Chairman's Opening Address: An independent view of the progress made this year in fuel cells at sub-1kW output levels.

Jeff Bentley brings well over a decade of fuel cell experience to the event, first as a consultant and then as Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Nuvera Fuel Cells. Jeff will give an initial overview of where the industry stands today and then chair the conference ensuring an impartial moderation of the conference proceedings.

The Economic and technological challenges for PEM fuel cells in portable, remote and off-grid applications

H-Power Corporation is one of America's leading publicly quoted fuel cell manufacturers. They have developed a range of portable and mobile power units operating in an output range from 35 to 500 watts. More importantly you can buy one of these units now. Prior to running H-Power, CEO Frank Gibbard spent 20 years in advanced battery development including five years with Duracell making him uniquely qualified to tackle the thorny issue of battery/fuel cell convergence.

• The energy density argument is clear for DMFC in portable electronics - how does this pass muster for PEM systems employed in larger, fixed applications?

• Bridging technology - how successful have H-Power and their customers been in integrating PEM fuel cell systems into battery FC-hybrids?

• Cost reduction - so you can buy an H-Power system but can you justify the cost? Will mass production alone reduce costs or are we waiting for a killer technological breakthrough?

• Case studies - examples of 50 to 500 watt systems employed in a number of primary and back up power roles

Frank Gibbard, CEO
H-Power Corporation
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Leveraging R&D from transportation applications to create better products, lower cost and reduce risk

Palcan is one of only a handful of PEM manufacturers specialising in developing systems in the 100watt to 5kW output class. Palcan CEO Jim McBeth has thirty years experience in high-tech product research and 7 patents to his name. Palcan are heavily market orientated and are aggressively pursuing opportunities in emerging markets.

• How Palcan is utilizing a cross over strategy to produce products for the specialist electric vehicle market and for portable applications

• Metal Hydride hydrogen storage techniques - first developed for Palcan's transport products are now being applied to portable power. How will current regulations affect a rapid market entry?

• How and why is Palcan pursuing rapidly opening markets in the Far East? What makes Palcan's products particularly suited to this area?

Jim McBeth, CEO
Palcan Fuel Cells Corp.
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Case Study: The Electra-Plane - How fuel cells are enabling a new flight paradigm

Jim Dunn, CEO, Advanced Technology Products also serves as the Chief Technology Officer for NASA's North East technology transfer unit. Jim is also credited with developing the laptop computer and together with ex NASA astronauts is now developing battery FC hybrids to power manned aircraft. This presentation will demonstrate and explore:

• The potential for PEM technology in highly specialist applications - what can the portable industry take from the operating performance of the Electra-Plane?

• Early applications - where is the market for fuel cell powered light aircraft?

• Leveraging NASA technology - fuel cells have been used in APU roles in the space program since the early 70's - how can the portable FC industry take advantage of this in commercial markets.

Jim Dunn, CEO
Advanced Technology Products
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Identifying and growing the portable fuel cell market space

www.fuelcellstore.com is the first Value Add Reseller (VAR) for fuel cell systems and related products in the world. They are now in their 8th quarter of operations, are growing and now have more than 25 sales staff through out North America. So how are they:

• Developing relationships with fuel cell OEMs to ensure a broad portfolio of products, system integration services and customer aftercare services?

• Leveraging the market for fuel cells in the education market to both ensure short term profitability and build a future customer base?

• Acting as a market maker for the fuel cell industry and becoming a focal point for commercial fuel cell activity?

• Developing a sub 1kW portable fuel cell service industry?

Stephen Chase Honikman, Market Strategist
FuelCellStore.com
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Micro fuel cells - The race to commercialisation

Medis Technologies announced in May a major technological breakthrough and now claims its Direct Liquid Ethanol fuel cell system has a superior performance in portable electronic devices than a lithium ion battery. Medis is now applying cutting edge technology developed for the Israeli armed forces to commercial applications.

• Routes to market - Medis will initially target the battery charger market rather than replacing Li-ion immediately - how will they do this?

• Performance data - how exactly does the math compare when the Medis product goes head to head with Li-ion?

• How are Medis working with both battery manufacturers and portable electronic OEMs to build and distribute commercial products?

• Associated technology - Medis have developed unique membrane technology. So how will they leverage this for alternative more immediate revenue streams?

Robert K. Lifton, CEO
Medis Technologies
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Power for the wireless revolution

In November 2001, Mechanical Technology announced its goal to enter the mass market in 2004 with a micro fuel cell power source for mobile phone convergence devices. Their latest prototype, first demonstrated in March 2002 is 20% smaller with double the power output of the October 2001 version. Just how close are they to hitting target?

• Get the latest facts and figures behind the progress being made at Mechanical Technology's micro fuel cell subsidiary - MTI Fuel Cells

• How are MTI fuel cells targeting both civilian and military markets?

• Defining the performance of the MTI micro fuel cell in relation to lithium ion batteries

• How are MTI overcoming the technological as well as the financial challenges to producing a commercial product?

