http://www.afcenergy.com/

Dawnay, Day Corporate Broking Research Note

Aim Admission Document

Fuel cell achieves 12 month longevity

Fuel cell achieves major milestone with 12 months longevity

AFC Energy (AIM: AFC), the fuel cell energy developer for industry, is pleased to announce that its revolutionary low-cost, platinum-free fuel cell electrode has set a new Company longevity and endurance record by delivering continuous electrical power for 12 months.

The Company's laboratory electrode passed this milestone late last week after remaining operational beyond 8760 hours at its state-of-the-art facility in Dunsfold, Surrey, UK.

The design and materials used in this electrode have already been validated for volume manufacturing and incorporation into AFC's first 250kW commercial-grade fuel cell system, which has been given the generic name 'Kore' by the Dunsfold team.

This latest milestone increases confidence in the Company's ability to commercialise its fuel cell power generation systems in major industrial markets and its potential to achieve high returns in countries such as Korea, where fuel cells attract a high level of incentives and where AFC is actively pursuing new partners.

Ian Williamson, chief executive of AFC Energy, commented: "We have proven the robustness of our world class fuel cell technology for industrial and stationary applications with the aim of making it competitive with both renewable and fossil fuel technologies. The next steps are to replicate this 12 month longevity in real world environments, continue improving our electrode power output and introduce our 'Kore' large scale systems. I am confident that we are already well placed to advance our ongoing dialogue with existing and potential new partners to translate today's news into future commercial contracts."

AFC Energy has focussed on lowering the cost of fuel cell derived energy by extending fuel cell longevity, improving power output, developing low cost materials and by adapting proven volume manufacturing processes for its fuel cell production. This achievement goes hand-in-hand with the improvements the Company is seeing in power output from its technology, an area where AFC Energy has already made great strides with a 60% increase over the past year.

The experience and information gained from this success has immediately been applied to the Company's trials with its longstanding partner, Azko Nobel, one of the world's largest chemicals groups and a UK-based commercial scale demonstration project, Power Up, which is supported by the European Union.

Dr. Gene Lewis, Technical Director at AFC Energy, commented: "It is a proud moment for the technical team in achieving this milestone, which demonstrates the potential of our technology and the rapid progress being made to commercialise it. I firmly believe we have a disruptive low cost technology that can shake up the entire fuel cell industry in the next few years."

Electrodes are the critical components of a fuel cell which enable the electrochemical reactions to occur between hydrogen and oxygen (from air) to generate electricity, heat and water.

This must surely mean at least 1 contract next month.

AFC ISA Bound!

I wonder how many potential investors out there, hold back because AFC are in the AIM and therefore their shares can't be put into an ISA.

But after 5th August that all changes, so I expect that to have quite an effect on the sp during the week of the 5th, and in the following couple of weeks as that bit of info sinks in to those who have not yet latched onto that fact.

From III

Strange start to the day, although volume is not that high the offer has pulled the bid up.

Although the mm's are willing to sell shares, they put the offer up which after a few more sells draged the bid up, which makes it look like they have a decent order to fill.

Not often seen were AFC is concerned.

Probably just me, looking for something that isn't there.

Both these and ITM were quite heavily marked down yesterday.

Today's Telegraph has confirmed, what most of us knew already.


Energy companies are to be paid millions of £s to keep old power stations on standby due to fears of blackouts.
These power stations will be moth balled rather than demolished.

It is expected that as much as £120 million will be paid which will be added to customers bills.

Under a separate scheme companies will be paid to build diesel power stations to provide reserve energy in case of short term drops in power (when the wind don't blow or/and the sun don't shine).

The risk of blackouts in 2015 are put at 1 in 4 (obviously looking on the bright side here).

I would hope that by then companies with connections to AFC, IE Akzo and other similar producers of hydrogen, department store such as John Lewis and supermarkets, W2E type plants and all the other companies that could benefit from a cheaper energy supply that is 'always available' on tap so to speak will have taken advantage of the AFC Fuel Cell or at least be well on the way to doing so.

I would think and hope that the AFC management team are pushing this issue, as 2015 is only just over 15 months away, and of course if we have a couple of very cold, no or low wind winters by 2015 like we had a couple of years ago when many wind turbines were static for weeks, we might have far less time than 15 months till the lights go out.

