ACTA.L Regulatory News (ACTA)

28 Nov 2007 07:00

Acta S.p.A.28 November 2007 28 November 2007 Acta S.p.A. First Major Development Contract Win Acta, the AIM-listed catalyst developer, has today signed its first majorrevenue earning contract with a leading global original equipment manufacturer("OEM") and Sumitomo Corporation. If the programme is successful, it is thepresent intention of all parties to move to subsequent commercialisation ofapplications containing Acta catalysts. Following extensive trials of Acta's HYPERMEC catalysts for both AlkalineMembrane Fuel Cells (AMFCs) and for ammonia electrolysers, a major global OEMbased in Asia has today entered into a three party development agreement for thefurther development and optimisation of Acta's catalysts for use in a number ofspecified commercial applications. Under the terms of this agreement, the OEM,Sumitomo Corporation and Acta will jointly fund specific development activitiesover an initial sixteen month period, to be extended by mutual agreement. Thecontract will start on 1 December 2007, with a total contribution by Sumitomoand the OEM of €0.6m in the initial four months, Acta's contribution largelybeing provided in the form of facilities and management support. The details ofthe programme for the following twelve months will be agreed in the firstquarter of 2008. Target applications and a route to market have been identified and thedevelopment programme will focus on accelerating the potential commercial launchof products containing Acta's innovative catalysts. Acta already has the production capacity in place to meet the requirements ofthe development contract and is increasing its recruitment of researchers toprovide additional technical resources both for the contract and for otherresearch and development activities. The OEM cannot currently be identified due to an agreement between the partiesthat this partnership should not be disclosed until technical qualification forat least one of the specified target end products has been achieved. Paolo Bert, Chief Executive, commented: "We are delighted to announce our first revenue earning, commercial contractwith one of the world's leading manufacturers and our partners SumitomoCorporation. The contract has clearly identified commercial applications and anidentified route to market. The contract marks the next big step for Actatowards the large scale commercialisation of its HYPERMEC catalysts intopotentially very significant markets." For further information, please contact: Acta S.p.A:Toby Woolrych, Chief Operating Officer Tel: +44 (0) 20 7360 4900 Smithfield Consultants:George Hudson / Katie Hunt / Will Henderson Tel: +44 (0) 20 7360 4900 Numis:David Poutney / Alex Ham Tel: +44 (0) 20 7260 1000 - Ends - Notes to Editors: Acta S.p.A. Acta develops and manufactures unique patented catalysts which have beenlaunched initially to the renewable energy, automotive and portable electronicsmarkets. Acta's new catalysts for ammonia offer the automotive industry access to apractical hydrogen carrier for the first time. The catalysts extract hydrogenfrom 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 problemof hydrogen storage and transportation. Acta's HYPERMEC catalyst range for alkaline membrane fuel cells allowsdevelopers to stop using expensive platinum so that fuel cells can be madecommercially viable for mass adoption, particularly for automotive, batteryreplacement and portable electronics applications. Adoption of HYPERMECcatalysts greatly reduces the cost of portable fuel cells and additionallyallows for the first time the use of a wide range of safe liquid bio-fuels suchas ethanol and glycerol. Further information Sumitomo Investment Acta announced in July a £4.6m investment by Sumitomo Corporation together witha further £1.15m placing with UK institutions. At the same time Acta andSumitomo entered into a new Marketing Agreement with an initial fixed termextended to ten years and provisions contemplating collaboration in futureventures in the Asian region. 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 and has subsequently been attracting attention atexhibitions world-wide. The ammonia electrolyser is a breakthrough becauseammonia is a very widely available and practical fuel for carbon-free motoring.Use of ammonia avoids the critical problems of hydrogen storage andtransportation currently faced by fuel cell developers. The new electrolyserreleases the hydrogen for use in a fuel cell using a fraction of the electricalinput and at a much lower temperature than any other process. The Actadevelopment therefore makes possible for the first time the on-board supply ofhydrogen for automotive fuel cells from a practical fuel source. Alkaline Membrane Fuel Cells Acta has developed a range of platinum free catalysts to be used in a type offuel cell called Alkaline Membrane Fuel Cell (AMFC). The extensive use of scarceand expensive platinum severely restricts the commercial potential for fuelcells to be used in mass market applications. Acta has been a market leader indeveloping not just the catalysts but also systems expertise with AMFC. Acta isseeing increasing evidence that many leading companies and technical institutesin the field are now also seeing the commercial potential for AMFC, as evidencedby recent demonstrations by Daihatsu of AMFC technology. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange