Ceramic Fuel Cells Regulatory News (CFU)

29 Jan 2008 07:01

Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited29 January 2008 29 January 2008 Ceramic Fuel Cells partners with H.C. Starck to secure volume supply of fuel cell components Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited ("CFCL"), a global leader in fuel cell development,has signed agreements with H.C. Starck of Germany to secure a high volume supplyof fuel cell components. Under a co-operation agreement, CFCL and HC Starck will collaborate to developadvanced SOFC components, in particular anode supported cells. CFCL is preparedto license its relevant IP in order to optimize the performance of the cell.H.C. Starck will collaborate to continually improve manufacturing processes andreduce unit costs. Under a supply agreement, H.C. Starck will supply fuel cells at agreed pricesuntil December 2011, securing long term costs for CFCL. Supply of the fuel cellsis expected to commence in mid 2008, with further increases in forecast volumes,and reductions in unit prices, from 2009. H.C. Starck has recently commissioned two lines for manufacturing solid oxidefuel cells (SOFC), specifically for Anode Supported Cells and for ElectrolyteSupported Cells, with an annual capacity of about 700,000 cells each. The SOFCmanufacturing lines are located at its subsidiary company H.C. Starck Ceramicsin Selb, Germany. H.C. Starck's world class manufacturing facility is dedicatedand fully equipped to produce high quality anode supported fuel cells inaccordance with CFCL's rigorous specifications. H.C. Starck's manufacturingprocesses are certified to ISO standards 9001 and 14000. As part of CFCL's commercialisation strategy the partnership will combine CFCL'sand H.C. Starck's expertise in SOFC as well as H.C. Starck's manufacturingcapabilities, securing the supply chain for mass manufacture of high qualitycells at commercially viable unit costs. CFCL will continue to produce fuel cells at its Melbourne R&D and pilotmanufacturing facility, leveraging its 15 years of development expertise todrive continued improvements in cell performance. This cooperation is non-exclusive for both parties. CFCL is reviewing similaropportunities with other suppliers throughout Europe. Commenting, Brendan Dow, Managing Director of Ceramic Fuel Cells, said: "We are delighted to have secured our supply chain for basic fuel cellcomponents with a global leader in advanced ceramic production. Thisannouncement represents a significant step in fuel cell commercialisation. Wehave combined our valuable intellectual property - developed since 1992 - withH.C. Starck's manufacturing facilities in order to quickly move to volumeproduction, with the same level of quality, at a lower cost and lower risk. " Commenting, Aloys Eiling, Managing Director of H.C. Starck Ceramics, said: "The partnership with CFCL, a major world wide SOFC player, is an excellent fitfor our strategy to become the world leading supplier of SOFC cell technology.The collaboration enables us to bundle our strengths and further develop ourcell technology and optimize manufacturing processes to CFCL's advancedtechnical and commercial requirements. Through the supply agreement we willutilise our existing SOFC manufacturing facilities and invest in additionalequipment to further expand our capacity to supply the growing market for solidoxide fuel cells. We are excited about the agreement and consider this to be thenext important step towards maturity of the solid oxide fuel cell technology." Ends Managing Director Brendan Dow discusses the agreement with HC Starck on aBoardroomradio webcast - click here or go to www.brr.com.au/cfu. For further information please contact: Ceramic Fuel CellsAndrew Neilson Tel: +61 419 950 771 Email: investor@cfcl.com.au Hogarth Partnership (PR for CFCL) Tel: +44 (0) 20 7357 9477Sarah MacLeod / Sarah Richardson / VickyWatkins Libertas Capital (NOMAD for CFCL) Tel: +44 (0) 20 7569 9650Aamir Quraishi / Andrew Hardy H.C. Starck CeramicsHans Peter Baldus Tel: +49 9287 807 304 Email: hans-peter.baldus@hcstarck.com Rolf Huiberts Tel: +49 9287 807 303 Email: rolf.huiberts@hcstarck.com About CFCL Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited is a world leader in developing solid oxide fuel cell(SOFC) technology which can provide reliable, energy efficient, high-quality,and low-emission electricity from widely available natural gas and renewablefuels. CFCL is developing SOFC products for small-scale on-site micro combinedheat and power (m-CHP) and distributed generation units that co-generateelectricity and heat for domestic use. CFCL is listed on the London StockExchange AIM market and the Australian Securities Exchange (code CFU). www.cfcl.com.au About HC Starck H.C. Starck is an international group of companies with more than 3,500employees at 13 production sites in Europe, North America and the Far East and asales revenue of 985 Mio. Euro in 2006. H.C. Starck produces an assortment of refractory metal powders that is uniquethe world over, including tungsten, molybdenum, tantalum, niobium, rhenium aswell as their compounds (borides, carbides, nitrides, oxides, silicides,sulfides). A further production focuses on thermal spray and advanced ceramicpowders, nonferrous metals, such as nickel and nickel salts, as well as boronand boron compounds. In addition to metal and advanced ceramic powders,semi-finished and finished products are manufactured. H.C. Starck is also aleading supplier of specialty chemicals and products formulated for theelectronics industry. HC Starck started to develop SOFC materials in 1996. Through the acquisition ofSOFC cell producer InDEC in 2003 H.C. Starck obtained know how in celltechnology. Since then H.C. Starck has built large production lines forElectrolyte and Anode Supported Cell technology and improved the SOFC technologysignificantly to meet the technical requirements for series production. HC Starck's fuel cell development and manufacturing operations are located atits 900 m2 facility in Selb, Germany. HC Starck employs 20 staff at thesefacilities, which comprise state of the art continuous tape casters andautomated screen printers located in conditioned clean room facilities,production rooms for slurry and paste preparation plus sintering facilitiessupported by ISO-certified quality control processes. Since 2000 HC Starck hasinvested double digit Million Euros in the development of SOFC components. HC Starck's facilities in Selb have a current capacity of 1,4 million fuel cellsper year. HC Starck is currently investing in further equipment to expand thiscapacity to supply the growing market for solid oxide fuel cells. www.hcstarck.com Fuel Cells and m-CHP product development HC Starck produces 'anode supported' solid oxide cells, comprising a porousanode support layer, which gives the cell its mechanical strength, a functionalanode, a thin-film electrolyte and a porous cathode. CFCL also makes anodesupported cells at its facilities in Melbourne, Australia. These cells convert all sorts of fuels into electricity and heat, via anelectrochemical reaction. The cells are combined into fuel cell 'stacks' toproduce very efficient power and heat for micro-CHP units, Auxiliary Power Unitsand other advanced stationary power appliances. CFCL will use the cells supplied by HC Starck in CFCL's Gennex fuel cell module,comprising an advanced metal-ceramic fuel cell stack plus highly efficientbalance of plant components developed by CFCL. CFCL will sell its Gennex moduleto CFCL's appliance partners for integration into m-CHP products for homes,running on widely available natural gas. CFCL is developing m-CHP products with leading appliance partners and utilitycustomers in Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Holland, and Japan. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange