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UK Fuel Cell Industry Thriving Says Carbon Trust

18 December 2007

Carbon Trust awards fuel cell research grants to Ilika Technologies and Ceres Power

Ilika Technologies Ltd and Ceres Power have become the latest companies to receive grant funding from the Carbon Trust to accelerate the development of exciting new fuel cell technologies towards commercial, carbon-saving reality.

In the past four years, the Carbon Trust has provided more than £2 million in funding for 12 separate fuel cell-related technology projects through its Applied Research scheme. In this time, the UK fuel cell industry has progressed significantly with five UK fuel cell-related companies now listed on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM). These companies have a combined market capitalisation in excess of £300 million.

Garry Staunton, Technology Director at the Carbon Trust, said: "Fuel cells have the potential to play a significant role in a low carbon economy since they can be used in applications as diverse as powering a laptop or a car. The UK fuel cell sector is thriving and we are very pleased to have played a part in its development. By continuing to fund companies, such as Ilika Technologies and Ceres Power, we can further strengthen the UK's position in this dynamic market."

The Southampton-based Ilika Technologies project has received a £167,000 grant from the Carbon Trust to develop platinum-free electrocatalysts for use in PEM (proton exchange membrane) fuel cells, the main type being explored for transport applications such as cars and buses. Platinum is an expensive component in fuel cells and there are concerns around its long-term availability. Replacing it with lower-cost alloys is expected to speed the uptake of fuel cells in vehicles and to boost market penetration from 30 per cent to 50 per cent by 2030, providing up to 12 million tonnes of additional CO2 abatement each year.

Ceres Power Plc, based in Crawley, is developing an innovative intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cell (IT-SOFC) which could be used for residential micro-CHP (combined heat and power) units and for portable power applications. The £112,000 grant from the Carbon Trust will help to develop additional fuel cell sintering processes which should further facilitate the cost-effective manufacturing of this type of fuel cell. The company has previously received investment from Carbon Trust Investment Partners and other grant funding from the Carbon Trust. The company listed on AIM in 2004.

Over the past four years, the Carbon Trust's Applied Research scheme has granted more than £17 million to projects that have demonstrated their potential to develop into viable commercial technologies that could reduce UK carbon emissions.

Graeme Purdy, CEO of Ilika Technologies, said "Developing new materials for energy conversion is one of Ilika’s key strategic business goals. We are using the full power of our technology to accelerate the discovery of novel materials for fuel cell, solid oxide fuel cell, battery and photovoltaic devices. We are very pleased to receive this award from the Carbon Trust as we are committed to low carbon innovation and to finding materials solutions for the new emerging energy technologies"

Footnotes

Notes to editors

The Carbon Trust
The Carbon Trust is a private company set up by government in response to the threat of climate change, to accelerate the move to a low carbon economy by developing commercial low carbon technologies and helping organisations reduce their carbon emissions. The Carbon Trust works with UK business and the public sector through its work in five complementary areas: insights, solutions, innovations, enterprises and investments. Together these help to explain, deliver, develop, create and finance low carbon enterprise.
• The Carbon Trust is funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR), the Scottish Government, the Welsh Assembly Government and Invest Northern Ireland.

Ilika Technologies (www.ilika.com)
Ilika specialises in the development and application of high-throughput, combinatorial R&D techniques for the accelerated discovery of new materials. In particular, Ilika has the capability of creating, as well as characterising, vast numbers of inorganic materials deposited using either physical vapour deposition or chemical vapour deposition techniques as well as the capability of generating and screening thousands of bio-compatible polymers. Consequently, the main markets that Ilika has chosen to focus upon include the energy, electronic and biomedical sectors. Ilika engages with customers through research collaborations, technology development projects and through licensing of materials which Ilika has developed.

Ceres Power (www.cerespower.com)
Ceres Power is a successful AIM-listed fuel cell business developing a range of global market applications including residential micro-CHP, on-site / back-up generators and auxiliary power units for transport. The unique Ceres Power technology is based on commercially available materials for low cost manufacture and, unlike many fuel cells, the Ceres Power fuel cell operates on widely available fuels like natural gas and LPG, as well as on hydrogen. Further information can be found at