http://www.flickr.com/photos/hfc2011/

Join us as we discuss Ballard’s twenty year history in the design and manufacture of proton exchange membrane fuel cells, as an illustrative case study. Ballard’s corporate roots go back to the development of fuel cell technology for demonstrations in the demanding automotive industry. Recognizing that the automotive market remains a longer-term opportunity, Ballard has transformed the company by leveraging our technical expertise to create a sharp focus on today’s commercial market opportunities in:

Backup Power – Fuel cells provide a highly reliable and cost-competitive source for backup power in wireless telecom networks worldwide.

Distributed Generation – Fuel cells can take advantage of low-cost by-product hydrogen streams from chemical and bio-gas production to generate power locally … for onsite use or sale back to the grid. 

Material Handling – Fuel cell-powered material handling equipment improves productivity in high-throughput warehouses and distribution centers, creating a compelling payback for customers.

Bus – Fuel cell buses are clean vehicles-with no greenhouse gas emissions or release of particulates-that operate to the highest standards from the perspective of drivers, passengers and transit agencies.

There are opportunities where a need exists for clean energy at reasonable cost and where hydrogen infrastructure is not a barrier to implementation. These markets are key to establishing the value of hydrogen and fuel cells in the evolving alternative energy landscape.

Hydrogen and fuel cell solutions are delivering strong economic and environmental returns today, positioning the technology to play a significant role in the clean energy landscape, going forward.



Air Liquide celebrates 100 years in Canada and is on the road to a greener tomorrow

Air Liquide Canada celebrates 100 years of operation across Canada. We opened our first air separation facility in 1911 in Montreal’s east end. Air Liquide Canada now has over 2200 employees working in more than 65 sites from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Through innovative solutions based on continually enhanced technologies, Air Liquide Canada is a key player in the manufacturing of numerous products that people use every day – literally pulling solutions out of thin air to preserve the environment and enhance quality of life.

Hydrogen fuels the way and Air Liquide stands out
Air Liquide Canada continues to demonstrate leadership through leading-edge projects which set us apart from the competition. In Whistler, Air Liquide was responsible for the design and construction of the world’s largest hydrogen filling station, which now serves the new fleet of “green” buses launched in British Columbia for the 2010 Winter Olympics. 

The company was also involved in a project to demonstrate an array of innovative hydrogen energy and fuel cell technologies operating on the site of the Montréal – Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport as well as the Vancouver International Airport. The project involved hydrogen-powered technologies and the fuelling infrastructure that supplies them.  The project was a collaboration between Air Liquide Canada, Natural Resources Canada, Québec’s Agence de l’efficacité énergétique (AEE), British Columbia’s Ministry of Energy and Mines along with the involvement of 14 other companies.

Recently, Air Liquide Canada supplied the hydrogen as well as the filling station to power Walmart‘s new fleet of 71 green lift trucks at the company’s distribution centre located in Balzac, Alberta, in Canada. This fleet is the largest deployment of fuel cell lift trucks in Canada and the first commercial contract in hydrogen energy in the country. It is also the first fleet of its kind supplied by the Air Liquide group.

To date, Air Liquide Canada has installed over 50 of these filling stations around the world. The hydrogen supplied by Canadian stations uses 98% renewable sources, in particular hydroelectric power.

A forward-looking company
Since its inception, Air Liquide has played a key role in Canada’s economic growth, revolutionizing not just the gas delivery and distribution processes but also the applied technologies themselves – welding and metal cutting, for example, and the development of specialized gases for ultra-sophisticated medical applications.

With regards to hydrogen energy, fuel cell forklift trucks are the fastest growing application. In addition to producing no greenhouse gases, these vehicles also offer a productivity gain of 5 to 10% compared to electrical forklift trucks. In Canada, where numerous publicly-funded research and development programs on hydrogen energy have been launched in recent years, commercial applications are coming to light.

The growth and strength of our performance, combined with our continually evolving skills and know-how, make Air Liquide Canada a company that has always been able to recognize, challenge, develop and improve the skills of our employees in order to respond to and provide made-to-measure solutions for our customers.

Enbridge’s Portfolio

Enbridge’s renewable and alternative energy portfolio is diversified and growing. They have interests in almost 860 MW of green power capacity—wind, solar, geothermal, waste heat recovery and integrated fuel cells. Their interests in alternative and renewable generation, in operation and under construction, have the capacity to supply more than 295,000 homes.

