¶ BLDP+17%... Ballard shares jump 17 pct on Bush energy credits
By Allan Dowd
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 17 (Reuters) - Shares of fuel cell maker Ballard Power Systems Inc. (Toronto:BLD.TO - news) (NasdaqNM:BLDP - news) jumped on Thursday on the White House's plan for tax credits to promote high-tech vehicles that offer large gains in fuel efficiency.
Ballard chief executive Firoz Rasul told shareholders at the company's annual meeting that while the alternative energy technology company had not seen specific details of the proposal unveiled by President George Bush ``the thrust of it is very positive.''
Rasul said that while the proposal to offer $4 billion in tax credits for alternative energy vehicles, such as those using fuel cells, would likely not speed up their introduction it could make more consumers consider buying when they do reach the market.
``The fact that there are credits available and incentives available it will really help people open up their minds and think about something they might not have thought about today,'' Rasul told reporters after the meeting.
Ballard, which makes fuel cells for several of the vehicles now being tested, saw its shares on Nasdaq jump $8.37, or 17 percent, to $57.60 on Thursday. On the Toronto Stock Exchange, its shares jumped C$12.80 to $88.50.
``Bush's energy policy. That's what is driving this,'' said Marko Pencak, an analyst at Credit Suisse First Boston in Toronto.
Other fuel cell producers also showed strength, including FuelCell Energy Inc. (NasdaqNM:FCEL - news), which was up $4.98, or 6.2 percent, to $85.28. Plug Power (NasdaqNM:PLUG - news) , up $4.61 to $29.14, and Global Thermoelectric Inc. (Toronto:GLE.TO - news) was up C$2.65 to C$20.75.
Fuel cells produce electricity through chemical reactions. They are seen as environmentally friendly because, depending on the fuel source, the electricity can be produced with only water and heat as byproducts.
Rasul said that while the energy crunch that prompted the Bush energy policy has not changed Ballard's timetable for putting fuel cells in commercial production it has made the company look which markets it enters first.
In addition to developing fuel cells for cars, Ballard fuel cells are expected to be used in small portable generators, larger stationary generators and mass transit vehicles - all of which are expected to enter commercial production before the passenger vehicles.
``It doesn't change our timeline, but it certainly causes us to look specifically at what segments in the areas that we are looking at that we should go after first,'' he said.
Ballard fuel cells combine hydrogen -- which can be obtained from methanol, natural gas, petroleum or renewable energy sources -- and oxygen without combustion to generate electricity. Their main byproduct is water.
