Millennium Cell has just posted improved Q3 results, although still making a loss.

The company calls itself the "Hydrogen Battery Technology Company" and sees its future markets as military, medical, industrial and consumer.

Of particular recent interest here though is the military market, for which they have developed a 30 watt battery pack together with Protonex Technology Corporation.

The U.S. Army is funding the development of a portable 30 watt soldier power product (the "P2").

MC CEO H. David Ramm said "We expect the Air Force to begin field testing early next year and Protonex to begin low volume shipments to support this effort in early 2006".  Mr. Ramm continued, "While the military has clearly emerged as our lead market in the near term, we view the P2 as an attractive replacement for batteries in selected applications in the medical and industrial markets".

This won't be the first time that military investment has made possible a product on consumer markets.

Dustin Shindo, CEO of Hoku Scientific, Inc. today presided over the opening bell to celebrate its initial public offering on the NASDAQ - the first Hawaian company ever to do so.

Hoku Scientific Inc., a fuel-cell technology developer that went public in early August, has since then doubled its stock price after a mighty rise in mid-September. It has also just posted its third straight profitable quarter and is currently trading at $11.47.

To find a quoted fuel cell company that makes money is a true rarity.

To find it is located in Hawaii is extraordinary.

Ahead of the AGM yesterday, London AIM listed Voller Energy Plc issued a very upbeat statement. The group, "believes it is on course to be one of the first fuel cell companies in the world to reach profitability."

Voller also announced the resignation of Chief Technical Officer Mark Turpin after joining the group's technical team in February 2005. 

Hard-headed investors must like Voller's law :

"Consumers will not pay a premium to be environmentally friendly nor will they accept a performance degradation to be environmentally friendly".

I'm not sure it's true though.

Take a look at the Toyota Prius - not only are consumers paying a premium, it's pretty ugly too !

According to a recent report by PwC, the revenues of 20 listed fuel cell companies declined from 2003 - 2004 and none of them are profitable. According to the report's co-author, John Webster, "It's unique in our experience. The sector has always shown reasonably healthy increases in revenues".

On the bright side, Distributed Energy Systems made a 450% gain in revenues.

I still think fuel  cells other than in the portable throwaway market are still some way off.