James Bunch, CFO
MTI Micro Fuel Cells

Batteries versus Fuel Cells - When will DMFC be a viable alternative to Li-ion?

Kurt Kelty, Director Business Development, Battery R&D Center
Panasonic Technologies

Regulatory counselling for micro fuel cell manufacturers and fuel providers in regards to passenger aircraft

Jack Paterson is a lawyer specializing in regulatory and governmental affairs for environmental and energy issues. His clients include the US Fuel Cell council, Methanex and a micro fuel cell manufacturer. Jack will advise on:

• Codes and standards being developed for portable fuel cell devices as to compliance with transportation regulations regarding passenger aircraft

• A review of DOT and UN rules governing interstate and international transport of methanol, hydrogen and metal hydride portable fuel cell devices

• How to gain DOT approval for the carriage of certain portable fuel cell device technologies and their fuels on passenger aircraft

Jack Paterson, Attorney at Law
and Co-Owner, Rocky Mountain Environmental Strategies Inc.
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Setting the standard - expert guidance for the ever - widening regulatory process in all sub 1kW output applications

The fuel cell practice group is the world's only legal practice dedicated to servicing the lagal issues of fuel cell and associated companies. Their scope includes technology procurement....licensing....permits....maintenance....service....warranty obligations....engineering and project financing. This presentation will advise you on:

• How to address outstanding legal and regulatory issues prior to supplying commercial products

• What is required in negotiating complex technology agreements in the sophisticated and sometimes uncharted territory of fuel cell technology

• Getting the best deal from regulatory agencies and corporate financiers

David Sturgess, Attorney at Law, Chairman, Venture Capital and Emerging Companies practice
and Brad Mondschein, Attorney at Law, Chairman, Fuel Cell practice group
Updike, Kelly & Spellacy, p.c.
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The end users point of view - defining the unique power requirements of the military

With several DMFC, PEM and Zinc Air manufacturers already working with the US military and NATO, this is the largest market at present for fuel cells in a sub 1kW role. So what exactly are the opportunities?

• Why are the military so keen on fuel cells and what is the current yearly spend of the US DOD on fuel cell development?

• Do the early opportunities lie in power generation/battery supplements for field stations or for use by individual soldiers?

• What must manufacturers do to ramp up products initially designed for civilian or educational use?

Col. Dick Hooker, President
RDH Associates
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Technological breakthrough - new concepts for portable fuel cells

The French Atomic Energy Commission have been dedicating a considerable amount of time and effort into developing alternative solutions for powering electronic devices. Their stack has been developed from micro-technology and process allowing for an alternative direct gas hydrogen fuelling method.

• So how does the stack work? What are the inherent benefits over a methanol fuelled PEM system?

• How does this unique hydrogen fuelling system work? More importantly how does it compare to solid systems like metal hydride canisters and sodium borohydride?

• Countdown to a product - when are we likely to see this move from lab to alpha test units?

C. Gauthier, SNPE GROUP
and Didier Bloch, Materials and Energy for Electronics Program, The French Atomic Energy Commission
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Solid hydrogen storage techniques for portable applications

HERA has been involved in several solid hydrogen storage programs for fuel cells in sub 1kW applications. Whilst no applicable for the smallest applications (cell phones, PDAs) for medium to larger applications (power tools, video cameras, laptops) hydrogen PEM cells and in turn metal hydrides stand a great chance of becoming the system of choice.

• An overview of solid hydrogen storage in portable applications - what are the alternatives and what benefits do metal hydrides enjoy over competing technologies?

• What are the challenges and the opportunities facing the mass market commercialisation of this technology

Marc Hubert, Director, Business Development
HERA Hydrogen Storage Systems
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Revolutionising the stack manufacturing process

Paul Osenar, CTO
Protonex

Panel Session - Developing a viable value change for the portable fuel cell industry

As a special feature of this conference we will run an extended interactive panel session to develop and explore how the future fuel cell value chain will develop. The session will be based on this graphic, here, developed by management consultants PRTM.

- Click here to view the graphic -

The panellists will discuss the following issues:

• Before a fuel cell related company can be commercially successful (beyond government contracts and subsidies), the entire fuel cell value chain needs to become commercially viable. How can each layer of the chain be cost effective?

• How can the portable fuel cell industry face the twin technical challenges of becoming cost effective and durable and reliable?

• Fuelling - eventually the industry will need to converge on a fuel of choice and as application development involves all the "balance of plant" to convert the electricity into useable energy this issue remains crucial.

• Configuration of technical components across the value chain - to what extent is the determined by niche application?

• Investment - where are the most appropriate areas to direct investment?

• Setting performance targets and goals.

Panel Moderator:
Tom Godward, Director, PRTM

Panel Members:
Frank Gibbard, CEO, H-Power Corporation
Blair Heffelfinger, Manager of Fuel Cells, Methanex Corporation
Kurt Kelty, Director of Business Development, Panasonic Research and Development Center
John Shenebly, CEO, Hy9 Products
Paul Osenar, CTO, Protonex