He pointed out that British Columbia is home to the largest cluster of fuel cell technology in the world, and that other areas of Canada (such as Montreal and Toronto) are becoming hot beds for this emerging technology.

One of the technological ad-vantages that fuel cells have over conventional energy sources, Girard said, is the longevity of their stationary power, which can last up to 40,000 hours before cells need to be replaced.

He pointed out three other fuel cell advantages:

Growth On Horizon

Of that $46 billion, $18 billion will be distributed through stationary power. The mass markets for stationary power include home heating; niche markets include backup emergency power.

"The promises for fuel cell technology are great," said Girard; "not bad for a technology in its infancy."

Girard said that the Canadian market will be hard to break into using fuel cells, and for one reason: The cost of hydroelectric fuel is low and the demand for it is high. The world depends on hydroelectric for 17 percent of its energy needs, but Canada has a 61-percent dependency.

However, he said fuel cell technology will eventually move into the mass market from its current niche.

"Fuel cells can potentially replace all levels of battery power generation," he said, "but we need to address its durability and reliability issues."

Publication date: 10/04/2004