ACTA.L Regulatory News (ACTA)

Acta S.p.A.

("Acta" or "the Company")

Acta Power Repeat Sale

Acta S.p.A. (AIM: ACTA), the clean energy products company, is pleased to announce that it has received its first repeat order for the sale of an Acta Power back-up power system. The system is to be installed in Africa at a base station of a major international mobile telecoms company, following their initial order which was announced on 22 May 2013.

The Acta Power is a self-recharging back-up power system incorporating a fuel cell and low cost on-board hydrogen generation. It has been developed to meet the back-up power requirements of telecom base stations in off-grid or bad grid locations by utilising rainwater for water supply and avoiding the cost and logistical barriers of hydrogen delivery to base stations in remote or inaccessible sites.

The new order is for the sale of a system incorporating a 2kW fuel cell and 500L/h electrolyser. This configuration has been specified by the customer to match the back-up power and duration requirements of the mobile operator's typical base station, while offering a lower cost than a 4kW fuel cell system.

Having analysed the capabilities of the Acta Power system together with Acta, the customer believes that the remote data monitoring and power management module of the Acta Power system allows a more energy efficient and cost effective solution to be specified than is the case with diesel generators and battery systems, which are typically over-specified for the power requirements of base station back-up power applications.

The new unit is due to be shipped in November 2013 and will be delivered directly to a base station for an operational evaluation of one month to confirm that the system size is correct for the base station's power requirements, prior to discussing a larger scale deployment for installation during 2014.

Paolo Bert, Chief Executive of Acta, commented:

"This important customer gave us our first Acta Power order in May of this year which has now led to an operational sale for the system only four months later. We are delighted to see the Acta Power moving into the next stage of evaluation so soon after launch." 

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About ActaS.p.A.

ActaS.p.A. is a developer and manufacturer of a range of clean energy products. Based on its world-leading expertise in alkaline membrane technology, the Company has developed a unique range of low-cost, compact hydrogen generators (electrolysers) which produce pure, dry compressed hydrogen at high efficiency from renewable or grid power.

In April 2013 Acta launched the Acta Power, an integrated electrolyser and fuel cell system for use in back-up power and renewable energy storage applications. Best understood as a "Hydrogen Battery", the system converts energy from renewable or grid power when it is available and stores it in the form of hydrogen, and then converts the hydrogen back to electrical power when needed due to grid black-out or lack of solar / wind power.

This system has extensive application as a back-up power unit for telecommunications base stations, where it competes on cost against traditional battery and diesel solutions, while offering a cleaner solution and better service. In particular, the use of rainwater and the generation of hydrogen on-site removes the cost and logistical barriers of fuel delivery, while also avoiding the theft risk associated with diesel, methanol and battery systems.

The supply of fuel cell back-up power systems for telecommunications base stations represents a large and fast-growing market, especially in extensively bad-grid and off-grid locations such as in Asia and Africa. Battery sales to the Chinese telecoms industry are currently valued at $4.7 bn to $7.8 bn per annum (Fuel Cell Today, China).

Acta holds a portfolio of patents and patent applications on its key technologies, manufactures its products through a combination of production, component subcontracting, and final product assembly and quality control, and has established distribution channels through partnerships in China, India, SE Asia, Australia, Africa, Middle East, Germany, UK, USA and South America.

Acta S.p.A. is based near Pisa, Italy, and was admitted to trading on AIM in October 2005.

www.actagroup.it

About the Acta Power

The Acta Power is a modular system available with a 2kW or 4kW power output and with a 500 L/h or 1,000 L/h hydrogen generator. It includes a flexible, wireless GSM communication module for remote management, control, alarm and assistance, and incorporates an award-winning fuel cell system. The Acta Power produces compressed hydrogen directly from renewable energy and is designed to replace diesel gensets which are traditionally used to provide back-up power at remote telecom sites.

Since up to 50% of a base station's operating cost is energy, and in many emerging markets operators struggle with diesel theft and difficult access to remote sites, the system can offer a cleaner and more reliable back-up solution while saving money for the mobile operator.