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."

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!

A pretty unimpressive looking chart to say the very least!
Is anyone holding out any hopes for this stock?

How do u delete, Harry?

There is a small icon to the right of the figures '42 of 47' of your post. Click on that and it will open up your original post in the text box at the bottom of the screen. Delete all the text in the box, but it will not accept a blank entry, so you need to type one character such as . or * or x. Then click on the button at the bottom to post edited message.

Beginning to look interesting. 2 big moves in 2 days.

Something brewing???

Only just bought these and already up 60%

And the rise continues:)

British clean technology firm Ceres Power Holdings Plc said it has not been able to secure the funds it needs to run its operations and that it would continue to explore options, including a wind down of the business.

Ceres said the other options it was looking at included a sale of the business or cancellation of its listing.

The company has faced repeated delays related to the launch of its combined heat and power (CHP) energy efficient boiler as a result of technical issues with the product. The boiler is designed to generate all the heating, hot water and most of the electricity needs of a typical UK home, according to Ceres.

It had 10.2 million pounds ($16.39 million) in cash as of June 30, and has previously said it needed to raise money by the end of September.

"Despite extensive efforts it has been unsuccessful in securing sufficient funding for the business going forward," Ceres said in a statement.

Luckily sold half at 12p and re-invested it. Still took a hit today on the remaining shares but should have seen the warning signs yesterday when somebody knew something.

Hellsing, you should sell everything now...


The future is looking bleak for cash-strapped Ceres Power, the fuel cell technology developer, as it has been unable to secure sufficient funding to keep the business going.

The group had hoped to secure a new tranche of funding before the end of September to enable it to pursue its goal of delivering a "global cost leadership" mass market small combined-heat-and-power product.

The company will continue to explore all strategic options, including a sale of the business, cancellation of the listing and, in the absence of any alternative proposals, commencement of an orderly wind down of the business.

Broker Peel Hunt fears it is the end of the road for Ceres, after "eight years raising money on the back of over-promising."

The broker has reduced its target price from 4p to zero. "A fresh approach from a new CEO [Chief Executive Officer] improved things but there was insufficient potential in the business to make it worth backing, in our view. Investors, who had put in £65m to date, apparently agree and have finally drawn the line."

Peel Hunt notes that the firm's flagship product is still four years away from first commercialisation, and field trials have yet to start. On top of that, "technical progress still needs to be made, there is major uncertainty over manufacturing cost, the economic case for product adoption is limited and there was still a large quantum of funds needed to reach cash break-even," explains Peel Hunt's Andrew Shepherd-Barron.

While Peel Hunt thinks there is sufficient cash for an orderly wind-down of the company the broker is not optimistic that shareholders will see any of it.

"There is a chance that a third party buys the assets, or indeed the business as a whole, but we see a wind down as the more likely outcome," Shepher-Barron concludes.

The shares plunged to a 52-week low 2.05p in morning trading before recovering a little to 2.6p; less than a year ago the company was trading above 30p a share.

Hi,

Sold out this morning - no point holding out. Overall, having sold half at 12p, was in profit by £200 so could have been worse.

One to learn from in the future.

Very poor management.