Soon to be in mass production...the technology works like no other

RNS Number:0376N Ceres Power Holdings plc 01 December 2006


Ceres Power Holdings plc
('Ceres', 'Ceres Power' or the 'Company')



Technical Update: Key Performance and Durability Targets Achieved


Ceres Power, the AIM-quoted fuel cell group, is today providing an update on the progress achieved in the development of its unique patented fuel cell technology. Ceres' continued focus is to utilise its technology to deliver a set of commercially viable products that can be mass manufactured and meet a clear market need.

Rigorous testing of the fuel cell stacks has demonstrated that the required levels of durability and performance can be delivered for the market applications it is targeting, namely domestic combined heat and power (CHP) boilers, off-grid generators and auxiliary power units (APUs).


SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION TO DATE OF MORE THAN 7,500 HOURS OF FUEL CELL STACK testing, reflecting the unique design and the use of well-proven manufacturing techniques

TESTING OF MORE THAN 50 STACKS OF UP TO 1KW POWER OUTPUT WITH REPEATED THERMAL cycling (on/off) between room temperature (20oC) and operating temperature (600oC) without performance degradation

STACK TESTING ON A RANGE OF COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE FUELS INCLUDING NATURAL gas, LPG and propane demonstrating the capability to meet the performance requirements of a wide range of target market applications

VALIDATION OF STACK MANUFACTURING AND ASSEMBLY PROCESSES WITH MORE THAN 1,000 stack sub-assemblies constructed with a zero failure rate.
As a result of the performance demonstrated during the testing programme our core stack technology has been frozen. This technology will be appropriate for power outputs between 0.5kW and 5kW.

Integrated fuel cell systems have also been demonstrated by coupling lightweight, compact stacks and fuel processors with other key balance of plant components for our planned domestic CHP applications. Our focus is now on completing the designs of end-user products.

As announced at the preliminary results in September, we are currently equipping a new product facility which is expected to be operational by mid-2007 and is designed to produce limited volumes of prototype products incorporating volume manufacturing solutions. These units will be used both for demonstrations and larger field trials. The facility will also be used to develop and validate the manufacturing and assembly processes prior to transfer to mass production.

The scale-up process has been substantially de-risked with the establishment of a supply chain to procure cell, stack and system components utilising technologies with well-proven design lives in excess of 10 years. We are already working closely with a number of OEMs to finalise the arrangements for volume assembly of products utilising fuel cell stacks that will be manufactured by Ceres at a 'mother plant' facility planned to be commissioned in mid-2008.

Peter Bance, Chief Executive of Ceres Power, commented:

"Our testing has demonstrated that our unique technology has overcome many of the obstacles faced by other fuel cell technologies and can deliver durable, efficient and cost effective mass market solutions. We are now focused on completing the design of commercial, compact end-user products."

This is looking more like ITM Power by each day.

Ian Lyall's verdict was BUY on 8/9/2007 and Citigroup says they are worth 5.10 and Morgan Stanley put a target of 3.70...it certainly shows all these BIG institutions are talking b****cks!

Results for CWR will be out tomorrow. Where will it go?

Ceres losses widen - MoneyAM

Ceres Power Holdings said today pretax loss in the first half of the current year widened to 3.02m.

The company blamed higher research & development costs but said it still remains in a robust position to commercialise its combined heat and power (CHP) systems product.

For the half year to December 31st, 2007, the fuel cell group reported a pretax loss of 3.02m versus 2.65m last year while commercial revenues rose to 279,000 from 30,000 last time.

R&D costs stood at 2.6m against 2.4m earlier, while administrative expenses rose to 1.4m from 1m a year ago.

The company said it remains committed to growing revenues with existing partners and establishing new market channels adding it sees further growth in commercial revenues in the second half.

any reason for s/p to go up?

All the green fuel companies are not doing well lately - CWR, PDX, CMF, DOO

I know higher energy prices can only be helpful to cwr but am at a loss about todays s/p surge. Anyone in the know?

I reckon the investment funds are now beginning to see the true potential of this commodity.
Once the general public become more aware of the savings involved using one of CWR's systems, they'll all want one.
With everyone's budget getting tighter and tighter, most people will see this as an ideal way to reduce their rocketting fuel bills, with a reduction in their carbon footprint as a nice secondary.

Have got back into this earlier today. RNS says:

"Ceres Power, the AIM-quoted alternative energy group, announces that it will be inviting analysts to a presentation on Tuesday 24 June 2008. The Company will be providing an update on progress under the CHP contract with British Gas. Further details of the company's future roadmap as well as independent confirmation of the performance of the core fuel cell technology will also be presented. A copy of the company presentation will be available on the company website on Tuesday 24 June 2008."

I just feel it will have a positive effect on sp. The technology seems to be coming together now.

Bought a few yesterday they are off recent highs,could move up before 24 june.

Record low each day.

62p and still dropping.

going bust i feel...another j boy scam

"j boy"?

cynic..you idiot!

indeed, but you do not answer the Q

At last some good progress being made on durability. Plse see RNS of today

Taking a quick look i came across these couple of posts by a very competent Pi.

No one is claiming "something for nothing". Let me try to explain...

A condensing boiler simply burns gas to heat water, right? Conventionally, a home's electricity it is generated centrally and transmitted to the home. That incurs two sources of waste: a) waste heat from the generation plant; b) transmission losses

The Ceres unit can be viewed in two parts (though in reality they're tightly integrated). The important, innovative, part is the fuel cell module. This generates the bulk of a home's electricity needs over the course of a day (according to demand studies using measurements from real homes) in a highly efficient manner. The electricity is generated using an electrochemical reaction between gas and air in the fuel cell, rather than by burning gas. Heat byproduct generated in this process is used to heat water in the CHP unit. So that virtually eliminates both losses a) and b) that occur with conventional electricity generation.

The second part of the unit is simply an auxiliary burner that generates any extra heat that the home requires, over and above that produced by the fuel cells, to meet its heating and hot water needs. That allows the Ceres unit to be a complete replacement for a conventional boiler, but with the added benefit that it also generates the bulk of a home's electricity needs.

See Ceres' presentations for detailed facts & figures.



Yes, you may be right to say that CFU are a little further down the road with the development of their unit than Ceres are - because it's based on older technology.

What you may be missing, besides the good point made above that the Bluegen unit doesn't replace a boiler but is additional to it, is that I believe that the Ceres unit will have manufacturing costs a fraction of those of the CFU product.

Once again, as I've said repeatedly (but you're new to this thread so may not have read it), the primary reason for Ceres advantage comes down to basic physics and engineering. Ceres' fuel cells operate at a significantly lower temperature that any other SOFC fuel cells. That means that the cells and stack can be and are constructed of inexpensive steel. Suggest you checkout what materials are required to build CFU's cells, which operate at around 800C vs 550C for Ceres'.

Though CFU may be a few months ahead in terms of market readiness of their unit, I believe Ceres' product will be worth waiting for, as long as the team delivers and irons out the wrinkles promptly.

i

Sorry wrong thread above.

You could always go back and delete it hlyeo, rather than acccidently/on purpose leave it!