Ballard Power Systems Inc.
A maker of proton exchange membrane fuel cells, Ballard Power Systems turns hydrogen and oxygen into electricity for buses, trucks, trains, marine vessels, and forklifts — with only water and heat as byproducts. Founded in 1979 by Canadian geophysicist Geoffrey Ballard as Ballard Research Inc., the company started out developing high-energy lithium batteries before pivoting to fuel cells in 1983. Ballard was dubbed the "father of the fuel cell industry," a mission rooted in his childhood habit of imagining himself as an ancient knight sworn to solve the world's energy problems.