The growth of Burnaby’s fuel-cell cluster

Two decades ago, the business press breathlessly reported every development in B.C.’s hydrogen fuel cell community, centred in south Burnaby. At one point, fuel cells were widely believed to be the biggest thing in automotive propulsion since the internal combustion engine and one company, Ballard Power, was valued in the billions of dollars. Overhyped, that bubble popped. Today the industry is all but ignored, but it is nonetheless growing real revenues and creating jobs, largely thanks to investments by foreign automakers.