HydroGen to cut nearly two-thirds of work force (OH)

Source: Crain Communications Inc.

1:46 pm, May 28, 2008

HydroGen Corp. (Nasdaq: HYDG) of Cleveland, which makes air-cooled phosphoric acid fuel cell systems, said it’s cutting 76 employees and independent contractors, or about 64% of its work force of about 120 people, and is considering a sale of the company.

The job cuts come at the company's operations in Cleveland, Ashtabula and Versailles, Pa.

In a statement, HydroGen CEO John Freeh said, "While we have made significant strides in advancing our technology to the commercialization stage, we must face the reality of the difficult equity market we find ourselves in.”

Mr. Freeh said the cuts are “required to provide additional time for us to pursue several different funding strategies that we are considering, including the sale of the company. By implementing this immediate cost savings initiative, we are taking the actions needed to best position our company for the future."

HydroGen chief financial officer Scott Schecter did not immediately return a phone call or an e-mail Wednesday afternoon.



Read more: http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20080528/FREE/634586345/1088&Profile=1088

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This won't hurt Cleveland.... :sarcasm:

Like usual.

And we will never replace the natural gas or the electrical infrastructure with a hydrogen infrastructure, so this technology is already dead. Investors are buying wind farms and photovoltaic manufacturing plants instead.

this is horseshit."

The idea that you can develop the fuel cell tech, AND put in place a huge infrastructure that currently doesn't exist at all, AND find a cheap source of Hydrogen, AND do all this so fast that you stay out in front of advances in rechargeable battery tech or biofuel production methods... is silly.

http://blog.cleveland.com/business/2008/05/cashstrapped...

The company said Wednesday that it has cut 76 employees and contractors, reducing its work force by 64 percent. Of those, 15 worked at the company's headquarters on the Case Western Reserve University campus or were stationed at the ASHTA Chemicals Inc. plant in Ashtabula County, where HydroGen began testing a 400,000-watt fuel cell last month. The company previously employed about 35 people in Northeast Ohio

The company moved its headquarters to Cleveland from the Pittsburgh area in 2005 after receiving the first of three grants from the Ohio Department of Development. To date, it has been approved for $2.77 million through the state's Third Frontier Project, a $1.6 billion state program to spur high-tech business, research and jobs. The latest $525,000 award, announced in March, has not yet been granted to the company.

(See http://pittsburgh.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2005/09/12/story4.html)

"The department won't move forward until we have a better understanding of the company's plans for the future in Ohio," said Melissa Vince, a Development Department spokeswoman.

In January, HydroGen announced a partnership with Samsung Corp. to market and sell five-megawatt hydrogen fuel-cell power plants, designed by HydroGen, in Asia and the Middle East. The deal gave Samsung the right to buy HydroGen's designs and the plants themselves for the purpose of selling electricity and heat as an independent power producer. The agreement, terms of which were not released, extends through 2015. (Added emphasis)


Also, apparently there's some research competition out of Ohio State University/Athens, OH?

http://www.americanhydrogencorporation.com/aboutus.html
A subsidiary of American Security Resources Corp. Hmmmm...

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