Fuel cell maker Cellex Power announces its acquisition
New owner says acquisition of Cellex may help speed commercial adoption of hydrogen fuel cells in lift trucks.
By Staff -- Modern Materials Handling, 3/16/2007
Cellex Power Products, one of a handful of companies producing hydrogen fuel cells for lift trucks, announced today it is being acquired by Plug Power for $45 million.
Plug Power makes stationary backup power units that use fuel cells, rather than generators or lead-acid batteries, as their source of power. According to Plug Power CEO Roger Saillant, these two applications—backup power units and lift trucks—use similar fuel cell technologies, so combining the two companies should result in increased buying power and other operational synergies. He says the combined strength of the companies should accelerate commercial adoption of fuel cell power units for lift trucks.
During a conference call with analysts, Saillant said Plug Power is investing in Cellex because it sees commercial potential in the lift truck market. “We think that the value proposition for converting from batteries to fuel cell power units is compelling due to the degree of productivity gains and substantial cost savings associated with the changeover,” he said.
Cellex recently completed a beta test of its power units with Wal-Mart. The lift trucks used in that test, says Cellex CEO Chris Reid, were Class 3 pallet trucks. He says Cellex is confident it has perfected its Class 3 power unit and will begin marketing that product this year. Power units for larger counterbalanced and narrow-aisle lift trucks (Class 1 and Class 2 trucks) should be on the market by 2009, he says.
Plug Power is a publicly traded company with headquarters in Latham, New York. Cellex is a private company based near Vancouver, British Columbia. The acquisition is expected to be completed in April. Plug Power says it intends to continue Cellex’s current operations in Canada.
For more information about hydrogen fuel cell technology, watch Modern's Webcast, "The next generation of lift truck productivity."
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