Powering the Future: The Ballard Fuel Cell and the Race to Change the World - Brossura

Koppel, Tom

Brossura

ISBN 10: 0471646296 ISBN 13: 9780471646297

Casa editrice: John Wiley & Sons Inc, 2001

Riassunto

Powering the Future tells the intriguing story of a tiny high-tech research company that developed one of the few truly revolutionary and transforming technologies of our era. Today, Ballard Power Systems is the world leader in fuel cell technology — a non-polluting energy source that could one day replace the internal combustion engine and power the cars of the future.

Geoffrey Ballard and a handful of colleagues — at the outset little more than "three guys and a prayer" — brought this neglected technology to the world. On gritty determination and a shoestring budget, they took fuel cells out of the lab and into the mainstream of business. They made the fuel cell smaller, cheaper, and vastly more powerful over an astonishingly short time — actually melting down cables as they realized a fifty-fold increase in power output.

Powering the Future not only chronicles the company's impressive rise against stiff odds and intense competition; it also teaches valuable lessons about vision and inspiration, creating a culture of loyalty and dedication, attracting and keeping talented people, and marketing and selling an underdog technology to the biggest players in the auto world. Powering the Future is the entertaining and inspirational account of how a tiny high-tech research company grew, and became poised to literally change the way we live.

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Recensione:

"...a great yarn of adventure, discovery and ambition. Koppel′s account covers all the bases, from personal to technological, presented with a veteran...journalist′s even–handed perspective. With most of the world′s automakers now looking closely at fuel–cell technology, the great tale has a lot of relevance to what we may see on our roads within the next decade or two."
John Terauds, Toronto Star

"This book tells the fascinating story of the development of the Ballard fuel cell and how a small Canadian company grew to world–class stature and went on to form partnerships with some of the largest companies in the world.... This book will appeal to a wide audience,...is entertaining and generally nontechnical.... I strongly recommend it."
Timothy E. Lipman, American Scientist

"Ballard′s rise from its humble beginnings in a makeshift lab in Arizona in the 1970s to its pivotal position today DaimlerChrysler and Ford both hold stakes in it makes compelling reading. And Mr. Koppel explains the technology in a way that the average reader can understand."
Fred Brock, New York Times

L'autore:

Tom Koppel is an award-winning freelance writer. He has contributed feature articles on business, science, history, and travel to national magazines in Canada and the U.S. for nearly twenty years. He has been following the story of the Ballard fuel cell for over ten years, and first wrote about it for the Financial Post Magazine and Reader's Digest. He lives on Salt Spring Island, British Columbia. Powering the Future is his second book.

Su questa edizione

• Editore: John Wiley & Sons Inc
• Data di pubblicazione: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0471646296
• ISBN 13: 9780471646297
• Rilegatura: Copertina flessibile
• Numero edizione: 1
• Numero di pagine: 288