ACTA.L Regulatory News (ACTA)

28 Jun 2006 12:00

Acta S.p.A.28 June 2006 28 June 2006 Acta S.p.A. ("Acta" or the "Company") AGM Statement - Acta achieves technical targets Robert Drummond, Chairman of Acta S.p.A. today announced that Acta was makinggood progress in the first half of the current financial year and had achievedimportant technical milestones. At the Company's Annual General Meeting hecommented: "Acta has made good progress in 2006 and has achieved a number of the importanttechnical milestones that were highlighted when we announced our year endresults in March. Last month we announced that independent studies had proven that Acta's HYPERMECcatalyst uniquely breaks the strong carbon-carbon bond in ethanol, allowingmaximum power and efficiency from its direct ethanol fuel cells and confirmingthat ethanol is now the ideal fuel for use in fuel cells. We are now pleased to announce good progress in demonstrating the durability ofour HYPERMEC catalysts in a wide range of fuels and conditions. Specifically,Acta has succeeded in operating: •A direct ethanol fuel cell for over 1,500 hours at 5mW/cm2 at room temperature •A direct ethanol fuel cell for over 500 hours at 20mW/cm2 power output at room temperature •A direct ethylene glycol fuel cell for over 500 hours at 20mW/cm2 at room temperature Commercial progress is also encouraging. We have shipped over 110 electrodes and12 demo kits, signed 5 more NDA's and we look forward to a number of customervisits to Acta's Italian facility during June and July. Early responses fromcustomer trials have confirmed the potential of Acta's catalyst. The exposure tothe market has also highlighted the need to help our customers developapplications knowledge using our products. This is an important opportunity toadd value and extend our intellectual property, and we are recruiting some newresources to ensure that we exploit it. In the second half we hope to announce several important patents and progresswith our development programmes for new applications as well as updating youwith progress towards our commercial and technical goals." Acta is committed to supplying detailed reference data to support its technicalclaims, and reference data for the durability tests is detailed in the notesbelow. - ends - Contact:Acta S.p.A:Toby Woolrych Tel: 020 7067 0700Weber Shandwick Square Mile:Nick Dibden Tel: 020 7067 0700 Notes to editors: The Fuel Cell Industry Fuel Cells. Fuel cells are electrochemical devices which generate electricityfrom a fuel (typically hydrogen or methanol in the past) and air producing justwater and sometimes carbon dioxide as exhaust. Fuel cells can be used to replacepower supplies for portable electronic devices as well as the internalcombustion engine and power generators for domestic use. They are widely seen asa solution to the power inefficiency of batteries, long term limitations infossil fuel supply and to managing the problem of greenhouse gases. Majorelectronics and automotive companies as well as governments are spendingbillions of dollars per annum to make fuel cells a reality in consumer markets. Portable fuel cells. Portable fuel cells are those designed to replacelithium-ion batteries for mobile phones, laptops and other portable electronicdevices, all of which are increasingly hampered by the limitations of batterylife. These fuel cells are generally not powered by hydrogen gas, which isrestricted in use and hard to safely store and use, but by a hydrocarbon liquid,typically methanol. Direct Alcohol Fuel Cells (DAFC). These are fuel cells that have been powered bymethanol in the past. Methanol is toxic and is usually a fossil fuelderivative. Ethanol, which may replace it thanks to Acta's new technology, issafe and practical to use. Ethanol is also made from renewable sources, makingthe fuel cell more environmentally friendly as the carbon dioxide produced inuse comes from the existing carbon cycle and does not count as a greenhouse gas. Barriers for fuel cell commercialisation. Fuel cells have made and continue tomake great strides towards commercialisation. Key remaining barriers are partlydriven by the catalysts, which have to date contained costly and scarceplatinum: • preventing products from reaching their commercial cost targets• requiring fuel cells to use impractical methanol as a direct hydrocarbon fuel Acta's technology. Acta. Acta is an Anglo-Italian company which floated on AIM in October 2005.Acta has completed its manufacturing and research facility near Pisa in Italyand is now rolling out its HYPERMEC catalysts to the global market forevaluation. HYPERMEC Catalyst. Acta has developed a platinum-free catalyst called HYPERMEC.HYPERMEC is made from cheap and abundant materials, dramatically lowering thecost of industrialising fuel cells and electrolysers. HYPERMEC catalysts workwith anion exchange membranes which are significantly cheaper than the currentcationic membranes, further reducing the cost of the fuel cell or electrolysersystem. HYPERMEC also allows the use for the first time of a whole range ofhydrocarbon fuels, including ethanol. The durability tests Acta is committed to supplying detailed reference data to support its technicalclaims. Reference data for the durability tests is as follows: • Direct ethanol fuel cell at 5mW/cm2: over 1,500 hours, in a self-breathing cell at room temperature with no humidified air and recycled fuel (10% ethanol, 3% KCO3, 3% other additives, 84% water). This cell was used to present at an exhibition in Washington, running on vodka, prior to being placed on test. Total Open Circuit Voltage (OCV) decline over the period was 11%. • Direct ethanol fuel cell at 20mW/cm2: over 500 hours, in a self-breathing cell at room temperature with no humidified air and recycled fuel (10% ethanol, 1M KOH, 3% other additives, 84% water). Initial peak power was recorded at 70mW/cm2. Total OCV decline over the period was 9%. • Direct ethylene glycol fuel cell at 20mW/cm2: over 500 hours, in a self-breathing cell at room temperature with no humidified air and recycled fuel (10% ethylene glycol, 1M KOH, 3% other additives, 84% water). Initial peak power was recorded at 53mW/cm2. Total OCV decline over the period was 9% New applications Acta announced in March that it intends to exploit opportunities for HYPERMEC inother markets, including power generation markets and process catalysis. Goodprogress is being made and further announcements can be expected in the secondhalf to explain both the potential applications and Acta's strategy fordeveloping them. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange