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Plug Power to Receive US$217M Investment

Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ: PLUG) has announced that Interros, a major Russian investment firm, and Norilsk Nickel, the world’s largest producer of nickel and palladium, agreed to make a $217 million cash investment in Plug Power. The investment is being made through Smart Hydrogen, a joint venture of the principal Interros investors and Norilsk Nickel, which was formed to participate in the global hydrogen economy. “We view this as a transformational investment for Plug Power,” said Dr. Roger Saillant, president and chief executive officer of Plug Power. “After this investment closes, Plug Power will have approximately $285 million in cash and marketable securities and be well positioned to accelerate and broaden our business strategy. We are extremely grateful to our employees, investors, customers, partners and suppliers who collectively have positioned our company as a leader, enabling Plug Power to attract this ground-breaking investment.” The parties have entered into a definitive agreement for the investment and the transaction is expected to close this summer, subject to approval by Plug Power’s shareholders, regulatory approvals, including Hart-Scott-Rodino antitrust clearance, and customary closing conditions. “With the aim of pursuing a significant investment, in early 2005 we began a nearly year-long review of the global […]

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Praxair China Signs 15-Year Supply Contract

Praxair China has entered into a new long-term agreement with Lianzhong (Guangzhou) Stainless Steel Corp. (Lianzhong) for the supply of oxygen, nitrogen and argon to its stainless steel works, which is under construction in the Guangzhou Economic and Technology Development Zone (GETDD). Praxair China will build, own and operate a state-of-the-art air separation plant due for commissioning in the fourth quarter of 2006 to supply high volumes of pipeline oxygen, nitrogen and argon to Lianzhong. The facility will provide a backup supply of merchant liquid products to the local market. Invested in by Taiwan-based Yieh United Steel Corp. (YUSCO), one of the largest integrated stainless steel mills in Southeast Asia and the world’s seventh-largest stainless steel producer, Lianzhong is China’s first overseas-invested integrated stainless steel company. It will be the largest stainless producer in Southern China. The first phase of the project currently produces 300,000 tons per year of cold rolled stainless steel coils. Phase II, which will begin production in late 2006, will produce 800,000 tons of stainless steel slabs and hot rolled coils. Commenting on this new development, Praxair China President David Chow said, “This agreement is of great importance for the company. It reinforces our confidence in […]

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Intermagnetics Subsidiary Wins $500K Grant

Intermagnetics General Corporation (Nasdaq: IMGC) subsidiary, Invivo Corporation, has been awarded a $500,000 Department of Defense grant to develop an integrated hardware and software system that will enable high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of traumatic brain injuries and promote substantially more effective diagnosis and treatment in many difficult cases. Invivo is partnering with the Office of Naval Research on the project. Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) is scheduled to formally announce the award during an appearance at Invivo’s Gainesville, Florida facility today at 9:00 AM EDT. “Brain injury is the second leading cause of battlefield deaths, and this grant is intended to provide a means of diagnosis and treatment that, in many cases, is not totally reliable under current procedures,” Stearns said. “We owe it to our wounded military personnel returning from combat duty to have the best possible care available.” Tom Schubert, chief technology officer of Invivo, added: “We believe Invivo’s advanced MRI radio frequency coils, which enable highly detailed organ-specific imaging, combined with modifications to our innovative DynaCad computer-aided diagnostic system will provide the solution the military is seeking. “Currently,” Schubert added, “computed tomography (CT) is the main radiological tool for diagnosing traumatic brain injury patients. Yet every radiologist […]

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Cape Wind Project Threatened in Closed-Door Deal

By American Wind Energy Association A provision written specifically to stop the proposed Cape Wind project slated for offshore Nantucket Sound in Massachusetts was tucked into a bill that was voted out of committee on Thursday, April 6. No hearings had been held on the provision. The bill containing the provision still must be approved by the full House and Senate, which will be on spring recess over the next two weeks. The action came when members of a House-Senate conference committee approved a final compromise version of an $8.7 billion Coast Guard authorization bill containing language allowing the Governor of Massachusetts the unrestricted power to veto the project. Current Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney (R) is on the record opposing the Cape Wind project. Leading the effort to stop the Cape Wind project by adding the veto provision to the bill were Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens (R) and Alaska Rep. Don Young (R), senior Congressional negotiators on the bill. In addition, “Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) spoke to Sen. Stevens in support of this provision,” said Kennedy spokesperson Melissa Wagoner, who was quoted in an April 7 story by the Associated Press. Cape Wind Associates President Jim Gordon said, “This 11 […]

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