Fuel-cell company Hoku Scientific has filed for an IPO of $57.5 million in common stock to be traded on the Nasdaq Composite Index.

Fuel cells produce power by mixing fuel with air and water between a thin, reactive film membrane. The Kalihi, Hawaii-based company makes proton-exchange membranes, as well as membrane assemblies, for stationary and automotive fuel cells.

Piper Jaffray will underwrite the offering, and SG Cowen and Thomas Weisel Partners will manage it. Hoku’s venture-stage backers include Advantage Capital Partners and the Hawaiian Electric Industries.

In Hoku’s 2005 fiscal year, which ended March 31, the company lost $728,000, or $0.09 per share, on sales of $2.93 million. The pro-forma loss was $0.04 per share, assuming conversion of preferred shares to common stock. The company said it had an accumulated deficit of $6.5 million as of March 31.

Hoku plans to use about $6 million of the IPO proceeds to build a new facility, about $5 million for product R&D, and the rest for “working capital and other general corporate purposes,” according to the filing.

Hoku has contracts with Nissan and the U.S. Navy, and said it expects to depend on the two for “substantially all our revenue for the foreseeable future,” according to the SEC filing.

The company warned that its customers have not commercialized any products containing Hoku products and that it is still uncertain whether fuel cells will be successful. The filing states that if Hoku’s products, or fuel cells in general, don’t achieve market acceptance, the company could fail.