Ceramic Fuel Cells Regulatory News (CFU)

24 Jul 2007 07:00

Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited24 July 2007 24 July 2007 CERAMIC FUEL CELLS, NUON AND REMEHA COLLABORATE ON MICROGENERATION FOR BENELUX REGION Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited (CFCL), a leading developer of energy products basedon solid oxide fuel cells, Nuon NV (Nuon), Holland's leading generator anddistributor of electricity, gas and heat and De Dietrich-Remeha Group,represented by Remeha BV (Remeha) today announce that they have formed acollaboration to jointly develop a fully integrated micro-combined heat andpower (m-CHP) unit for the residential market across The Netherlands andBelgium. The new-generation high-efficiency unit, which is based on CFCL's fuel cellsystem, will enable households and small businesses to generate both heat andelectricity. The unit will look just like a conventional high-efficiency boiler with thedifference being that as well as generating heat, it also generates enough powerto meet an average household's energy needs. This means more efficient use ofnatural gas resources, while the CO2 emissions are up to 25% lower than from agas-fired power station and up to 60% lower than from a conventional coal-firedpower station. The fuel-cell boiler will be easy to install as it uses the samepipes as existing high-efficiency boiler installations. Peter Erich, Member of the Board of Nuon, commented: "Technologies that save energy at home are one of our biggest future challenges.We believe that with CFCL and Remeha we can offer households and small companiesa solution for a more efficient use of energy and the reduction ofCO2-emissions." Brendan Dow, Managing Director of CFCL, commented: "Our fourth product development agreement, this time in the key Benelux market,complements our existing collaborations in the UK, France and Germany andcompletes our partnering objectives in Europe. We are now well on our way tocommercial product development. "Nuon is widely considered to be at the forefront of clean power generation andour selection as development partner is a huge endorsement of the potential forCFCL's fuel cell technology. Importantly, Nuon has stipulated precisely what itneeds to place large orders for commercial m-CHP units providing a clear pathfor us to formalise volume orders for the first time. "We are also delighted to have expanded our relationship with the Remeha group.The experiences gained from our existing collaboration with De Dietrich in theFrench market will serve us well as we work together to develop a commercialproduct for Benelux residents." With operations in The Netherlands, Belgium and Germany, Nuon is one of theleading innovative energy companies in Europe, with a stated commitment toefficient and renewable power generation. In December 2006, CFCL announced thatit is to develop a large-scale fuel cell manufacturing facility at the Oberbruchindustrial park in Heinsberg, Germany, which is owned and managed by Nuon. De Dietrich-Remeha Group is one of the largest boiler manufacturers in Europe.Besides Remeha, it includes De Dietrich Thermique, France's leading heatingappliance company, with whom CFCL already collaborates via its partnership withGaz de France. The product development project for Benelux will build on thisexisting collaboration. Under the terms of the agreement announced today, CFCL, Nuon and DeDietrich-Remeha will jointly develop 1kW m-CHP units to meet specifications forhomes in The Netherlands and Belgium. The first stage of the project is todeploy an 'Alpha' unit, whereby a CFCL NetGen+ unit, a high efficiencycondensing boiler and a thermal store will be integrated and operated via asingle control unit. Nuon will then test the system for efficiency, reliabilityand integration. Based on the results of this stage, the partners will thenproceed to the second stage - creation of a near-commercial 'Beta' unit,comprising a single physical unit in which a CFCL fuel cell module is fullyintegrated with a boiler. The parties have also agreed to define price and performance targets forcommercial m-CHP units and, if the project proceeds successfully, to placeagreed volume orders for commercial units. On the basis of these volume ordertargets Nuon will be CFCL's exclusive utility partner in the Benelux region. The partners will commence work on the project immediately. The Alpha unit isexpected to be deployed in the first half of 2008. The parties have agreed not to disclose the financial terms of the agreement. ENDS Ceramic Fuel Cells will host a conference call for analysts this morning at08.30 British Summer Time. Please contact Hogarth PR on +44 (0) 20 7357 9477 fordetails. For further information please contact: Ceramic Fuel Cells LimitedAndrew Neilson Tel: +61 419 950 771Brendan Bilton Tel: +44 (0) 7798 554 191 Email: investor@cfcl.com.au Hogarth Partnership (PR for CFCL) Tel: +44 (0) 20 7357 9477Nick Denton / Sarah MacLeod / Sarah Richardson Libertas Capital (NOMAD for CFCL) Tel : +44 (0) 20 7569 9666Andrew HardyAamir Quraishi Nuon Tel. +31 (0) 205974200Floske Kusse Email: mediarelations@nuon.com NOTES TO EDITORS About CFCL Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited is a 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 Stock Exchange (code CFU). www.cfcl.com.au About Nuon Nuon is a leading energy company that serves over 2 million customers in theNetherlands, Belgium and Germany with electricity, gas, heating and relatedservices. The company is active in the production, trading, transport andsupply of (renewable) energy. Nuon pursues balanced growth for allstakeholders: shareholders, employees, customers, the environment and society.Total net turnover for 2006 amounts to EUR 5.6 billion. The number of employeesat the end of 2006 was 9,768 FTEs. The larger shareholders of Nuon are theprovinces of Gelderland, Noord-Holland, the municipality of Amsterdam and BVHoudstermaatschappij Falcon whose shares are held by the province of Fryslan. www.nuon.com About Remeha / De Dietrich Thermique The Remeha Group is a large global boiler and heating systems manufacturer. TheGroup, headquartered in The Netherlands, has revenues of some EUR 540 millionin 2005, employs 2.500 people and sells products into 40 countries around theworld. The group includes De Dietrich Thermique in France and Broag-Remeha inthe UK. www.remeha.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange