ACTA.L Regulatory News (ACTA)

Acta S.p.A.

("Acta" or "the Company")

Photovoltaics Programme Update SPF Energy contract more than triples to €32.2 million

Acta, the clean energy products company, is delighted to announce the signing of a Framework Agreement for the installation of 10.6 MW of photovoltaic park capacity, with a contract value of €32.2 million, with SPF Energy S.p.A. ("SPF"). This Agreement is part of the extension of the Preliminary Contract with SPF, previously announced with on 23 March 2010, to install large-scale photovoltaic ("PV") parks in Italy, which has now been expanded to incorporate an installation programme of up to 14.0 MW.

SPF is a renewable energy company sponsored by Sopaf S.p.A., an independent Italian investment company listed on the Milan Stock Exchange. SPF's PV programme is believed to be one of the largest PV investment programmes being undertaken in the Italian market this year, with a total value of up to €80 million. The installations will be carried out through SolGen S.c.a.r.l., a joint venture company formed between Acta and Fedi Impianti S.r.l. ("Fedi Impianti"), one of Italy's leading specialist PV installation companies.

In accordance with the Framework Agreement, SolGen has received an advance payment of €1.3 million and is to receive two further advance payments over the period to 9 July 2010, totalling €5.0 million in aggregate. Implementation is to start immediately, with the securing of key materials for installation such as PV panels and inverters. The revenues, costs and profits generated by the joint venture will be shared equally by Acta and Fedi Impianti.

Under the Framework Agreement, the terms of the EPC (engineering, procurement and construction), O&M (operation & maintenance) and land lease contracts for each installation project within the programme have been agreed between the parties, and are expected to be signed separately for each project following the completion of due diligence over the next two to four weeks.

Acta expects to complete up to 10.0 MW (with a value of €30 million) of the Framework Agreement installation programme within 2010, which will be funded through contract stage payments and the financial resources of Acta and Fedi Impianti.

Acta expects to announce further installation project engagements during the year.

Paolo Bert, Chief Executive, commented: "We are delighted that our partnership with SPF Energy and Fedi Impianti has resulted in this very substantial scale-up in the PV programme so early in this first year of our joint venture company, SolGen. We are honoured to be part of one of Italy's largest solar installation initiatives, and further negotiations are continuing both in relation to this investment programme and to other PV installations, which we are confident we will be able to announce in due course.

"Through the installation programme with SPF, SolGen will become a significant new entrant in the Italian PV market, and we believe that the visibility that this programme will create for SolGen will greatly assist us in the further expansion of our PV activities in this year and next.

"The PV installation market has strong synergies with our low-cost, scalable, hydrogen generation technology for renewable energy storage. We are already building our project pipeline for next year, and based on recent Italian government indications of a 10% to 20% reduction in the feed-in tariff for 2011, we expect the market to experience comparable levels of activity next year, when we will be seeking to grow and consolidate our revenues within this key renewable energy sector.

"The enlargement of the SPF installation contract from €8.8 million to €32.2 million underpins our strong confidence that Acta will achieve profitability and positive cash flow in the second half of 2010 without the need for additional shareholder funding."

- ENDS-

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About Acta S.p.A.

Acta S.p.A. is a developer and provider of a broad range of renewable energy and related products. Its product line includes a range of compact hydrogen generators as well as various portable, mobile and backup fuel cell devices that can make use of locally generated hydrogen in UPS, marine, automotive, electric cycling, scooter, camping and domestic applications. The Company's broader interests include a range of environmental catalysts and solar power projects.

Acta's cost-competitive products are based on its proprietary, inexpensive environmental catalyst and hydrogen conversion technologies. These products help overcome the barriers to the adoption of fuel cells, most notably the lack of a local hydrogen infrastructure.

Acta's low-cost hydrogen generators represent a unique breakthrough in electrolyser technology. They can operate using mains power or intermittent renewable energy, and produce clean, dry hydrogen already at pressure for use in fuel cell and other industrial and consumer applications. This unique combination of features avoids the system complexity and energy cost of further cleaning, drying and compression of the hydrogen, resulting in a simple, compact, low-cost and highly efficient system that is ideally suited for energy conversion and storage applications. In such applications, which include battery replacement and renewable energy storage, low cost and high efficiency are critical to commercial viability, while hydrogen compression is essential for the energy density of the system. No other water electrolyser currently on the market offers this combination of benefits.

Acta is focusing on delivering its products to markets with high volume demand for high-value environmental solutions (transport, UPS, energy and leisure). It is accelerating the commercialisation of its products via partnerships with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), distributors, and agents in these sectors, and intends to drive down production costs at high volume via contract manufacturing.

Acta is marketing its product range to early adopters through its energy products division, Acta Energy. This division's objective is to ensure, through facilitating the widespread adoption of commercial and domestic fuel cell products, that Acta's hydrogen generator becomes a familiar industrial and domestic appliance.

Acta S.p.A. was admitted to trading on AIM in October 2005. It is based near Pisa, Italy, from where it manages a growing overseas distributor network targeting a global fuel cell market estimated to be worth US$26 billion by 2020.

About SPF Energy S.p.A.

SPF Energy S.p.A. is a renewable energy investment company focused on medium size diversified PV plants, sponsored by Sopaf S.p.A., an independent Italian diversified investment company. Sopaf has developed its business model based on Anglo-Saxon investment companies, and invests capital of its own and of third parties with the aim of generating returns above market average. Sopaf currently has funds of over €300 million under management, and is listed on the Borsa Italiana (Italian Stock Exchange).

SPF Energy, along with another Sopaf affiliated company, Sun System, has undertaken a large extension program to build a sizable portfolio of PV properties to provide steady income streams over time.

About Fedi Impiant S.r.l.

Fedi Impianti S.r.l. is one of Italy's leading design and installation companies for electrical and technological systems, which over the last five years has specialized in the construction of renewable energy production systems. With 70 staff and activities in Germany and Spain, Fedi is one of Italy's most active and respected PV installation specialists, is one of the largest distributors of PV panels for ENEL.si, and has been responsible for over 50 MW in PV installations to date. The business was founded in 1950 and is has obtained certification under ISO 9001/2000.