Why Renewable and Alternative Energy at Enbridge?

Enbridge takes great pride in meeting its primary responsibility of safety and reliably delivering oil and natural gas to people across North America. The products they deliver are used to heat homes, power transportation systems and provide fuel and feedstock for industries. At the same time, Enbridge recognizes that our relationship with hydrocarbons comes with great responsibility. As society looks to greater use of green energy over the long term, they will lead the way now in supporting renewable and alternative energy sources that have less impact on the environment. That’s why Enbridge is investing significantly in green energy. And why they’re committed to generating a kilowatt of green power for every kilowatt their operations use.

Enbridge looks forward to seeing you at the Hydrogen + Fuel Cells 2011 conference and to sharing more information with you.

Pop-Up Forklift Photo and Caption Contest Part 2

Did you miss out? Don’t fret, because due to popular demand we’re going to add a second part to the Pop-Up Photo and Caption Contest.

Contest details are similar to the first: Show us your paper forklift building skills along with your hydrogen and fuel cell inspired creativity and win an Apple iPod Nano! Assemble your pop-up fuel cell forklift and show us your imagination by including the forklift in an interesting, unique photo and caption to be posted on Facebook. The person with the most creative, eye-grabbing photo and caption will win an Apple iPod Nano. Submissions to Part 1 of the contest (except the winner, of course) will be eligible for Part 2. We have your pictures on file, so no need to resubmit.

There are a couple of ways to submit your photo:

1) Become a fan of our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/poweringnow) and post your picture. Don’t hesitate to encourage your Facebook friends to ”like“ the picture.

2) Send your photo to info@hfc2011.com. We’ll post the picture on your behalf.

Deadline to submit photos is March 15, 2011 and the winner will be announced by March 21, 2011. The winner will be chosen by HFC2011 organizers. We will take into consideration the popularity of the photo (the number of “likes” on the Facebook page) and the overall creativity, thoughtfulness and uniqueness of the picture and caption. HFC2011 organizers reserve the right to remove photos that are deemed inappropriate. For questions related to the contest please contact info@hfc2011.com.

If you didn’t receive a paper forklift in the mail, but would like one to enter the contest, please subscribe to our mailing list by February 25th and we will send you one.

Some examples of the creative submissions to Part 1 of our Pop-Up Forklift Photo and Caption Contest:

Terry Tamminen
President / Founder, Seventh Generation Advisors
Former Secretary, California Environmental Protection Agency
Former Chief Policy Advisor to California Governer Schwarzenegger

Terry is a respected expert on climate change policy and understands first-hand the economic and environmental opportunity of hydrogen and fuel cells. Listen to a recent interview with Terry about environmental policy on CBC Radio News.

A full list of speakers is available here, and we will be profiling our entire list of keynote and plenary speakers in the coming months leading up to HFC2011.

Mr. Manuel Achadinha, President & CEO, BC Transit

Dr. Klaus Bonhoff, Spokesman, NOW-GmbH

Mr. Charles Freese, Executive Director, Fuel Cell Activities, General Motors

Mr. Katsuhiko Hirose, Project General Manager, Strategic, FC System Dev, Toyota Motor Company

Dr. Akihiro Iiyama, Expert Leader of the Fuel Cell Lab, Nissan Motor Company

Dr. Christian Mohrdieck, Director Fuel Cell & Battery Drive Development, Daimler AG

Mr. Eric Prades, Manager, Air Liquide Hydrogen Energy, Air Liquide

Dr. Peter Podesser, CEO, Smart Fuel Cell

Dr. Sunita Satyapal, Program Manager, H&FC Program, US Department of Energy

Mr. John Sheridan, President, Ballard Power Systems

Mr. Chuck Szmurlo, VP Alternative and Emerging Technologies, Enbridge

Mr. Daryl Wilson, President & CEO, Hydrogenics

Information for Exhibitors.
Information for Sponsors.

There are numerous unique sponsorship and exhibiting opportunities at HFC2011, a major event for the global hydrogen and fuel cell sector. Sponsors will have an opportunity to reach more than 1,000 decision-makers from 35 countries including end users, purchasers and integrators of hydrogen and fuel cell products, original equipment manufacturers, utilities, transit authorities, government agencies, fleet managers and warehouse operators.

The HFC2011 exhibition will feature the latest in hydrogen and fuel cell products, including portable fuel cell devices, back-up power, materials handling, stationary power generation, hydrogen fueling and fuel cell electric vehicles.