The emission free car is no longer a dream. Within a few years it could be a reality. Built on hydrogen powered fuel cells, it’s a revolution for the global environment! The fuel cell may just possibly turn the world around by encouraging a more efficient use of natural resources and help reduce pollution both on global and local levels.

Dr Geoffrey Ballard

The man who like no other person made this positive new development possible is Dr. Geoffrey Ballard, Canadian visionary in the field of fuel cell development. For decades his goal has been to create a commercially competitive fuel cell engine powered by hydrogen that only emits water. This is also why he was elected “Hero of the planet” in 1999 by Times Magazine.

Geoffrey Ballard was born in 1932 in Niagara Falls, Ontario. He holds a Ph.D. in Geophysics from Washington University in St. Louis. As early as 1977 he had a vision of creating alternative zero emission energy sources and in 1993 the world’s first fuel cell driven, emission free transit bus was launched in Vancouver.

The City of Göteborg International Environment Prize was presented in November 2000 by EU Commissioner Margot Wallström and the Chairman of the Municipal Executive Board, Göran Johansson.

Dr. Ballard currently serves as Chairman of General Hydrogen, a company that focuses on technologies for producing and storing hydrogen.

"It will take a combined effort of academia, government and industry to bring about the change from a gasoline economy to a hydrogen economy. The forces are building and progress is being made. It is of major importance that a change of this magnitude not be forced on unwilling participants, but that all of us work together for an economically viable path to change."
Geoffrey Ballard, World Hydrogen Energy Conference

History

In 1974 Geoffrey Ballard was appointed responsible for the Federal Energy Conservation Research Office in Washington and was given the task of reducing the country's dependence on oil imports. His dual nationality, American and Canadian, made it possible for him to work for both American and Canadian authorities. It seems it was this challenge that got him involved in transportation and awoke the desire to find a solution. Frustration over political resistance in Congress made Dr. Ballard seek new ways. Initially he tried to produce a rechargeable battery for cars based on lithium but although the battery was sold to the American Army, the enterprise never got off the ground. However, those involved, Geoffrey Ballard and his two partners, Paul Howard and Keith Prater, gained a great deal of know-how in electro-chemistry and were well-known in the industry.

This assisted in the trio being given the task by the Canadian Armed Forces to further develop a fuel cell solution that General Electric had produced for space flight. The patent had lapsed, which two alert Canadian officials, Chris Gardner and Martin Hammerli, discovered. Ballard Research tackled the problem of improving the solution, which primarily meant lowering costs and making the product lighter and smaller. The idea of utilising the technique for car applications evolved.

A major step forward was taken when they found a polymer that raised the output four times and in addition was suitable as material in the cell membrane. Further improvements followed and twelve years later the fuel cell was 50 times more efficient. Moreover, research at Los Alamos Laboratory has assisted in lowering costs by enabling the platinum layer to be reduced. A further major step forward was taken when they managed to convince the authorities in British Columbia to defray part of the development cost of a fuel cell for a bus. The highly topical discussion on the greenhouse effect at this time was certainly a contributory factor in making the vision reality. In 1993 the South Coast Air Quality Management District also chose to contribute to further development and in 1994 the company was listed on the Stock Exchange for the first time. Paul Wuebben, who works with alternative fuel solutions for the above-mentioned authority, thinks that Ballard's frankness over the technology and the fact that they could demonstrate substantial improvements contributed to their decision to invest in the technology.

In 1988 Firoz Rasul was employed to run the company and he has made a number of strategically important choices and succeeded in, among other things, starting collaboration with DaimlerChrysler. This has been of great importance for the company's growth and expansion. A strategically important measure taken by Ballard Research at an early stage was to buy up patents that could curb their development. This is also considered to have contributed to the company's success. Keith Prater should receive credit for this work. He travelled around and bought patents and maintained contact with Los Alamos Laboratory, among others.