Astris Energi Inc. (Mississauga, ON), developer of alkaline fuel cell technology, announced that its joint venture partner, CareAction Inc. (Montreal, Quebec), has acquired the multi-million-dollar fuel cell laboratory and production facility in Montreal, which was formerly owned and operated by H Power Corp. (Englewood, NJ).
The 28,000ft² plant became available as a result of the recent acquisition of H Power by Plug Power Inc. Most of its experienced technical and operations personnel have become available as well. The facility will be operated by the joint venture - Astris Transportation Systems Inc. (ATSI) - and is expected to be the first volume manufacturer of alkaline fuel cells in the world.
Initial output of the plant will be concentrated on alkaline fuel cell power plants for small vehjcles, the first of which will be the ZENN (zero-emission, no noise) mini-car scheduled to roll out before the end of this year. The H Power facility had been developing and manufacturing fuel cells based on proton-electrolyte membrane (PEM) technology. Fortunately, much of the plant's laboratory and test equipment is common to both PEM and alkaline fuel cells.