So by at least 2015, AFC will have either made it big time, or disapeared into the sunset of failed companies.

I know which option my money is on.

Courtesy BumbleB on lse

Just published today page 39 "The development of alkaline fuel cells continues to be dominated by UK-based AFC Energy, which is continuing research to improve its fuel cell systems while targeting the market for stationary power generation. The company also received a high-profile investment of £8.7 million ($13.4 million) from Ervington Investments Ltd, an investment company owned by Russian business tycoon Roman Abramovich. At the time of our 2012 Review, AFC Energy was reporting a lifetime for its electrodes of three months, which it claimed was the minimum required for its technology to be economical in certain applications. Since then AFC Energy’s research has progressed well, and lifetimes have increased such that, under laboratory conditions, its electrodes now have a lifetime of twelve months. This fourfold increase in durability has been achieved in conjunction with a 60% increase in power output for its fuel cell systems and the company is now aiming to reproduce these results under real-world conditions at customer sites. AFC Energy’s first commercial system will be known as Kore and will be sized at 250 kW. This is likely to be the building block used for the 1 MW alkaline fuel cell system to be installed at the UK-based chlor-alkali facility of Industrial Chemicals Limited (ICL), which was announced last year and funded by a grant of up to €6 million ($7.9 million, £5.1 million) from the FCH JU; AFC Energy’s Beta fuel cell system was delivered to ICL in early 2013 and is already in operation at the plant. AFC Energy continues to view Korea as a potentially lucrative market for expansion, due to its favourable incentives for stationary fuel cell systems, and is actively seeking new partners there. The company opened its first office in the country in February 2013. AFC Energy is the project lead for an FCH JU funded project, Alkamonia, which looks to develop ammonia as a fuel soure for alkaline fuel cells. As part of the project, AFC Energy aquired select assets from Diverse Energy, who had been developing ammonia-fuelled PEMFC telecommunications backup power systems for African markets before a failed funding round. Other project partners include Acta, who is supplying ammonia cracking catalysts, and integrator Fuel Cell Systems, who will design and develop power-conditioning equipment and integrate the final product. "

Note..........You will have to decipher the fat finger bits, as I just copied and pasted.

AFC Energy participates in Waste2Tricity fundraise

AFC Energy (AIM: AFC), the fuel cell energy developer for industry, is pleased to announce that it has participated in a £1 million funding round in Waste2Tricity Ltd. ("W2T"), a solutions provider for the waste-to-energy sector, in which AFC Energy owns a 23% stake. AFC Energy committed £50,000 in an oversubscribed round which included existing and new investors as well as board directors of W2T.

Waste2Tricity works with clients and partners to develop, fund and support energy-from-waste ("EfW") deployment projects where there are great environmental and commercial benefits from treating waste as a feedstock resource, rather than as a problem to be buried in landfill or burned in incinerators. W2T is involved in developing a number of these projects which, if successfully brought to fruition, could offer AFC Energy an exciting opportunity in the medium term once volume production has commenced.

I know we shouldn't be, but I bet most of us on opening this RNS were disappointed.

Reason of more jam tomorrow as the words Medium term were used when most of us are waiting for no medium or long term but NOW.

I love jam but I am hungry for sp uplifting news today, not tomorrow, next week or next year.

Todays RNS,

I think we all expected news re South Korea being the first to come with any substance from an Asian Country, so this news re Thailand is very welcome indeed.

It also should be an indication of how production of the fuel cells are coming along as they must be looking at future demand being met with supply.

AFC will not want to be found wanting when specific order numbers come in.

I think we would appreciate further updates re the 15 month run, but I for one am not going to moan about todays news.

Well done AFC, you have temporarily calmed my impatience.

Let's hope so Greekman!

Morning Skinny,

I wonder if todays news will see a return of some posters on this thread, instead of you and I talking to each other.

Regards
Greek.

Sadly I find I do that on most threads on here - except the 'eponymous' thread!

Yes, I think interest in this site has gone down a lot over the last few years due to their poor IT system.

If it was not for the fact that MoneyAm's customer service had such a great response compared to that other site we both use, as well as other sites, most of their remaining customers would leave.

On looking at the effect todays RNS is having on the sp, as Victor Meldew states, 'I don't believe it'

What the *&£^ is happening!

