ACTA.L Regulatory News (ACTA)

23 Jul 2008 07:00



23 July 2008

Acta S.p.A.

Catalyst launch programme stimulates new commercial activity

Acta, the AIM listed catalyst developer, will over the next three weeks launch six important new catalysts for four market applications in line with its stated milestones for 2008. These catalysts are targeted at markets which already have a large number of potential industrial customers, representing an addressable catalyst market of over $5bn with mass commercialisation.

HYPERMEC 10010 and HYPERMEC 10510 catalysts for hydrogen generation from ammonia

Ammonia is an excellent hydrogen carrier for carbon-free energy supply. It provides more hydrogen energy by volume and by weight than any stored form of hydrogen and any hydrocarbon fuel. Acta is working with customers for stationary power and automotive applications who believe that ammonia represents a practical solution in the search for alternative fuels.

Acta has launched two catalysts for hydrogen generation from ammonia by reforming (using catalysts and heat to break down ammonia into hydrogen and nitrogen). The HYPERMEC 10010 contains small amounts of precious metal and allows highly efficient conversion of ammonia to hydrogen at temperatures as low as 300oC. The HYPERMEC 10510 catalyst is made from base metals and is therefore highly cost effective but operates at higher temperatures. Both catalysts offer excellent performance in comparison to currently available products, and have been developed in partnership with potential customers who will conduct trials in the second half of the year.

HYPERMEC 7010 and HYPERMEC 7520 catalysts for ammonia decomposition and waste treatment

In many industrial and agricultural environments ammonia is a pollutant which needs removal from waste streams. Acta has developed its HYPERMEC 7010 ammonia electrolysis catalyst for room temperature hydrogen generation from ammonia, and the closely related HYPERMEC 7520 catalyst for ammonia waste treatment.

Acta believes that the new catalysts are the first catalysts for these applications in the world to be available in powder form for easy use by electrolyser developers. They offer excellent performance and decompose ammonia at low voltages with 99% reaction efficiency. Laboratory trials at a major waste treatment customer have been progressing well.

HYPERMEC 3020 anode catalyst for water electrolysers and fuel cells

The HYPERMEC 3020 anode catalyst has been developed for the water electrolyser and fuel cell markets. Platinum catalysts are a major cost component of both fuel cells and electrolysers and the removal of platinum is, for many manufacturers, a critical step on the road to mass commercialisation.

The HYPERMEC 3020 has been made available for general use following several months of successful trials with key customers. It is a highly efficient, low cost platinum free catalyst which delivers exceptional performance in alkaline fuel cells, alkaline membrane fuel cells and in water electrolysis, compared to currently available products. The new catalyst offers 25% higher power at room temperature and significantly longer durability than the 3010, launched in May 2007, which it replaces.

HYPERMEC 4020 cathode catalyst for fuel cells and zinc air batteries 

The HYPERMEC 4020 platinum free cathode catalyst has been developed initially for fuel cell use but has also demonstrated promising performance in product tests for zinc air batteries. HYPERMEC 4020 is free of precious metals and can be produced at a fraction of the cost of a platinum catalyst.

Customer trials of the previous cathode catalyst, K14, demonstrated significant success in terms of both performance and durability. The new HYPERMEC 4020 cathode offers a 20% improvement in performance over the K14. Acta expects that many customers will transition from K14 trials to trials with the HYPERMEC 4020.

Summary

The launch of these new catalysts is part of an ongoing programme of customer support and innovation. Further new catalyst launches will be made in the second half of 2008 in order to complete Acta's portfolio of products for its chosen markets.

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Notes to Editors:

Acta S.p.A.

Acta develops and manufactures unique patented catalysts which have been launched initially to the renewable energy, automotive and portable electronics/battery markets. Acta is also developing other commercial opportunities using its catalysts for waste treatment in the bio-fuel, polymer and other industries.

Acta's catalysts for ammonia decomposition into hydrogen offer the automotive industry access to a practical hydrogen carrier for the first time. The catalysts extract hydrogen from ammonia at room temperature, allowing ammonia, one of the most widely used chemicals in the world, to become a fuel for automotive use, solving the problem of hydrogen storage and transportation.

Acta's catalyst range for alkaline membrane fuel cells allows fuel cell developers to stop using expensive platinum so that fuel cells can be made commercially viable for mass adoption, particularly in automotive and portable electronics applications. Adoption of Acta's HYPERMEC catalysts greatly reduces the cost of fuel cells and additionally allows for the first time the use of a wide range of safe liquid bio-fuels such as ethanol and glycerol.

Simple passive alkaline membrane fuel cells can act as a high performance and environmentally friendly alternative to lead acid and alkaline batteries at a commercially acceptable price.

Hydrogen generation from ammonia 

In January 2007 Acta announced that it had developed a novel catalyst which could produce hydrogen from ammonia at room temperature by electrolysis. This electrolyser was demonstrated in February 2007 at the world's largest fuel cell exhibition in Tokyo and has subsequently been attracting attention at exhibitions world-wide. The ammonia electrolyser is a breakthrough because ammonia is a very widely available and practical fuel for carbon-free motoring. Use of ammonia avoids the critical problems of hydrogen storage and transportation currently faced by fuel cell developers. The new electrolyser releases the hydrogen for use in a fuel cell using a fraction of the electrical input and at a much lower temperature than any other process. Acta has subsequently developed catalysts for hydrogen generation from ammonia at higher temperatures by reforming. These Acta developments offer a possible on-board supply of hydrogen for automotive fuel cells from a practical fuel source. A demonstration unit, called the "Power Profit", was launched in November 2007.

Waste treatment

Acta has developed catalysts that are highly active for bio-glycerol and ammonia. Whilst these chemicals are potentially fuels of the future, they are also unwanted waste products from existing industrial processes such as bio-diesel manufacture and polymer production. Acta is seeking early commercial success for its catalysts by offering them for waste treatment solutions, thereby cleaning the environment today as well as offering green energy options for the future.

Alkaline Membrane Fuel Cells

Acta has developed a range of platinum free catalysts to be used in a type of fuel cell called Alkaline Membrane Fuel Cell (AMFC). The extensive use of scarce and expensive platinum severely restricts the commercial potential for fuel cells to be used in mass market applications. Acta has been a market leader in developing not just the catalysts but also systems expertise with AMFC. Acta is seeing increasing evidence that many leading companies and technical institutes in the field are now also seeing the commercial potential for AMFC.

Disposable AMFC

Acta's unique low cost catalysts allow fuel cell technology to be used as disposable units to replace lead acid and alkaline batteries. However, they have much higher energy densities which means that they need be replaced less often. There are many industrial applications where the replacement and disposal of batteries is a major cost, offering Acta a significant commercial opportunity.