Nasdaq-listed Medis Technologies has just become the first micro fuel cell company to receive a major order - $50 million - for their disposable portable power packs for consumer electronics. Consumer Electronics are widely considered the holy grail for micro fuel cells with 1.5 billion portable devices in use around the world, forecast to become 2 billion by 2007.

In this very interesting interview in Red Herring, CEO Robert K. Lifton talks about the prospects for his company.

The technology is unusual because instead of using methanol, Medis prefers sodium borohydride as the lower cost fuel of choice. What's more, all those futuristic programmes and pictures you see of laptops and mobile phones running on internal fuel cells just might never happen.

As Lifton points out, that would require getting 1000s of Original End Manufacturers to change their design around a given fuel cell. "Integration doesn't make sense as a business proposition". So the Medis Power Pack only plugs in externally, requiring no input from the OEMs which could have lost years in redeveloping, retooling and retesting.

Very practical.

Probably one of the reasons why Medis will be the first to market, ahead of NEC, Sanyo, Sony, Toshiba et al.

The Canadia Fim and Nasdaq listed, Ballard Power Systems, has just posted a slightly reduced Q2 loss, of $29.5 million.

BPS is the world's leading supplier of fuel cells, fuel cell engines, fuel cell components and electric drive systems to the car industry. Its stock flew high in the late 1990s when fuel cell cars were widely perceived to be just around the corner . . . but they weren't.

6 years later, BPS is still trying to get out of the laboratory and into the market. Still, it has big clients, including Ford and Mercedes Benz who's own investment in fuel cells is tied up with companies like BPS.

In transport though, because of the prohibitive cost, it looks more likely that fuel cells will break only into rich world government funded public transport buses and the deep pockets of the US military.

Fuel cells in regular passenger cars are some way off . . .

London Aim-listed Voller Energy  which earlier in June achieved EU wide certification for the first mains strength portable fuel cells, which run on hydrogen, is now struggling to perform as a stock.

At the time of posting, Voller Energy was down 12.5% on the day to 42p, even reaching a new low earlier of 38p. It reached a high of 85p in March 2005, soon after going public in February.

In a very interesting article in Armed Forces International, CEO Stephen Voller, reveals his business philosophy - Voller's Law;

Consumers will not pay a premium to be environmentally friendly nor will they accept a performance premium to be environmentally friendly.

Yours truly agrees with Mr Voller, that fuel cell companies must be market rather than technology driven.

Right now though, the market is driving Voller Energy in the wrong direction.

Plug Power, a nasdaq listed stock, today announced a big sales contract with Tyco and at the time of writing the stock has jumped over 12%. Plug Power is one of the leading manufacturers of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells for stationary applications.

Fuel Cells are coming, but not everyone agrees with what they are best for. Some wonder if they make better generators than back-up batteries. Let's see. The 5 kw fuel cell though seems set for the remote location first, before it comes into our homes.

Interviewed in Wired Magazine yesterday, a leading GM Vice-President, Larry Burns, was quizzed about whether GM had got it right, taking a bet on hydrogen fuel cells over hydbrids.

Was there any point he was asked to a hydrogen economy if it was powered by carbon?

"Quite honestly, being in the car business, I don't care whether the hydrogen comes from wind, geothermal, nuclear, solar, or ­fossil. What I care about is that each local economy plays to its strength".

That's fine if consumers are prepared to ignore fuel costs when buying the vehicle. And my guess is they won't. Hydrogen is not cheap. Its price is a major barrier that GM and others must hurdle. Indeed the cheapest hydrogen - from fossil fuels - is still perhaps 10 or 11 times more expensive than conventional diesel or gasoline and 5 times cheaper than clean, green electrically generated h2.

That's why the hydrogen future - for now - is more black than green.