Successful mass market adoption of fuel cells to be driven by active endorsement of standards

Successful mass market adoption of fuel cells to be driven by active endorsement of standards

TORONTO, Sep 28, 2004 Canada NewsWire

If fuel cell and other alternative energy technologies are to be successfully adopted into mass market applications, government and industry leaders in Canada and around the globe need to be actively involved in the endorsement of standards, Pat Keindel, President, Standards, Canadian Standards Association (CSA) told attendees today at the Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Conference 2004 in Toronto.

"By creating consistency, uniformity and interchangeability, standards help speed up the development of alternative energy technologies and can help smooth the adoption process," says Keindel. "We have seen in the IT industry how common protocols have helped build market growth. Similarly, by developing standards relating to green house gas emissions, Canada has an opportunity to bring world-leading technologies and services, as well as sound environmental policies, to the fore."

CSA has more than a decade of proven experience in providing solutions for the fuel cell industry, including publishing the world's first fuel cell standard, revised as the new ANSI/CSA America FC 1-2004, Stationary Fuel Cell Power Systems standard (FC 1). The newest standard incorporates the latest industry technologies and includes new requirements for fuels such as hydrogen gas, methanol, ethanol, kerosene, diesel, gasoline, zinc particulate, as well as natural gas, methane gas mixtures and liquefied petroleum gases.

Other alternative energy initiatives by CSA include: - The publication of the first of 15 new leading-edge standards developed for the global use of fuel cells - The development of a new standard that will set requirements for the process of extracting hydrogen from fuels, such as natural gas, to power fuel cells - The certification of the first-ever fuel cell power systems to the new FC 1 standard - The development of standards for the interconnection of renewable energy - such as wind, solar power, biomass or fuel cells - into the power distribution grid - The development of standards on behalf of the U.S. Department of Energy for hydrogen products and systems - Administering the world's most recognized environmental management system standards, the ISO 14000 series

About CSA

Canadian Standards Association (CSA) is a membership association serving industry, government, consumers and other interested parties in Canada and the global marketplace. A leading developer of standards and codes, CSA aims to enhance public safety, improve quality of life, preserve the environment and facilitate trade. To help people understand and apply standards, CSA offers information products and training. The Canadian Standards Association is a division of CSA Group, which also consists of CSA International for product testing and certification, and QMI for management systems registration. For more information visit www.csa.ca.

VIEW ADDITIONAL COMPANY-SPECIFIC INFORMATION: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/orgDisplay.cgi?okey=53713

For further information: Contact: Anthony Toderian, Media Relations Officer, CSA Group, T: (416) 747-2620, E: anthony.toderian(at)csagroup.org

News release via Canada NewsWire, Toronto 416-863-9350

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