Geoff Ballard | Developed fuel cell, 76
Geoff Ballard, 76, a Canadian pioneer of the fuel-cell industry and an entrepreneur whom Time Magazine once named one of its "Heroes for the Planet," died Saturday in Toronto.
Geoff Ballard, 76, a Canadian pioneer of the fuel-cell industry and an entrepreneur whom Time Magazine once named one of its "Heroes for the Planet," died Saturday in Toronto.
Mr. Ballard developed the world's first hydrogen-fuel-cell-powered, zero-emission transit bus. Science World, a science center in Vancouver, British Columbia, unveiled the vehicle in 1993. In 1979, he founded Ballard Power Systems Inc., which makes hydrogen fuel cells that are used in materials handling, residential cogeneration, backup power and transportation. He served as chairman of the company until 1997.
In 1999, he started General Hydrogen, which was bought by Plug Power Inc. last year for $10 million. In 1999, Time Magazine named Mr. Ballard one of its Heroes, alongside the environmental work of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his partner John Cronin.
- Associated Press