Some potential US investors looking at the ITM website presentations may feel Jim Heathcote is over the top in his public persona
He has frequently been described as a evangelist for the hydrogen economy and as recently as last week stood accused of hyperbole by one media commentator
Actually its a very valid comment reflected in many BB posts by ITM investors in the UK
Let me say up front right now that…… personally…… I have always been uneasy about the claim by ITM that they
“hold the keys to the hydrogen economy”
One is tempted to reply
“Do you indeed …
how about some proof………? ”
For ITM to…….
Hold the keys to something , repeat it frequently, and write it across the bottom of many press releases……
They really need to be confident of what the phrase means…..
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
So
Heres a definition
To hold the keys to the hydrogen economy you need to control…..
Both
“The CAPITAL and the REVENUE cost of supplying hydrogen to the world”
Which is a pretty big claim
Its one thing to claim you can make a fuel cell or an electrolyser that is cheaper than anyone else in the world…….
Its quite a separate claim to say you can control the REVENUE cost of hydrogen
Having studied all 48 patents held by ITM Directors and staff
I conclude that this rather arrogant view may well be quite sincere……..
I suspect it is predicated on a belief that ITM think they can translate some interrelated prototypes into viable products
……….which impact the CAPITAL and REVENUE cost of the hydrogen economy
Well
having thought about this
i reckon all we can rely on in this world ....energy wise
.. is
that there will be daylight energy from the sun every day.......not sunlight energy ..just daylight energy...
..on a more likely probability than wind enrgy
So
this suggests ITM have concocted their claim, not from a discovery they thought would revolutionise the world of electrolysers or fuel cells
But
from a discovery they thought would revolutionise the world of solar energy
This is based on looking at the chronology of ITMs various patents which clearly started in the world of solar cells and later moved on to fuel cells and electrolysers
So ITM probably have....... right now :
,A low cost high efficiency prototype photo electrolysis solar panel converting light directly into hydrogen for storage at high pressure…..and also capable of making electricity (as an alternative to hydrogen) at a much lower cost than a silicon solar panel can make electricity
But
The ITM solar panel also giving a higher yield and lower cost than the best existing silicon based solar panels
So
Technically
……the silicon solar cell may never be able to compete with the ITM solar cell
And hence
…..for areas with enough solar radiation
The ITM solar panel may become the standard for low cost domestic solar panels
for both power and hydrogen
Well
If this is true then ITM`s technology can control the cost of solar energy to such an extent that it could replace silicon as the world standard semi conductor for solar cells
If so
ITM`s claim becomes credible........ albeit almost too fantastic to digest
.......unless you are a LTH who has lived through the history of ITM
Then
it all falls into place
Having cornered the market in being the most efficient (ie revenue) and lowest cost (ie capital ) for producing hydrogen
ITM could truly justify their claim to have cornered the market
Since it implies they can ultimately provide……….
The lowest cost solar cell
……. with the highest conversion efficiency
……… in the world……!
And
The lowest cost method of transforming this solar energy into
hydrogen power for multiple uses as at present
So
Technically anyway
If development work since the patents wer lodged confirms the original decisions to lodge the original patent
The evidence suggests that
…….. despite the many criticisms Jim Heathcote gets regularly on this BB
…..many from me in the past ……..and no doubt in the future
The Guy may just be right in the strategy he is clearly embarked on………
i.e.
ITM may well "Hold The Keys To The Hydrogen Economy"
We shall see
AI
