ACTA.L Regulatory News (ACTA)

25 Nov 2009 07:00



25 November 2009  

Acta S.p.A. ("Acta" or the "Company")

Development Contract 

Acta, the clean-tech catalysts and products company, is pleased to announce the award of a development contract from DuPont, the Fortune 500 science-based products and services company, with collaboration from a number of eminent US universities.   

The contract is worth $280,000 to Acta over its initial twelve month period, and, subject to satisfactory performance in the first year, is expected to be extended to a second year.

The contract is part of the US Department of Defense ("DoD") project won by DuPont for the development of a Next Generation Man Wearable Power System, which aims to develop a small, lightweight, efficient and low cost wearable fuel cell system to power the US infantry's electronic battlefield equipment. The system will be based on alkaline membrane fuel cell technology and non-platinum catalysts, in order to achieve the technical and commercial criteria specified by the DoD. 

Paolo Bert, Chief Executive, Acta, commented: 

"We are delighted to be entering this important development contract with DuPont, the makers of the industry standard NafionTM membrane.

Since the formation of Acta we have been promoting the cost and performance benefits of fuel cell systems based on alkaline membranes. It is strategic to the fuel cell industry that membrane technologies should be developed further, and we are delighted to be pursuing this avenue together with DuPont, one of the world's leaders in membrane developments."

John Colven, Global Venture Manager, DuPont Fuel Cells, said:

"This fuel cell technology will enable a leap forward in the current state-of-the-art in small power systems. It goes without saying that we're looking at the next generation of fuel cell technology. Each of our partners brings unique capabilities to this long-range project, so it is very exciting."

About the Project:

Alkaline membrane fuel cells have the potential to overcome the simplification, performance and cost barriers associated with acidic-based PEM fuel cells by simplifying the water management requirements, enabling increased oxygen reduction kinetics, and eliminating the need for expensive platinum. 

The project aim is to miniaturise the fuel cell technology, utilising non-precious metal catalysts and a solid polymer membrane in an alkaline environment. Acta's role in the first year of the project will be to develop membrane electrode assemblies (MEA's) based on the new membranes and ionomers developed by the project partners, to incorporate the best performing non-platinum catalysts, and to carry out fuel cell performance testing and evaluation on the MEA's. The US Army project is led by DuPont along with Acta and other participants include Georgia Institute of Technology, North Carolina State University, Northeastern University, and Virginia Polytechnic Institute.

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Notes to Editors

About Acta 

Acta develops and manufactures clean technology products and unique patented catalysts which have been launched to the renewable energy, automotive, battery and industrial markets. Acta is also developing other commercial opportunities using its catalysts for industrial waste treatment.

Acta's catalysts and alkaline system know-how are at the heart of the Company's development of a new, high pressure water electrolyser technology which has demonstrated low cost, platinum free, high pressure hydrogen generation. Combined with a platinum free fuel cell, the system offers a solution to the problem of how to store surplus energy produced from large scale, intermittent renewable energy sources (eg wind farms). In addition, the low cost, small size and simplicity of the hydrogen generator makes it ideally suited as a recharger of commercial fuel cell applications (fuel cell bikes, electrical generators, UPS systems, etc).

Acta's catalysts are also undergoing customer tests in applications such as ammonia treatment (removal of ammonia from an industrial waste stream), and zinc-air batteries (a high performance and environmentally friendly battery technology), as well as fuel cell and other applications.