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saved by2 people, first byWade Roush on 2008-04-01, last byHans De Keulenaer on 2008-04-03

• Acumentrics, in fact, is moving toward commercial production of a compact fuel cell system to power and heat homes. Working with the Italian heating products company Merloni TermoSanitari, Acumentrics hopes to get these household units, small enough to hang on a wall, into European markets by 2010. Estimated price: $5,200.

• Acumentrics is one of about 40 Massachusetts firms developing fuel cell technology that someday may power everything from military outposts to cellphones. The basic workings of fuel cells were discovered in the first half of the 19th century, with the first practical fuel cell invented about a century later. In subsequent decades, NASA greatly advanced the technology, using it to generate electricity during space missions.

  More recently, soaring oil prices and growing environmental concerns have boosted interest and investment in fuel cells, with Massachusetts firms attracting tens of millions of dollars in venture capital. Acumentrics, however, is among the closest to commercializing its technology, according to the Renewable Energy Trust, which invests in the state's alternative energy industry.

  "They have proven the basic technology and developed a commodity product that can go into a house," said Karl Jessen, economic development officer at the Renewable Energy Trust. "They are certainly going to be one of the first to market."