Hi Rgdk,I asked the same Q at the open day recently, and will...

Hi Rgdk,

I asked the same Q at the open day recently, and will answer off the top of my head.

from what i was told, the only thing that would need replacing would be the fuel stack itself.

as it would have, we were lucky to witness this process being done as we approached a small group within the factory doing this very thing. was told it is a very simple process, as simple as lifting the spent stack out and lowering a new one in its place, and away u go. we assumed that a trained plumber could quite easily handle this task without too much complication.

other info i gathered from others on the day
the stack is envisioned (targeting) to last at least 4.5 yrs of continual use, but was given the proposition that the stacks could be used as long as u wanted right until it stops working.
it was highlighted that the stack doesn't just stop working suddenly, but degrades in a linear fashion, and theoretically could be used well past this time frame, depending on the utilities need to refresh a stack.

I Suppose its just like a rechargeable battery that u may use, even though it may not last as long after sustained use, if it can still at least hold a charge, u may as well keep using it if u can accept having to recharge it more often...this i see as a scenario the number crunchers of the utilities will be needing to work out once in the field.

So to answer your question, I'm assuming yes to a recurring revenue stream of replacement stacks. Is this good or bad, well i think its a fine line between securing future business via replacement parts, but also a need to be seen as a good long term product without having to reinvest to often...out of my realm, so not sure myself. I assumed also that the utility would be footing the bill to replace a stack, anyone else have other info they could share on this?

Hope I made sense
Cheers
Rich