April 28, 2008
Shop Talk: Thinking Outside The Cell
Scott Pearson joined Southborough-based Protonex Technology Corp. in 2004, four years after the company was founded. The fuel cell maker now has 85 employees and its stock is publicly traded on the London stock exchange. Fuel cells have been hyped for years as a promising way to create "green" energy, and Protonex will soon begin marketing its technology to consumers. Here, Pearson talks about company's evolution as well as the folly in many planned applications for fuel cells.
We're actually quite different from where we started. I think we started in the typical garage fashion. It was three guys, none of them getting paid, inventing technology and it was all around the fuel cell stack. We started off as a component company selling fuel cell stacks, which is the core, like an engine block. But now we make full systems. The other main difference is that when we started off, we focused on government military contracts almost exclusively because they paid the bills. We still do a lot of those, but we're also pressing forward on commercial, non-military products.
I think it's changing now, in pockets. What the problem has been is that fuel cell companies traditionally have gone at applications that have no business using fuel cells. They sound good, but when you really say okay, 'What is it going to take to put a fuel cell in there and what's the value?' It takes a lot and the value is negligible or negative. I'll give you an example: automobiles. You put a fuel cell in an automobile, it sounds great but there are fundamental big issues that I don't see going away for decades.
If you had a small motor home and you wanted to charge your batteries, you could run your main engine, but that's loud, vibrating, it smells and it's not efficient because you're running a big engine to run a small electrical system. Your other choice is to buy a small Honda generator and run that. Now that's even louder, even dirtier and less efficient than the big engine and it shakes. The other option is to put a small fuel cell in an RV. It can monitor the battery and as you use power, the fuel cell can click on and turn fuel into power. And you wouldn't hear it, smell it or feel it vibrate.
It's still pretty tight. Finding good people quickly is challenging. We eventually do it, but it's hard. We have a pretty attractive place to come to work so that helps, but it doesn't make it easy.
First of all, I like small companies, because they can be very efficient, they can move quickly, they can focus and they can change rapidly. I like being nimble. The other reason is that we're doing something that no one's ever done before.
Make prototypes as quickly as you can. Selling concepts is more difficult. However, don't make products until you're quite certain that you've understood and defined the markets. Get something that works quickly, but don't spend millions and millions of dollars making a product until you know it's going to turn into something.
Where is the company in terms of its development from a startup?
Scott Pearson, CEO, Protonex Technology Corp.
We're actually quite different from where we started. I think we started in the typical garage fashion. It was three guys, none of them getting paid, inventing technology and it was all around the fuel cell stack. We started off as a component company selling fuel cell stacks, which is the core, like an engine block. But now we make full systems. The other main difference is that when we started off, we focused on government military contracts almost exclusively because they paid the bills. We still do a lot of those, but we're also pressing forward on commercial, non-military products.
Fuel cells have generally been regarded skeptically by the public. When will that change?
I think it's changing now, in pockets. What the problem has been is that fuel cell companies traditionally have gone at applications that have no business using fuel cells. They sound good, but when you really say okay, 'What is it going to take to put a fuel cell in there and what's the value?' It takes a lot and the value is negligible or negative. I'll give you an example: automobiles. You put a fuel cell in an automobile, it sounds great but there are fundamental big issues that I don't see going away for decades.
Can you give me an example of where you think fuel cells will work?
If you had a small motor home and you wanted to charge your batteries, you could run your main engine, but that's loud, vibrating, it smells and it's not efficient because you're running a big engine to run a small electrical system. Your other choice is to buy a small Honda generator and run that. Now that's even louder, even dirtier and less efficient than the big engine and it shakes. The other option is to put a small fuel cell in an RV. It can monitor the battery and as you use power, the fuel cell can click on and turn fuel into power. And you wouldn't hear it, smell it or feel it vibrate.
With the growth that you've had, how have you found the local talent poll?
It's still pretty tight. Finding good people quickly is challenging. We eventually do it, but it's hard. We have a pretty attractive place to come to work so that helps, but it doesn't make it easy.
What makes you come to work everyday?
First of all, I like small companies, because they can be very efficient, they can move quickly, they can focus and they can change rapidly. I like being nimble. The other reason is that we're doing something that no one's ever done before.
Do you have any advice for technology startup? What are the lessons you've learned?
Make prototypes as quickly as you can. Selling concepts is more difficult. However, don't make products until you're quite certain that you've understood and defined the markets. Get something that works quickly, but don't spend millions and millions of dollars making a product until you know it's going to turn into something.
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