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Common stock ownership percentage

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Common stock, shares outstanding prior to reverse split

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Future License Fees To Be Paid

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License fee and royalty income

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long-term stack residual value

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loss reserve on service agreements

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project assets current and noncurrent

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Reduced royalty percentage

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reserve for performance guarantees

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royalty percentage

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Royalty fee payment for reduction in royalty rate

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Percent of consolidated revenue by customer.

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Upfront License Fee

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- Definition

The maximum number of common shares permitted to be issued by an entity's charter and bylaws.

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Number of shares of common stock outstanding. Common stock represent the ownership interest in a corporation.

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The current portion of prepayments received from customers for goods or services to be provided in the future.

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Describes the nature of the extended product warranties, which generally require additional fees to be paid by the buyer, and other guarantee contracts excluded from the initial recognition and initial measurement requirements. Does not include disclosures for standard product warranties, which typically have substantially shorter periods of time or provide less coverage, or both.

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Amount before tax of foreign currency transaction unrealized gain (loss) recognized in the income statement.

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The total amount of the contingent obligation under letters of credit outstanding as of the reporting date.

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The parent entity's interest in net assets of the subsidiary, expressed as a percentage.

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Carrying value as of the balance sheet date of obligations incurred through that date and payable for estimated claims under standard and extended warranty protection rights granted to customers.

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The carrying amounts of cash and cash equivalent items which are restricted as to withdrawal or usage. Restrictions may include legally restricted deposits held as compensating balances against borrowing arrangements, contracts entered into with others, or entity statements of intention with regard to particular deposits; however, time deposits and short-term certificates of deposit are not generally included in legally restricted deposits. Excludes compensating balance arrangements that are not agreements which legally restrict the use of cash amounts shown on the balance sheet. This element is for unclassified presentations; for classified presentations there is a separate and distinct element.

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The carrying amounts of cash and cash equivalent items which are restricted as to withdrawal or usage. Restrictions may include legally restricted deposits held as compensating balances against short-term borrowing arrangements, contracts entered into with others, or entity statements of intention with regard to particular deposits; however, time deposits and short-term certificates of deposit are not generally included in legally restricted deposits. Excludes compensating balance arrangements that are not agreements which legally restrict the use of cash amounts shown on the balance sheet. For a classified balance sheet represents the current portion only (the noncurrent portion has a separate concept); there is a separate and distinct element for unclassified presentations.

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Cash and equivalents whose use in whole or in part is restricted for the long-term, generally by contractual agreements or regulatory requirements.

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Description of the reverse stock split arrangement. Also provide the retroactive effect given by the reverse split that occurs after the balance sheet date but before the release of financial statements.

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Nature of Business and Basis of Presentation (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands		12 Months Ended
	Dec. 03, 2015	Oct. 31, 2015	Oct. 31, 2014	Oct. 31, 2013	Oct. 31, 2009	Nov. 01, 2012
Extended Product Warranty Description		We warranty our products for a specific period of time against manufacturing or performance defects. Our warranty is limited to a term generally 15 months after shipment or 12 months after acceptance of our products, except for fuel cell kits. We have agreed to warranty fuel cell kits and components for 21 months from the date of shipment due to the additional shipping and customer manufacture time required.
project assets current and noncurrent		$ 12,182	$ 784
Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents		26,900	25,100
Letters of Credit Outstanding, Amount		8,700	7,400
Accrued Contract and Operating Costs		0	34
Product Warranty Accrual		964	1,156
Reserve for Performance Guarantees		2,600	800
Loss Reserve on Service Agreements		800	3,000
Long-term stack residual value		2,509	$ 2,725
Future License Fees To Be Paid		$ 8,000
Royalty percentage		4.10%			4.10%
Reduced royalty percentage		3.00%
Royalty fee payment for reduction in royalty rate				$ 6,700
significant customer revenue percentage		94.00%	88.00%	88.00%
Foreign Currency Transaction Gain (Loss), Unrealized		$ 1,700	$ 600	$ 400
Restricted cash and cash equivalents - short-term		6,288	5,523
Restricted cash and cash equivalents - long-term		20,600	$ 19,600
Customer Advances, Current		$ 9,600
Common Stock, Shares, Outstanding		25,964,710	23,930,000
Common Stock, shares authorized prior to reverse split	475,000,000
Common Stock, Shares Authorized		39,583,333	33,333,333
Cell Technology Transfer Agreement [Member]
Upfront License Fee						$ 10,000
Stack Technology Transfer and License Agreement [Member]
Upfront License Fee		$ 7,000			$ 10,000
Service and License Fee Revenues [Member]
License Fee and Royalty Income		$ 3,900	$ 4,300	$ 4,100
FCES Germany [Member]
Noncontrolling Interest, Ownership Percentage by Parent		89.00%
POSCO Energy [Member]
significant customer revenue percentage		67.00%	69.00%	54.00%
Common stock ownership percentage		10.00%
United Illuminating [Member]
significant customer revenue percentage		14.00%	9.00%	0.00%
Department of Energy [Member]
significant customer revenue percentage		5.00%	4.00%	5.00%
Pepperidge Farms [Member]
significant customer revenue percentage		3.00%	0.00%	0.00%
NRG Energy [Member]
significant customer revenue percentage		2.00%	3.00%	0.00%
Common stock ownership percentage		5.00%
Dominion Bridgeport FuelCell Park [Member]
significant customer revenue percentage		3.00%	3.00%	29.00%
Restricted cash and cash equivalents - long-term		$ 15,000
Reverse Split [Member]
Stockholders' Equity, Reverse Stock Split	1-for-12
Common stock, shares outstanding prior to reverse split	314,500,000
Common Stock, Shares, Outstanding	26,200,000
Common Stock, Shares Authorized	39,600,000