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Military Orders The new series of novels from Martin Roth In the Middle Ages, military orders like the Templars defended Christians and fought for justice. Now, in Martin Roth's latest series of novels, a church has established a clandestine new military order, to fight for today's persecuted Christians.... |
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Fuel Cell Manufacturers - Red Ink Around the World
It does not matter where the fuel cell producers have their operations. They all seem to be losing money.
Ballard Power Systems of Canada is a leader in fuel cells, but does not turn a profit. In 2007 it managed to slash its loss to $57 million (50 cents per share) from $181 million ($1.61 per share) in 2006. Revenues rose from $49.8 million to $65.5 million. In January 2008 it sold its automotive fuel cell operations to Daimler and Ford, believing that this business was not going to be profitable in the near term. It is now focusing on fuel cells for materials handling (such as forklift vehicles), for industrial back-up power systems - particularly for the telecommunications sector - and for residential cogeneration, in partnership with Japanese engineering firm Ebara.
Ceres Power Holdings of the UK is involved with fuel cells based on technology developed by Britain's Imperial College. In the year to June 2007 (the latest period for which financial results have been released) it reported revenues of just 98,000 pounds, down from 110,000 pounds in the previous year, with a loss of 4.9 million pounds, compared to a 3.8 million pounds deficit in the previous year. It hopes to launch production of residential cogeneration systems in 2009.
FuelCell Energy of the US reported that in the three months to January 2008 revenues more than doubled to $15 million, compared to the January 2007 period, and with the loss edging down slightly to $19.7 million, from $20 million in the previous period. The company supplies fuel cells to commercial, industrial, municipal and utility customers in several countries. It has boosted production substantially and cut costs in its drive to achieve profitability.
HydroGen is a US firm that is working to commercialize fuel cell technology that has been developed by Westinghouse Corporation, particularly for industrial applications. In the three months to September 2007 it announced revenues of nearly $0.5 million, up from $220,000 a year earlier, with a loss of $3.5 million, worse than the $2.2 million loss of the September 2006 quarter.
Hydrogenics is a Canadian company that develops and manufactures hydrogen and fuel cell products, with a focus on industrial applications and on the materials handling and back-up system sectors. It has also delivered fuel cell power module systems for the Airbus aircraft. in the 2007 year it reported revenues of $38 million, up from $30 million in 2006, with the loss plummeting from $136 million in 2006 to $32 million in 2007.
Plug Power of the US has a specialty in fuel cell systems for back-up applications and for remote telecommunication plants. In its 2007 year it reported that revenues more than doubled from 2006 to $16.3 million, with a loss of $60.6 million, compared to a $50.3 million loss in 2006.
Protonex Technology is a US company, although its stock market listing is in the UK. It specializes in smaller fuel cell devices aimed at applications such as recreational vehicles, marine power, camping and back-up systems. It is also active in developing systems for military purposes. In the year to September 2007 its revenues jumped from $2.3 million to $6 million, but with its loss widening from $5.2 million to $9.4 million.
Voller Energy is a British company that produces a variety of portable fuel cell devices such as battery chargers and small power generators. It is developing military power equipment for use by foot soldiers. In the six months to December 2007 it reported revenues of 19,000 pounds, down from 25,000 pounds in the December 2006 half, with the loss edging up from 1.16 million pounds to 1.28 million pounds.
March 18th, 2008