I bought in about six months ago and appreciate all the posts on this thread as to be honest I know b*gger all about the company.

Apparently - nor do we!

Just had another look and six months ago I would have bought around the year low. Must have been about 4 months ago when they started climbing cos I bought around about the current price.

Power Up and Trading Update

Air Products joins Power Up project
Trading and Operational Update

AFC Energy (AIM: AFC), the fuel cell energy developer for industry, is pleased to announce that Air Products PLC ("Air Products") has agreed to become a key strategic partner within the Power Up programme, the Company's leading project to generate and supply electricity by using surplus hydrogen produced at a major chemical plant.

Air Products, one of the world's top industrial gases groups, replaces Industrial Chemicals Limited, the Essex-based chemicals manufacturer, which had planned to participate in the €6.1 million EU-backed project, as announced by AFC Energy in June 2012. The project will install one of the world's largest alkaline fuel cell power systems.

As a result of the partnership with Air Products, the project will now be sited in Stade, northern Germany, where Air Products operates a major industrial gas processing plant that sources hydrogen from an adjoining major chemicals complex operated by Dow Chemicals.

The Company commenced its work on the Power Up project in April 2013 and remains on track to install the first KORE system in Germany during 2014 with it expected to become operational in the second half subject to local permitting. AFC will initially install two fuel cell systems in stages with a total 500kW electrical output.

This first system will be capable of running with 24 cartridges, expected to generate approaching 250kW when it reaches full power.

Ian Williamson, Chief Executive of AFC Energy, said: "The decision to move the project to Air Products provides us with the best possible opportunity to install and operate our KORE-branded fuel cell plant at a world-class industrial chemical/gases complex. It will also provide us with access and visibility to a significant quantity of clean hydrogen in a fully commercial setting. With our existing long term project with AkzoNobel continuing at Bitterfeld, Germany, we will soon have two installations in one of the world's most exciting and strongly government-supported markets for fuel cell energy."


Trading Update

AFC has continued to make strong technical progress although income in the financial year to 31 October 2013 will be lower than market expectations, whilst still ahead of last year. This is primarily due to the slower ramp up of the Power Up project and the desire of the South Korean market to have data from scaled-up systems, to facilitate larger opportunities more rapidly. Nevertheless, AFC has seen licence revenues improve and its existing grants delivered as expected. Despite bringing forward some spending in relation to the planned production of larger systems, AFC has maintained a tight control on the cost base. Net cash balances at the financial year end amounted to £6.9million (2012: £10.9million).

Ramp up of volume manufacturing

The Power Up project alone will - over time - necessitate the assembly of many thousands of fuel cells. Until now, AFC Energy's fuel cells have been hand-crafted but this is being translated to an automated process as the Company begins larger-scale, demonstration and commercial projects like Power Up. As a result, the planned investment in the scaling-up of manufacturing is being brought forward by approximately five months to introduce a more automated process.

AFC Energy will work with UK automation specialists, GB Innomech, who are developing automated stack assembly and stack disassembly systems. The result of this approach will be to enable manufacturing/maintenance facilities to be rolled out quickly and inexpensively.

To help facilitate this automated process AFC Energy has expanded its space at Dunsfold, by leasing an additional 4500 sq ft.


Markets / partners

In addition to Air Products, AFC Energy continues to work with several other partners to develop markets for the deployment of its fuel cells.

It is clear that there is a customer base in South Korea, and elsewhere, ready to take KORE systems on commercially attractive terms. AFC continues to actively pursue a number of possible strategic partners in South Korea and the local region.

AFC Energy took a further step towards establishing itself in the waste to energy sector with a £1.2 million licence agreement announced last week with the Thai subsidiary of Waste2tricity Ltd ("W2T"). The agreement will extend AFC's reach into the fast growing emerging markets of South East Asia, beginning with Thailand. AFC has also granted W2T a right of first refusal for the remainder of the ASEAN market where W2T intends to become active. This follows AFC's first licence deal of £1 million with W2T in respect of the UK market, announced in April 2012.

Ian Williamson commented: "We have an array of very credible development partners and many market opportunities. Our technical progress has been strong in the past year and we are cautiously and methodically putting all the building blocks in place to ensure successful commercialisation of our low-cost fuel cells for industrial energy."