Ballard Power Systems

Ballard Power Systems
Public
Traded as TSX: BLD
NASDAQ: BLDP
Industry Alternative energy
Founded 1979
Headquarters Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
Key people
 Ian A. Bourne, (Chairman), John Sheridan (President and CEO)
Products Fuel cells
Slogan Power to Change the World

Ballard Power Systems, located in Burnaby, British Columbia – a suburb of Vancouver – is a company that designs, develops, and manufactures zero emission proton-exchange-membrane fuel cells. Ballard Power Systems, Inc. is a global leader in PEM (proton exchange membrane) fuel cell technology. Ballard has designed and shipped close to 150 MW of hydrogen fuel cell technology to date.

Ballard Power Systems was originally founded as Ballard Research by Dr. Geoffrey Ballard, Paul Howard, and Keith Prater. The company went public in 1993 on the Toronto Exchange, and in 1995, listed on NASDAQ.[1]

Retreat from automotive fuel cells

Ballard Power Systems' main objective is to develop fuel-cell technology. Previously, Ballard had its focus within the automobile market, and fleet services, as well as co-generation systems and the manufacture of materials for the fuel-cell sector. However, in late 2007, Ballard pulled out of the hydrogen vehicle sector of its business to focus on fuel cells for forklifts and stationary electrical generation. The company sold its automotive fuel cell assets to Daimler AG and Ford Motor Company.[2] Research Capital analyst Jon Hykawy concluded that Ballard saw the industry going nowhere and said: "In my view, the hydrogen car was never alive. The problem was never, "Could you build a fuel cell that would consume hydrogen, produce electricity, and fit in a car?" The problem was always, "Can you make hydrogen fuel at a price point that makes any sense to anybody?" And the answer to that to date has been "No."[3]

Competitors

Ballard Power Systems' chief competitors include:

Divisions

See also

References

  1. ↑ "When was Ballard's IPO?". Archived from the original on 21 June 2006. Retrieved 2006-07-16.
  2. ↑ Ballard Agrees To Sell Automotive Fuel Cell Assets; Will Concentrate On Commercial Markets, Ballard Power press release, 2007-11-07. Retrieved on 2009-05-13.
  3. ↑ Hydrogen highway hits dead end by Nathan VanderKlippe in the Financial Post, 2007-11-05

External links

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