Standards will help push commercial fuel cell applications

The Canadian Standards Association has published the first of 15 new standards it is developing for global development of fuel cells, work it says will lead to faster commercialization of fuel cell technology. The first standard, which is also approved by the American National Standards Institute, is FC 1-2004, Stationary Fuel Cell Systems. It includes requirements for the operation, construction and performance of stationary fuel cell power systems, including new standards for fuels.
“Standards are critical for the on-going commercialization of fuel cell systems because they help speed customer acceptance, market access and public acceptance,” said Spencer Grieco, vice-president, Standards, CSA America, Inc. “Standards give customers confidence that the products will perform.”
Stephen Kukucha, director of external affairs, Ballard Power Systems, says the company has supplied fuel cell power systems for 116 cars on the road in various pilot and commercial applications. Kukucha said that according to one estimate there could be as many as 1 million fuel cell powered vehicles on the road by 2010. The ultimate impact fuel cells will have on the Canadian manufacturing base depends on volumes and other business factors, he noted.
“We have the largest mass volume fuel cell manufacturing facility in the world in Vancouver, so as business opportunities expand we’re in a good position to capitalize here in Canada,” Kukucha said. “Ultimately, down the road, we will take into account all the factors that go into a business decision, such as lowest cost, location of customer, etc., when making manufacturing supply and production decisions.”