The Chinese interest in fuel-cell technology was no surprise. Three Ballard-powered buses are now in use in Beijing, in tests for the possible use of fuel-cell buses in Beijing's 2008 Summer Olympics; China has pledged these will be green Games.
At the same time, Ballard has been negotiating with China about possible ways to bring its products into the country and has been actively seeking research and manufacturing partners there.
But the bigger reason for Chinese interest is that its fast-growing economy is developing an enormous appetite for oil as it moves headlong into what eventually will be the world's largest single market for automobiles. The impact on air pollution, climate change and competition in tight global oil markets could put an unsustainable strain on the environment, world oil prices and geopolitical relations as nations struggle to meet their domestic energy needs.
So China is interested in clean energy alternatives. And India won't be that far behind. Both have the opportunity to leapfrog the extensive gasoline- and oil-based infrastructure we have in Canada and the United States, by becoming leading adopters of hydrogen-fuel-cell systems, just as they are overtaking the wired communications systems we have and moving all-out to wireless systems. China today is the largest user of cellphones in the world and the biggest manufacturer.
So Ballard has a technology that it wants to commercialize at a faster pace, and China and India need to develop new energy systems that are clean and which would curb their appetite for imported oil. It seems like an obvious opportunity for both.
Other Canadian fuel-cell companies have also been active in Asia. Hydrogenics Corp. of Mississauga has sold test systems for fuel-cell programs to the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, a leading research institute in fuel-cell systems in China, and the Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry.
And Stuart Energy Systems Corp. of Toronto, now part of Hydrogenics, has a partnership with the Purification Equipment Research Institute, a Chinese developer of water electrolyzers to produce hydrogen. Stuart and Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings of Hong Kong have an agreement to develop hydrogen back-up power systems in China and other parts of Asia.
Dynetek Industries Ltd. Of Calgary in October delivered three of its lightweight hydrogen storage systems to Tsinghau University in Beijing. Its technology is also being used in the Ballard-powered fuel-cell buses in Beijing. The company has also won orders from the Japanese automotive industry and from Hyundai in South Korea.
Asia generally seems to be a developing market for Canada's fuel-cells companies. Ballard has strong connections with the major Japanese automobile manufacturers in a relationship that goes back to 1999 when it won its first order from Honda Research and Development Co. The same year it received its first order from Hyundai Motor Corp. in South Korea.
Since then, Ballard has developed ties with Tokyo Gas Co. to develop stationary fuel-cell systems for Japanese homes and with Ebara Corp. in a joint venture for one-kilowatt combined heat and power fuel-cell units. Last month Nippon Oil Co. announced it would install the units in about 100 homes in a pilot project.
QuestAir Technologies Inc. of Vancouver, a developer of hydrogen purification systems, has sold its technology to Japanese companies developing hydrogen power systems for the automotive and stationary power markets.
Hydrogenics is also broadening its market in Asia. Last month it announced a contract from Korea Gas Technology Corp. for a hydrogen reformer and refuelling system at the Korea Gas R&D centre for use in fuel-cell vehicles. It also has a contract with REVA Electric Car Co. in Bangalore, India to develop fuel-cell vehicles in that country. Like Ballard, it also has a number of contracts with the Japanese automotive industry.
Canada has science and technology agreements with Japan, South Korea, China and India and an energy co-operation deal with China. It would make sense if we could find a way to use these agreements to advance both Canadian and Asian interest in a cleaner and more secure energy future.
David Crane's column appears on Friday. He can be reached at crane@
interlog.com by email or by fax at 416-926-8048.
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