Ceramic Fuel Cells Regulatory News (CFU)

29 Sep 2008 07:00



29 September 2008

CERAMIC FUEL CELLS LIMITED

("CFCL" or "the Company")

Achieves iNDUSTRY FIRST for Electrical Efficiency in micro-CHP System

Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited (AIM / ASX: CFU), a leading developer of high efficiency and low emission microgeneration products for homes, today announces that it has achieved electrical efficiency of 50% in its proprietary NetGenPlus micro-CHP system, marking a first for the fuel cell industry.

In February, CFCL announced that it had achieved similar levels of efficiency with its fuel cell stack in a test station environment. CFCL has now achieved the same result in a complete NetGenPlus micro-CHP system, comprising a fuel cell module integrated with all balance of plant components. The NetGenPlus unit has been operating at CFCL's facilities in Melbourne, Australia in real-world conditions for approximately 1,300 hours (or two months), using fuel supplied from the natural gas pipeline and exporting approximately 1kW of electricity to the local grid at 50% electrical efficiency. 

Commenting on the achievement, Brendan Dow, Managing Director, said:

"So far as we are aware a system electrical efficiency of 50 per cent is higher than any other micro-CHP product has achieved. High electrical efficiency is core to the value proposition for microgeneration products and a key driver of our strategy and product design at CFCL. It is also a key requirement for commercial micro-CHP products - several recent independent market studies have reinforced our view that higher levels of electrical efficiency can create greater cost savings and CO2 emission reductions for customers. We look forward to similar achievements in our commercial product development programmes with our utility and appliance partners in Europe and Japan."

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Note to Editors

Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited is a world leader in developing solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology to provide highly efficient and low-emission electricity from widely available natural gas and renewable fuels. CFCL is developing SOFC products for micro combined heat and power (mCHP) and distributed generation units that generate electricity and heat for homes.

CFCL is developing mCHP products with leading appliance partners and utility customers in Germany (EWE and Bruns Heiztechnik), France (Gaz de France and De Dietrich Thermique), the United Kingdom (E.On UK Ltd and Gledhill Water Storage Ltd), Holland (Nuon and Remeha), and Japan (Paloma). CFCL is listed on the London Stock Exchange AIM market and the Australian Securities Exchange (code CFU). www.cfcl.com.au