new contract for Ballard PowerBallard Power Systems and ACME Group SignMulti-Year Fuel Cell Supply Agreement for Wireless Telecom Backup PowerSolution in India
16:05 EDT Thursday, May 08, 2008
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - May 8, 2008) - BallardPower Systems (TSX:BLD)(NASDAQ:BLDP), a world leader in clean energyfuel cell products, today announced that it has signed a multi-yearsupply agreement with an affiliate of the ACME Group (ACME), a leadingprovider of telecommunications infrastructure solutions in India, toprovide fuel cells for backup power in the wireless telecom market.
The supply agreement imposes mutual exclusivity on both companiesfor the India wireless telecom backup power market through 2010,subject to certain conditions. Although the agreement does not specifyminimum volumes, in order to maintain its right to exclusivity, ACMEmust order at least 22.7 megawatts (MW) of fuel cell products through2010, specifically 0.1 MW, 3.3 MW and 19.3 MW in 2008, 2009 and 2010,respectively. Ballard will supply the company's existing Mark1020(TM)ACS fuel cell product as well as a new liquid-cooled reformate-capablefuel cell product currently in development, in sizes ranging from thesub-kilowatt level to 7 kilowatts. ACME will begin systems design workimmediately to integrate Ballard's fuel cell products for trialsbeginning in early 2009, with initial deployments planned later thatyear.
John Sheridan, President and CEO of Ballard, said, "The need forextended runtime capability throughout wireless networks in India isacute, given the unreliable electricity grid in that country combinedwith the tremendous growth rate in telecom services. This agreementwith ACME, a highly capable and knowledgeable partner with a leadingshare of the India telecom infrastructure solutions market, positionsBallard with a strong lead customer. The agreement will help acceleratefuel cell product adoption."
Fuel cell-powered systems offer more reliable and cleaner backuppower alternatives than incumbent technologies. This is valuable inIndia where many towns and cities experience an average of four to sixhours of daily power outages. While Ballard's Mark1020 ACS fuel cellproduct is commercially available today, an additional liquid-cooledfuel cell product capable of operating with reformed fuel will maximizethe size of the addressable market.
"Fuel cell backup power systems offer an excellent value propositionto telecom service providers," said Manoj Upadhyay, CEO of the ACMEGroup. "The quality of Ballard's fuel cell products gives us a strongfoundation on which to build a leading fuel cell market position overthe next few years."
The ACME Group is a leader in the field of innovative solutions forthe wireless telecom industry, cold chain management systems, alternateenergy and waste water treatment. To learn more about the Acme Group,visit www.acme.in.
About Ballard Power Systems
Ballard Power Systems (TSX:BLD)(NASDAQ:BLDP) is recognized as aworld leader in the design, development, manufacture and sale of cleanenergy fuel cell products. Ballard's mission is to accelerate fuel cellproduct adoption. To learn more about what Ballard is doing with Powerto Change the World(R), visit www.ballard.com.
This release contains forward-looking statements that are based onthe beliefs and assumptions of Ballard's management and reflectBallard's current expectations as contemplated under section 27A of theSecurities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securitiesand Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such assumptions relate to ourfinancial forecasts and expectations regarding our product developmentefforts, manufacturing capacity, and market demand. These statementsinvolve risks and uncertainties that may cause our actual results to bematerially different, including, without limitation, the rate of massadoption of our products, product development delays, changingenvironmental regulations, our ability to attract and retain businesspartners and customers, our access to funding, increased competition,our ability to protect our intellectual property, changes in ourcustomers' requirements, and our ability to provide the capitalrequired for product development, operations and marketing. Readersshould not place undue reliance on Ballard's forward-looking statementsand Ballard assumes no obligation to update or release any revisions tothese forward looking statements. For a detailed discussion of the riskfactors that could affect Ballard's future performance, please refer toour most recent Annual Information Form.
Ballard, the Ballard logo and Power to Change the World are registered trademarks of Ballard Power Systems Inc.
For further information, or to arrange an interview, please contact Guy McAree at the number below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Ballard Power Systems Inc.
Guy McAree