Ballard Announces Commercial Availability of Industry Leading Gas Diffusion Layer for PEM Fuel Cells.Business Editors & Automotive Writers VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(AutomotiveWire)--April 11, 2002 Ballard Power Systems Ballard Power Systems (TSX: BLD, NASDAQ: BLDP), located in Burnaby, British Columbia -- a suburb of Vancouver -- is a company that designs, develops, and manufactures zero emission proton-exchange-membrane fuel cells. (TSE See Tokyo Stock Exchange. TSE 1. See Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE). 2. See Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE). :BLD BLD Build BLD Blood BLD Blade BLD Blonde BLD Breakfast Lunch Dinner BLD Bukas-Loob Sa Diyos (Filipino: Open In Spirit To God) BLD BASIC Bload Graphics (File Name Extension) BLD Below Limit of Detection ) (NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on :BLDP BLDP Ballard Power Systems (stock symbol) ) today announced that its Material Products Division has developed AvCarb(TM) P50T carbon fiber paper with superior gas diffusion properties. AvCarb(TM) P50T is available for sale for various applications, in particular, proton exchange membrane A proton exchange membrane (PEM) is a semipermeable membrane generally made from ionomers and designed to conduct protons while being impermeable to gases such as oxygen or hydrogen. (PEM) fuel cells. The sale of Ballard(TM) carbon fiber products to the fuel cell industry is consistent with Ballard's strategy of setting the standard for fuel cells and fuel cell components and driving cost reduction through increased volume. AvCarb(TM) P50T carbon fiber paper for gas diffusion layers is the result of a two-year development program, which focused on designing a carbon fiber product specifically for the fuel cell industry. The carbon fiber paper is manufactured using Ballard's exclusive AccuCarb(TM) continuous carbonization car·bon·i·za·tion n. 1. The process of carbonizing. 2. The destructive distillation of bituminous coal, done in the absence of air in order to obtain coke and other fractions having a greater percentage of carbon than the process under ISO (1) See ISO speed. (2) (International Organization for Standardization, Geneva, Switzerland, www.iso.ch) An organization that sets international standards, founded in 1946. The U.S. member body is ANSI. 9001 and QS 9000 quality systems. "This innovative product has excellent performance characteristics and is designed to be manufactured and utilized in a continuous process," said Bill Foulds, General Manager of Ballard's Material Products Division. "Ballard's unique processing of the carbon fiber paper minimizes the effects of moisture exposure, enhances performance, provides durability and has the potential to become the lowest cost gas diffusion layer material available." The gas diffusion layer not only allows for the even diffusion of hydrogen and air against the membrane at the heart of a PEM fuel cell, but also has good electrical conductivity. The gas diffusion layer is a significant component of a fuel cell and can play a key role in overall performance and cost reduction. Ballard's Material Products Division, located in Lowell, Massachusetts, is home to Ballard's expertise in carbon fiber materials engineering and automotive carbon component manufacturing. As a Tier 1 supplier of friction material for automotive transmissions, the Material Products Division has demonstrated its ability to provide quality products in volume that meet or exceed its customers' requirements. Ballard Power Systems is recognized as the world leader in developing, manufacturing and marketing zero-emission proton exchange membrane ("PEM") fuel cells. Ballard is commercializing fuel cell engines for transportation applications and fuel cell systems for portable and stationary products ranging from 1 kilowatt to 250 kilowatts. Ballard is also commercializing electric drives for fuel cell and battery-powered electric vehicles, power conversion products for fuel cells and other distributed generation products, and is a Tier 1 automotive supplier of friction materials for power train components. Ballard's proprietary technology is enabling automobile, bus, electrical equipment, portable power and stationary product manufacturers to develop environmentally clean products for sale. Ballard is partnering with strong, world-leading companies, including DaimlerChrysler, Ford, ALSTOM and EBARA, to commercialize Ballard(R) fuel cells. Ballard has supplied fuel cells to Honda, Nissan, Volkswagen, Yamaha, Cinergy, Coleman Powermate and Matsushita Electric Works Matshushita Electric Works (MEW), Ltd. can trace its beginnings to a company that was founded in 1918 by Konosuke Matsushita. Matshushita began making the flashlight components for bicyles, then progressed to making lighting fixtures. , among others. Ballard's Common shares are listed on The Toronto Stock Exchange Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE) Canada's largest stock exchange, trading approximately 1,200 company stocks and 33 options. under the trading symbol "BLD" and on the Nasdaq National Market System under the symbol "BLDP". Ballard, the Ballard logo and Power to Change the World are registered trademarks of Ballard Power Systems Inc. AvCarb and AccuCarb are trademarks of Ballard Material Products Inc. |
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