Geoff Ballard, a Canadian pioneer of the fuel cell industry and founder of Ballard Power Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: BLDP), died on Saturday at the age of 76.
The cause of death was not disclosed.
Ballard, who was named by Time Magazine as one of its "Heroes for the Planet" in 1999, had a long and storied career as an entrepreneur and advocate for hydrogen power.
After working for Mobil Oil and the U.S. Army early in his career, he founded Ballard Power Systems in 1979. At one point he reportedly opened a restaurant to fund research in battery technology. But he will be remembered most for his unwavering belief in the future of hydrogen-based energy.
In 1993 Ballard developed the world’s first hydrogen-fuel-cell-powered, zero-emission transit bus. He served as the chairman of Ballard Power Systems until 1997.
In 1999 he founded General Hydrogen, which was bought by Plug Power Inc. (Nasdaq: PLUG) in 2007 for $10 million.
"His name will forever be associated with this company’s fuel cell products, which are being deployed as an energy source for applications in a growing number of important global markets," John Sheridan, Ballard’s president and CEO said in statement Tuesday.
Loading...