Annual Conference from March 29-April 1, 2005, at the Marriott Wardman Park in Washington, DC. For more information, please go to http://www.hydrogenexpo.com/.

Hannover Fair '05.

The International Hydrogen + Fuel Cells Group Exhibit, Hannover Fair '05, will be held April 11-15, 2005. More information is available at: http://www.fair-pr.com/ or email arno@fair-pr.com.

Lucerne FUEL CELL FORUM 2005.

Two international fuel cell conferences, Fuel Cells for a Sustainable World and the 3rd European Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell Forum, will be held July 4–8, 2005, at the Kultur- und Kongresszentrum Luzern in Lucerne, Switzerland. For registration information, please visit http://www.efcf.com/.

World Hydrogen Technologies Convention.

The World Hydrogen Technologies Convention (WHTC) will be held in Singapore from October 3-6, 2005. For details, please go to http://conference.ntu.edu.sg/eccms/WHTC2005/.

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Fuel Cells 2000 (www.fuelcells.org) is a non-profit, educational activity that seeks to promote the development, demonstration and commercialization of fuel cell technology.

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