Canadian-firm Ballard Power (BP) said this week that it expects its non-automotive fuel cells to become profitable within the next few years, according to the Canadian Press agency.

The company has recently found success in selling fuel cells to company's manufacturing cogeneration power systems, forklifts and other applications outside of its conventional remit of cars and buses.

"The key in these markets are that these markets in residential cogeneration and forklifts are large enough that if we are successful in building these markets they can be the path to earlier profitability for Ballard overall," said chief financial officer David Smith said in an interview.

"That is a function of how well we mature and build the market and how quickly or not they take off and so it is very difficult to predict exactly when those events can occur but they are significant enough to have a major impact on our bottom line."

In the last quarter, BP sold 102 fuel cells for residential cogeneration, and 36 for forklifts. It booked 94 and two in each respective area.

Chief executive David Sheridan added that that firm sees the segments as having good potential for profit growth.

Fuel cells, using hydrogen, are set to be a growth area for platinum and pgm demand as the metals are used as catalysts in the technology, which is finding increasing an increasing number of applications.


Ÿ Adfero Ltd