ACTA.L Regulatory News (ACTA)

19 Jan 2007 07:00

Acta S.p.A.19 January 2007 19 January 2007 Acta S.p.A. Trading Statement Acta, the AIM-listed manufacturer of platinum-free catalysts for the portableelectronics and renewables markets, is pleased to report positive commercial andtechnical progress ahead of its close period. Commercial momentum Commercial activity accelerated sharply in the second half of last year.Revenues from the sale of electrodes and catalysts were significantly higherthan in the first half of the year. Acta is delighted that, in addition to consumer electronics, it is now sellingproducts into the automotive market. Acta's catalysts have great potential forautomotive use because current fuel cell cars contain prohibitive levels ofplatinum and because Acta's catalysts permit alternative fuels to hydrogen.Acta's catalysts uniquely work with bio-ethanol, which is already in widespreaduse as an automotive fuel. In response to the US Department of Energy's report in February 2006, thatammonia would be an ideal carrier for hydrogen if only the hydrogen could beefficiently extracted, Acta has developed a highly effective catalyst for thelow temperature production of hydrogen by ammonia electrolysis. Acta will bedemonstrating this technology for the first time alongside key partner SumitomoCorporation at Fuel Cell Expo, the world's largest fuel cell and hydrogenexhibition, in Tokyo next month. Further engagement and revenues in the near term are likely. Technical acceptance Acta's core patent was granted in the EU in December and the Company filed twofurther patent applications in the second half of 2006. Awareness of Acta'sbreakthrough catalysts has led to a sharp increase in global interest in the useof anion exchange membrane fuel cells. In December, Los Alamos NationalLaboratories and the US Department of Defense hosted a high profile industryconference to promote additional research into this technology, citing thecommercial potential of Acta's catalysts as one of the motivations for this newinitiative. Operational scale-up In December, Acta created an Operations team to meet rising customer shipmentsand to manage the process of production scale-up during 2007. Acta already hassufficient installed capacity to reach profitability and to meet the currentneeds of the global fuel cell industry. Financial control Acta's tight control on expenditure means that cash utilisation in 2006 waswithin plan and expectations, despite the increase in commercial and productionactivity. Acta plans to announce its preliminary results for the twelve months ended 31December 2006 on Tuesday 20 March 2007. For further information, please contact: Acta S.p.A:Toby Woolrych, Chief Operating Officer Tel: +44 (0) 20 7360 4900 Smithfield Consultants:George Hudson / Noemie de Andia Tel: +44 (0) 20 7360 4900 Notes to Editors: Acta, which was admitted to AIM in October 2005, is a manufacturer ofplatinum-free catalysts for the portable electronics and renewables markets.Acta uses a patented manufacturing process to make uniquely active catalysts,branded HYPERMEC, which are able to perform as effectively as expensive platinumcatalysts. Acta's catalysts offer customers technical usage benefits,significant cost savings and allow for the first time the use of ethanol, whichis a safe and environmentally friendly fuel. Products in the target portableelectronics market include laptop computers and mobile phones, and in therenewables market include electricity supply, automotive power and hydrogengeneration. Acta's new ammonia electrolyser catalyst is based on the same HYPERMECtechnology as its other catalysts. The ammonia electrolyser may represent abreakthrough in the search for a solution to the intractable problem ofproviding hydrogen fuel supply for fuel cells in a practical, safe andeconomical manner. Opinion leaders in the fuel cell industry have identifiedhydrogen generation, transport and storage as the key barriers to the widespreadintroduction of hydrogen fuel cells to the market. Acta's new electrolyserbreaks ammonia (NH3) into nitrogen (which already makes up 79% or our air) andhydrogen with no harmful by-products. This is achieved at room temperature usinga fraction of the electricity input required to remove the hydrogen from water(water electrolysis). Ammonia is one of the most widely used and transportedchemicals on the planet: 140 million tons were produced last year, mainly foruse in fertilizers, and it is widely manufactured, transported and storedwithout environmental harm. Los Alamos National Laboratories is one of the leading technical institutes inthe US and has been a pioneer in the development of Direct Methanol Fuel Cellsover the past decade. Its interest in promoting awareness of Acta's technologyis therefore of great importance. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange