America's fuel cell footprint is growing tremendously, helping to keep the United States at pace - and even ahead in some applications - of determined and growing international competition. More than 50 MW of stationary fuel cells were either installed or purchased and 1,500 fuel cell forklifts deployed or ordered in the United States since April 2010, according to a new report, "State of the States: Fuel Cells in America 2011" by Fuel Cells 2000.

America's fuel cell footprint is growing tremendously, helping to keep the United States at pace - and even ahead in some applications - of determined and growing international competition. More than 50 MW of stationary fuel cells were either installed or purchased and 1,500 fuel cell forklifts deployed or ordered in the United States since April 2010, according to a new report, "State of the States: Fuel Cells in America 2011" by Fuel Cells 2000.

The report provides comprehensive state by state coverage of policies, deployments, installations and funding occurring in the past year. In its 2010 report, "State of the States: Fuel Cells in America," Fuel Cells 2000 singled out California, Connecticut, New York, Ohio and South Carolina as leaders in moving the industry forward in the U.S. These "Top 5" states continue their reign in 2011, but several other states are hot on their heels. Fuel Cells 2000 selected Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Maryland, and Texas as "Up and Coming" states to watch.

Other impressive numbers from the report:

• A dozen current or soon to be opened fuel cell installations are in the megawatt (MW) range - between 1.2 and 2.8 MW in size each - in California alone.
• 30 fuel cell or hydrogen-powered buses were either put on the road or plans were announced for deployment in numerous states, including AL, CA, CT, DE, IL, MA, MI, OH, SC, TN and TX.
• By the end of 2011, California plans to have at least 20 public hydrogen vehicle fueling stations operating or under construction, and Hawaii announced plans to open 25 stations in Oahu by 2015.
• Fuel cell companies are adding jobs. Bloom Energy, for example, greatly expanded its California operations and announced plans to open a manufacturing facility in Delaware. ClearEdge Power increased its workforce by more than 500% in past year. Bing Energy relocated to Florida, with hundreds of jobs predicted for the state.

"Supportive state policies are helping foster fuel cell installations, company relocations and growth to help keep the U.S. at the forefront of fuel cell commercialization, despite competition from countries such as Japan, Korea, and Germany," says Jennifer Gangi, program director for Fuel Cells 2000 and one of the authors of the report. "Continued federal and state support is crucial to moving the emerging fuel cell industry into full-fledged commercialization for a wide variety of applications and power needs."

"State of the States: Fuel Cells in America 2011" features a foreword by Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy, details on all the fuel cell activity in the Top 5, the Up and Coming states, and the rest of the U.S. in each state listing, as well as more fuel cell resources in the Appendices. Download the report for free at: http://www.fuelcells.org/statereport.html.