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26 July 2023
AFC Energy PLC
("AFC Energy" or the "Company")
AFC Energy Secures £4.3m UK Government Grant
AFC Energy (AIM: AFC), a leading provider of hydrogen power generation technologies, is pleased to announce that, along with its consortium partners, it has been awarded a grant of up to £4.8m, from the UK Government's red diesel replacement programme ("RDR").
As consortium lead, AFC Energy will be able to recover up to £4.3m of the total £4.8m granted, on a match funding basis.
The RDR programme, administered by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, is focused on the construction, mining and quarrying sectors and will provide up to £40 million of matched funding, as part of the £1 billion Net Zero Innovation Portfolio (NZIP), which aims to accelerate the commercialisation of innovative clean energy technologies and processes through the 2020s and 2030s.
The grant follows and recognises the field testing of AFC Energy's air cooled H-Power Tower generators on UK construction sites over the past year. The RDR grant will support the Company to accelerate the development and commercialisation of its next generation of larger scale hydrogen powered generators, both air cooled (S Series) and liquid cooled (S+ Series), by funding the first UK field deployments of this next generation.
The ultimate objective is the complete displacement of incumbent diesel usage on remote sites, which will further highlight the increasing role hydrogen fuel is playing in the decarbonisation of traditionally hard to abate sectors such as construction, quarrying and mining.
A key element of AFC Energy's successful funding application was its proximity to scaling up, both in terms of technology and commercial sales, along with its close alignment to construction contractors and plant hire businesses, one of whom provided a strong letter of support to AFC Energy's application process.
The consortium partners are:
· Brett Aggregates - part of Brett Group, which is the largest independent building materials group in the UK; and
· Energy Solutions - a UK based provider of hybrid battery and energy storage solutions.
Adam Bond, Chief Executive Officer at AFC Energy, said:
"Having successfully delivered on our commitment to field deploy multiple H-Power Tower Generators with customers and partners over the past eighteen months, it is clear industry is increasingly ready to transition away from polluting diesel generators at construction and temporary power sites. Confirmation of our consortium's success in the Government's RDR Programme is a nationally significant funding commitment that demonstrates the commitment by governments and industry to decarbonise off-grid power generation through zero emission hydrogen fueled generators."
Bill Brett, Chairman, Brett Group, said:
"We are delighted to be collaborating in the development of clean energy power generation alternatives to accelerate the replacement of diesel generation and supporting the decarbonisation of the building materials industry."
Mark Penny, Commercial Director at Energy Solutions said:
"We are delighted to be partnering with AFC Energy in the Red Diesel Replacement grant. The opportunity to develop emission free offgrid power that has many applications from construction sites to mining is a very exciting prospect."
For further information, please contact:
AFC Energy plc Adam Bond (Chief Executive Officer)
| +44 (0) 14 8327 6726 investors@afcenergy.com |
Peel Hunt LLP - Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker Richard Crichton / Tom Ballard / Georgia Langoulant |
+44 (0) 207 418 8900
|
Zeus - Joint Broker David Foreman / James Hornigold (Investment Banking) Dominic King (Corporate Broking) / Rupert Woolfenden (Sales) | +44 (0) 203 829 5000 |
FTI Consulting - Financial PR Advisors Ben Brewerton / Nick Hennis / Dhruv Soni |
+44 (0) 203 727 1000 afcenergy@fticonsulting.com |
About AFC Energy
AFC Energy plc is commercialising scalable "flex fuel" fuel cell systems, to provide clean electricity for on and off grid applications. The technology, pioneered over the past twelve years in the UK, is now deployable in electric vehicle chargers, off-grid decentralised power systems and data centre applications with emerging opportunities across maritime and rail as part of a portfolio approach to the decarbonisation of local electricity needs.