An anonymous director reports

BALLARD FUEL CELL MODULES POWERING ZERO-EMISSION BUS FLEET IN ABERDEEN, SCOTLAND

Ballard Power Systems Inc. congratulates Aberdeen City Council and Van Hool NV, Europe's fourth largest bus manufacturer, on delivery of the first four buses powered by Ballard's 150-kilowatt FCvelocity-HD6 fuel cell module. The remaining six buses of a 10-bus fleet will be delivered to transit agencies in Aberdeen in the coming weeks.

Arrival of the first buses signals a significant step forward in the Aberdeen hydrogen bus project, the highest-profile project among a range of projects designed to create a hydrogen economy in the city, and the ultimate fleet of 10 buses will be Europe's largest hydrogen fuel cell bus fleet. These first four buses performed flawlessly on the 250-kilometre (150-mile) journey from the port at Rosyth to the city of Aberdeen.

The Aberdeen hydrogen bus project is a large-scale bus demonstration program, led by Aberdeen City Council. The program will evaluate the economic and environmental benefits of hydrogen transport technologies, with the aim of driving further hydrogen technology development and deployment. Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles emit no harmful emissions and are virtually noise free.

The buses will be officially launched at the All-Energy Exhibition and Conference, organized by the Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group, and being held on May 21 and 22. Initial deployments will begin in May with two local transit operators -- First and Stagecoach -- and the full contingent of buses will be in operation on routes across the city by fall.

Ballard's sixth-generation FCvelocity-HD6 fuel cell module features a control unit, which interfaces with a system controller, making it a plug-and-play product for any fuel cell or hybrid fuel cell bus platform. The module also offers significant advances in durability, power density and fuel efficiency compared with earlier-generation products.

Ballard's current generation fuel cell power module has been delivering a high level of performance in European buses. In 2013, for example, Ballard fuel cell modules delivered greater than 97-per-cent availability in buses currently operating in the cities of London and Amsterdam. Approximately 40 buses operating in Europe are expected to be powered by Ballard fuel cell modules this year.

Increased volumes of fuel-cell-powered buses are supporting cost and price reductions through scale of economies, enabling fuel cell solutions to compete more effectively with incumbent transit technologies.