Fuel cell makers merge

By Staff -- Modern Materials Handling, 4/1/2007

Cellex Power Products (www.cellexpower.com), one of a handful of companies producing hydrogen fuel cells for lift trucks, is being acquired by Plug Power (www.plugpower.com) 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.