Other Small cap news...
HydroDec in Japanese tie-up
But far from being a piece of trendy consumer must-have for the kids, this new ‘miracle box’ is a symbol of a truly momentous investment trend in the making. And according to one industry expert, it has offered “a glimpse at a possible nirvana.” HydroDec in Japanese tie-up
- HydroDec (ticker: HYR) announces a major strategic alliance with Japanese partner, Kobelco Eco-Solutions.
- HydroDec has developed a method of de-contaminating used transformer oil. It has already built plants in Australia and the USA.
- The new joint venture will exploit the technology not only in Japan but also South Korea, Taiwan, China, India and Vietnam.
There are plenty of exciting shares operating in this space. We’ll name some of them today – and I’ll tell you about the one I’m recommending my closest group of investors buy right now for a possible 257%-900% return.
But first, back to the news story…
This machine is about the size and shape of a shipping container. Here’s what it looks like.
And with a price tag of $700,000 it certainly needs to make itself useful. It’s definitely attracting high hopes and a lot of interest. It’s already signed up Google as its first customer. And since then it’s bagged the mighty Walmart, eBay, FedEx and Coca Cola, too.
The Holy Grail of the energy sector
Why do all these big-hitters want this odd looking thing? It’s very simple: it could slash their energy costs in the years ahead…
You see, the Bloom Box Server, as it’s called, offers the prospect of something that the world wants more than anything else. Cheap, clean energy. It’s little wonder, then, that it has attracted $400m of investment and plenty of hype.
The ‘Bloom Box’ takes us a step closer to the widespread use of something first invented by a Welsh born, Oxford-educated barrister back in the early nineteenth century.
I’m talking about the fuel cell.
In the 1830s, Sir William Robert Grove made a stunning observation. Scientists already knew that it was possible to use electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. What Grove realised was that it should therefore also be possible to reverse the process.
And he went on to show it. He proved that you could combine hydrogen and oxygen to produce water and electricity.
But there wasn’t the know-how to take this further back then. So the matter rested there until American space scientists were looking for a way of providing power and water on manned space flights. The number of conventional batteries required weighed too much. Solar technology was in its infancy. So NASA turned to fuel cells.
But while fuel cells provide an answer in outer space, commercialising them here on planet earth has been more difficult.
Why these ‘concept’ stocks haven’t cracked it yet
Fuel cell developers such as Canada’s Ballard Power (BLD:CA), the UK’s Ceres Power (CWR) and Australia’s Ceramic Fuel Cells (CFU) have all been popular ‘concept stocks’ with investors. But the reality has been that fuel cells have been too unreliable and too expensive to compete with conventional energy generation.
But progress is being made. Bloom Box designer, KR Sridhar, himself a former NASA scientist, has made his fuel cells from stacks of ceramic plates, made of sand and painted with special green and black inks.
Sridhar says that one such cell can power a light bulb while a stack of sixty-four can power a coffee shop. ‘Compared to the US national grid this is about twice as efficient,’ Sridhar claims, ‘so your carbon footprint is halved. And if you use a renewable fuel you are carbon neutral.’
Key to the advance of fuel cells is design and materials technology. Fuel cell makers need to ensure that they generate heat and power at least as efficiently as conventional methods and at no greater cost.
Over the last decade much attention has been directed at the motor industry, where hydrogen fuel cells have been touted as the successor to the petrol engine. One hurdle here has been the need for a network of hydrogen filling stations to match that of gasoline stations. While this is not going to happen soon at a national level, it can do so at a local level.
London ’s mayor Boris Johnson has promised six hydrogen filling stations in the capital by 2012. This should be sufficient to keep up to fifty taxis and one hundred and fifty hydrogen-powered buses on the road. Already a taxi cab that runs on the latest fuel cell technology has been developed and the aim is to have it in use in time for the Olympic Games.
And fuel cell technology is being taken very seriously by the major carmakers, too.
Big name manufacturers Daimler, Hyundai, Honda and Toyota have all announced plans to have fuel cell vehicles available for the consumer market by 2015. And according to a recently published report by Pike Research ‘by 2014 fuel cell vehicles will be a commercial reality and by 2020 over 2.8 million fuel cell powered cars and trucks will have been sold.’
And it’s not just in transport. Progress is being made in other areas too.
This week AIM-quoted IdaTech (ticker: IDA) revealed that its fuel cell systems had been used to power the floating Olympic Rings in Vancouver’s harbour. It has also recently sold four hundred of its fuel cell units to provide backup power for telecom networks in India and Asia.
Could this little UK company be the Henry Ford of the fuel cell world?
Bit by bit Sir William Grove’s vision is becoming a reality. Fuel cells can provide cheap, clean energy. But the key is to do what Henry Ford did for the motor industry – designing them for the mass market.
I know of one little penny share company that is doing just that. I’ve written about it in detail in the new issue of my premium service, Red Hot Penny Shares. Look out for that this coming Saturday.
It’s a great story and a rumour has reached me of an impending research report that will argue that this company’s share price should be ten times its present level (that’s 900%!) I don’t know about that – but I’m targeting a return of 257% for investors who get into this one at the current price.
The story behind this exciting little company has yet to make it into the mainstream news yet. But by ‘intercepting’ the news… and getting in early… we should be able to capture a great deal of the upside if this is as good as it looks.
You can access this stock when you check out my Red Hot Penny Shares newsletter. Also in this month’s issue, I’ve got two other great penny share ideas:
- A China-backed junior miner that’s poised above the last high-grade source of its commodity in the world… look for its share price to multiply in less than a month!
- How one shrewd deal put this niche drug firm on my profit ‘red alert’… how you can gain exposure at a rock-bottom price…
Best regards,
Tom Bulford
For The Penny Sleuth
P.S. Remember, you can get all my research including the latest issue of Red Hot Penny Shares when you take a no-obligation trial subscription. If you decide it’s not for you, you can cancel within three months and still keep all of my research. But you’ve lost nothing and you can carry on just with Penny Sleuth.
Let me ask you a quick question. If I’m correct, you like reading the Penny Sleuth, right? That’s where you find out about some of my early stage ideas. And you understand that these are not fully researched recommendations. Well, you can also get my real, specific, deep analysis and potentially explosive penny share recommendations. They are the stocks I’m staking my reputation on. To get these, all you need to do is take the next step up. (And you’ll be surprised at just how little it costs!)
Read about Red Hot Penny Shares and take your trial here.
Red Hot Penny Shares is a regulated product issued by Fleet Street Publications ltd. Forecasts are not a reliable indicator of future results. Commissions, fees and other charges can reduce returns from investments. Your capital is at risk when you invest in shares, never risk more than you can afford to lose. Penny shares can be relatively illiquid and hard to trade. There can be a large bid/offer spread so if you need to sell soon after you’ve bought, you might get less back than you paid. This can make them riskier than other investments. Please seek advice if necessary. 0207 633 3600.
P.P.S. If you want to follow the insights of a small company investor, and uncover the hidden gems of the stock market, find out more about The Penny Sleuth by clicking here.
