ACTA.L Regulatory News (ACTA)

31 May 2007 07:04

Acta S.p.A.31 May 2007 31 May 2007 Acta S.p.A. AGM statement: Acta making significant commercial and technical progress At Acta's Annual General Meeting to be held later today in Italy, the Chairmanwill make the following statement: "I am pleased to report that Acta continued to make good progress in the firstfive months of the year, exceeding its commercial, technical and financialtargets. Promising commercial negotiations are being supported by significanttechnical progress and the implementation of operational scale-up plans. Cashoutflow in the first half has been well managed and is below externalexpectations. Commercial and Operational Progress Revenues in the first five months of the year have been ahead of expectationsand more than double those of the whole of 2006. These included sales of Acta'snew ammonia electrolyser catalyst to the automotive sector as well as continuingsales of catalyst and electrodes to the fuel cell market. Commercialnegotiations are in progress with a number of major potential customers for arange of applications. The new operational team has significantly increasedproduction output, and has achieved all the June 2007 targets ahead of schedule. Technical Progress Significant technical progress has been achieved in the year to date, withseveral of Acta's main technical milestones already secured and further goalsidentified. In particular: • the launch of the hydrogen generating ammonia electrolyser in January has been followed by continuing improvements to design and performance, with further significant advances to be achieved by the end of the year • the launch of the HYPERMEC 3-Series anode for fuel cells has improved fuel cell performance by 70% • the world's first Direct Ethanol Fuel Cell vehicle was demonstrated at the Shell Eco-Marathon, powered by a cell constructed by Hochschule-Offenburg and using Acta's catalysts and electrodes • the CO2 to alcohol programme with the University of Edinburgh, funded by the Carbon Trust, is now underway, and Acta has produced some encouraging early results • 4 important patent applications have been filed, covering some extensive increases to the range of Acta's intellectual property portfolio. Financial Review Improving revenues, tight cost control, and the receipt of grant monies relatingto 2006 have all contributed to a good start to the year for the company. Cashoutflow for the first half of the year will be less than expectations. Outlook The outlook for the remainder of 2007 is very positive. Commercial discussionswith some significant customers are underway, and we are hopeful of being ableto announce these developments during the second half of 2007. Acta also expectsto deliver a number of important technical advances and corresponding patentapplications in the next few months." For further information, please contact: Acta S.p.A:Toby Woolrych, Chief Operating Officer Tel: +44 (0) 20 7360 4900 Smithfield Consultants:George Hudson / Will Henderson Tel: +44 (0) 20 7360 4900 Numis:David Poutney Tel: +44 (0) 20 7260 1000 - Ends - Notes to Editors: Acta S.p.A. Acta, which was admitted to AIM in October 2005, is a manufacturer ofplatinum-free catalysts for the portable electronics and renewables markets.Acta uses a patented manufacturing process to make uniquely active catalysts,branded HYPERMEC, which are able to perform as effectively as expensive platinumcatalysts. Acta's catalysts offer customers technical usage benefits,significant cost savings and allow for the first time the use of ethanol, whichis a safe and environmentally friendly fuel. Products in the target portableelectronics market include laptop computers and mobile phones, and in therenewables market include electricity supply, automotive power and hydrogengeneration. Further information Ammonia electrolyser In January 2007 Acta announced that it had developed a novel catalyst whichcould produce hydrogen from ammonia at room temperature by electrolysis. Thiselectrolyser was demonstrated in February at the world's largest fuel cellexhibition in Tokyo. The ammonia electrolyser is a breakthrough because ammoniais a very widely available and practical fuel for carbon-free motoring. Use ofammonia avoids the critical problems of hydrogen storage and transportationcurrently faced by fuel cell developers. The new electrolyser releases thehydrogen for use in a fuel cell using a fraction of the electrical input and ata much lower temperature than any other process. The Acta development thereforemakes possible for the first time the on-board supply of hydrogen for automotivefuel cells from a practical fuel source. Increased production output Acta's pilot plant is installed and now being commissioned. Publicly announcedtargets for production capacity will give the business increasing ability tomeet future customer orders. Targets for June 2007 have already been met andprogress towards December 2007 targets is on plan. Launch of HYPERMEC 3-Series anode Acta launched a new anode that, when used with the existing K14 cathode, offershigher performance and better durability than the 2-Series anode it replaces.Customer trials are in progress with the new catalyst. Shell Eco-Marathon Demonstration Acta announced in May that it had supplied catalysts for the world's firstdirect ethanol fuel cell vehicle, which was demonstrated at the ShellEco-marathon in France. The successful demonstration has received considerablepublicity within the market and demonstrates the potential of Acta's uniquecatalysts. CO2 to alcohol programme Acta announced in March that the Carbon Trust had awarded £175,000 to Acta andthe University of Edinburgh to investigate the conversion of CO2 to alcohol. Ifsuccessful, this would be a fundamental advance in the struggle to reduceemissions of greenhouse gases. Significant interest has been expressed alreadyby a number of large international OEMs in the outcome of this project. Patent Applications Patent applications have been filed concerning the ammonia electrolyser, the newHYPERMEC 3-Series anode, the structure of anionic fuel cell systems and the useof HYPERMEC in an anionic system for the manufacture of certain chemicals. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange