Plug Power announces sale to Bridgestone Firestone Tire

Hydrogen fuel cell power units to replace lead-acid batteries in materials handling equipment in South Carolina plant

Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ: PLUG), a provider of clean on-site energy solutions, today announced that officials with Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire, LLC (BFNT) are moving materials around the Aiken County Bridgestone Firestone tire plant on a forklift fleet now powered by hydrogen instead of lead-acid batteries. The plant is converting 22 forklifts to the GenDrive system this year and expects to convert the remaining fleet as equipment is retired.

"We are very excited about this new green initiative," said Plant Manager Mike Rose. "The fuel cells are a direct replacement that last longer than batteries, take less time to change or refuel and only emit water vapor. This is certainly a step in the right direction as we work continually to minimize our impact on our environment."

The project expands on BFNT's success using hydrogen fuel cells to run industrial vehicles at other facilities. BFNT report that their current hydrogen-powered vehicles run two to three times as long on a hydrogen fuel cell and take one-fourth of the time to refuel compared with battery-powered vehicles. These changes provide a positive financial return on investment and present the plant with a viable alternative to traditional vehicles.

This is Bridgestone's fifth order for GenDrive power units in less than two years. Since delivery of the first units in early 2006, the GenDrive units have logged more than 10,000 operating hours without service disruption.

"The Bridgestone Aiken County plant continues to demonstrate industry leadership and environmental stewardship while achieving productivity gains through the implementation of the GenDrive fuel cell solution. This milestone program further evidences the value proposition our GenDrive solution offers customers with large manufacturing operations," said Chris Reid, Vice President, Motive Power Division, Plug Power.

The GenDrive fuel cell system integrates the proven and reliable Ballard Mark 9 SSL™ fuel cell with Maxwell ultra-capacitors and high performance on-board hydrogen storage to produce a "drop-in" replacement for the conventional industrial lead-acid battery. This unique combination creates a power source that produces constant output and runs longer before refueling, thereby increasing daily output and lowering equipment operating costs.

Source: Fuel Cell Today