A Maxwell ultracapacitor

Fuel cell integrator Plug Power Inc is buying ultracapacitors from Maxwell Technologies Inc as a component for Plug Power's GenDrive units to power electric forklifts. Neither the value of the commercial order nor the identity of Plug Power's forklift customer was disclosed.

"This is a significant purchase order," says Mike Sund, vice president of communications and investor relations with San Diego-based Maxwell. "In earlier times, we were talking about prototyping. This is beyond that."

Plug Power ordered the Boostcap-brand 2,600-farad ultracapacitor cells in June and is accepting deliveries from Maxwell during the second half of 2008, according to Sund. Plug Power integrates fuel-cell-based power solutions for zero-emission electric forklifts and other continuous and back-up power applications.

Forklifts can use GenDrive power units as a replacement for lead-acid battery packs in electric forklift trucks, notes Andy Marsh, president and chief executive officer of Plug Power in Latham, New York.

"Productivity drives purchasing decisions in the material handling industry," Marsh says. "Integrating Maxwell's ultracapacitors into our fuel cell systems enhances the value of our GenDrive product for our customers. Ultracapacitors' burst power capabilities for lifting, as well as regenerative braking for energy recuperation and longer operating life, make them an ideal complement to hydrogen fuel cells in this application."

The linked technologies highlight "the synergy between hydrogen fuel cells' extended energy output and ultracapacitors' short duration burst power capabilities," David Schramm, Maxwell president and CEO, observes.

Maxwell has a long-standing relationship of supplying Plug Power and another business, General Hydrogen Corp of Richmond, British Columbia, Canada, which Plug Power acquired in May 2007 for about USD10 million.

Shares of Plug Power and Maxwell trade on the Nasdaq exchange.