I always thought that fuel cell companies work in unglamorous industrial estates. Well Hoku Scientific - hoku is hawaiian for star - works out of Hawaii.

Their IPO was launched at $6 two days ago, closed down disappointingly at $5.36 but closed up yesterday at $6.40.

What makes this company unusual in the fuel cell business is that it is concentrating on the membrane components, not the whole fuel cell. It also enjoys backing from Sanyo. The target market is to provide membranes for a 1kw fuel cell for the japanese market - priced at about $5000.

There are quite a few companies looking to break into the domestic market for fuel cells. It just might happen in Japan first - where consumers already accept very high energy costs.