Rating: 
Summary: Almost there
Review: ....I believe Mr. Koppel had a tough choice in crafting book - how to tell the story of the company and the personalities involved, while at the same time explain the technology - which is quite fascinating and a topic of its own. To achieve this and not end up with a 1000 page text is a hard thing to do. However - I wish they had made a choice on covering one topic and doing it justice - in this case the story of the company and the personalities involved. Koppel managed to gloss over ...some (to me) very significant episodes in the history of the firm. Perhaps he was not privy to all the details - but that in itself is a confusing issue as well. It seems he had access to Geoffrey Ballard and Fairoz Rasul - but does mention that Rasul told him that Ballard Power Systems would not assist in the creation of this book. The timing of this statement is not clear - did it happen while the book was being researched or after or before? This also leads to another problem in the accounts - they are very Geoffrey Ballard centric and as the book explains - Ballard was a powerful personality and therefore (assumption here) prone to being very opinionated. One wonders how much of the other 2 sides of the story ... we are missing. Furthermore, Ballard was not actively involved in the company when it really made its transformation from R&D focused niche player to commercial entity. That period, to me as a student of organizational behaviour, would have been very rich in detail on how the company managed the change, got the message across, set its strategy, executed at the tactical level, protected its interests, won or lost on the issues, etc. All of that is given a summary passing over "obstacles were overcome ...", "effeciencies were increased...", etc. That left me sort of hanging. I commend the book for taking on a very rich subject and trying to navigate the highlights. But that tactic left me just short of being really enlightened about either fuel cell technology or growing a small niche business into a viable commercial entity. Thus the mediocre score.
Rating: 
Summary: Let the Hydrogen Revolution Begin!
Review: Founder Geoff Ballard lived by the words "Dare to be in a hurry to change things for the better." Powering the Future is a story about Geoff Ballard and a small team of people that stuck together and pioneered PEM fuel cell technology. Ballard, the company, does not endorse the book because of the bad blood that existed between the new leadership and the old guard. It's hard to say who was right but the survival of the fuel cell required partnering with companies like DaimlerChrysler and Ford Motor Company. It also required a lot of PR talent that the the founder did not have. The book has an excellent overview of how a fuel cell works. Once you read it you will learn how fuel cells work and how the hydrogen economy can one day transform the world. Ballard, the company, continues to have awesome potential and a lot of talented people working there. I know because I work there too.
Rating:
Summary: A great introduction to how the fuel cell evolved
Review: Founder Geoff Ballard lived by the words "Dare to be in a hurry to change things for the better." Powering the Future is a story about Geoff Ballard and a small team of people that stuck together and pioneered PEM fuel cell technology. Ballard, the company, does not endorse the book because of the bad blood that existed between the new leadership and the old guard. It's hard to say who was right but the survival of the fuel cell required partnering with companies like DaimlerChrysler and Ford Motor Company. It also required a lot of PR talent that the the founder did not have. The book has an excellent overview of how a fuel cell works. Once you read it you will learn how fuel cells work and how the hydrogen economy can one day transform the world. Ballard, the company, continues to have awesome potential and a lot of talented people working there. I know because I work there too.
Rating:
Summary: Great, objective viewpoints about Ballard.
Review: Koppel certainly did his homework, starting from square one right on through to the present. With careful character development, you were on the roller coaster of emotions of the company's three founders. Essential reading for any environmentalists, technologists and of course Ballard investors. The most important trait of the book is that the author really addresses why and how fuelcell technology has enormous potential in large scale applications - and how it is not the freakish, niche market technology that oil companies have labeled it as. I found myself engrossed for the bulk majority of the book, but as the climax approached the level of intensity and excitement waned slightly. However, by that point I was already thoroughly impressed with the saga and needed little more convincing of the points that Koppel was driving home.
Rating:
Summary: Let the Hydrogen Revolution Begin!
Review: The Hydrogen revolution has started with the unexpected emergence and success of fuel cell maker Ballard Power Systems. This is a very exciting industry. We are looking towards a future of abundant clean energy. Greenland is racing to become the first ever hydrogen economy, extricating itself from the reliance on foreign oil, and positioning itself as a possible future exporter of hydrogen. Oil companies are scrambling to redefine themselves as "energy companies." Innovative companies such as Energy Conversion Devices have come up with technologies allowing safe hydrogen storage. I suggest this book for anyone interested in environment and the future of energy.
Rating: 
Summary: Fuel Cells in Your Future
Review: This book is a great case study in management and innovation. It shows once again that a small group of dedicated individuals can compete successfully against much larger competitors. Fuel cells have long been successful in space craft. Soon you will be able to use them in your vehicles and buildings. Utility power plants typically discard about 60% of the heat energy from fuel. A fuel cell in your home would provide electricity efficiently. Instead of discarding the heat, you could use the fuel cell to heat your water everyday and provide some winter space heating. A fuel cell in your vehicle will increase fuel efficiency and eliminate the need for oil changes. About 40 cubic miles of crude oil remain available for more than six billion people, and we are consuming more than one cubic mile each year. By helping to reduce fuel consumption, fuel cells will help us to delay and reduce the severity of the coming shortages of fossil fuels.
Rating:
Summary: How to enjoy car driving as well as enviromental protection
Review: This is a fascinating book for people who are interested in technology as well as in enviroment. It is easy to read and to understand. In a lively way it tells us the story (always a "mystery") how a group of determined people are able to achive a technological break through and financial success. More than that: It gives us an idea how a technology, the fuell cell, is working and the way in which this technology will change our living in the cities within the comming decades: Cars moving around without pollution and without noise! It probably will be great funn. It was a pleasure reading this book. It actually enlarged my horizon.
Rating:
Summary: A good story about a start-up company
Review: This is a good book about Ballard Fuel Cell Company. It tells the story about taking the fuel-cell technology for electricity production from an oddity used in space to mass-market commercialization. The process is still going on so the book cannot conclude that Ballard has reached their goal, but the book does a good job explaining how Ballard reached their current state.
From a technical point of view one can argue that the author focuses too much on fuel cell development and too little on the necessary hydrogen delivery infrastructure, which is required to operate the fuel cells.
The book is also a good study in growing a start-up company. It shows how the founding entrepreneur pushes the idea forward until the company reaches a size where people with other qualities are needed to run the company. It shows how a company with hardly any products on the market can retain the public interest by carefully manage the information flow. Finally the book shows that it is possible for a relative small company to start development relationships with big multinational companies and still retain most of their independence.
Rating:
Summary: excellent history and biography
Review: This is an excellent history of the Ballard fuel cell and biography of Geoffrey Ballard, the man behind the Ballard fuel cell.
The writing is excellent, and his ability to explain the super technical process of Hydrogen fuel cell technology, in terms that lay people can completly understand, keeps you from putting this book down.
I really hope that Tom Koppel keeps up on this company, and the industry in whole, and writes another book as good as this one, keeping us updated on the supersonic speed of advancement in this Incredible field of energy.
I loved this book.
Rating:
Summary: excellent history and biography
Review: This is an excellent history of the Ballard fuel cell and biography of Geoffrey Ballard, the man behind the Ballard fuel cell.
The writing is excellent, and his ability to explain the super technical process of Hydrogen fuel cell technology, in terms that lay people can completly understand, keeps you from putting this book down.
I really hope that Tom Koppel keeps up on this company, and the industry in whole, and writes another book as good as this one, keeping us updated on the supersonic speed of advancement in this Incredible field of energy.
I loved this book.
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