Ceramic Fuel Cells Regulatory News (CFU)

15 Mar 2007 07:01

Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited15 March 2007 15th March 2007 CERAMIC FUEL CELLS LIMITED SIGNS PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT FOR A GERMAN RESIDENTIAL COMBINED HEAT AND POWER SYSTEM Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited (CFCL), a world leading manufacturer of solid oxidefuel cells for micro-combined heat and power (m-CHP) units, today announces thatit has signed a new product development agreement with EWE, one of Germany's topfive energy suppliers, and Bruns Heiztechnik GmbH (Bruns), a specialist Germanboiler manufacturer. The project partners will design and develop a fullyintegrated m-CHP unit for the German residential market. CFCL received an initial order for its field trial demonstration units from EWEin July 2005. At that time CFCL and EWE also signed a letter of intent tocommercialise fuel cell based m-CHP units. In June 2006, CFCL received a secondorder from EWE, for ten NetGenTM prototype units, as part of an ongoing fieldtrial program. Under the terms of today's product development agreement, CFCL will collaboratewith Bruns to design and construct 1kW m-CHP units to meet EWE's specificationsfor the German market. The first stage of the project is to design and operate an 'Alpha' unit, wherebya CFCL NetGen unit, a Bruns high efficiency condensing boiler and a thermalstore will be integrated and operated via a single control unit. Work on thisstage has begun and is expected to be completed in 2007. The second stage is tocreate a near-commercial 'Beta' unit, comprising a single physical unit in whicha CFCL fuel cell module is fully integrated with a Bruns' boiler, without thethermal store. EWE's participation in this project ensures the development of a customeroriented and economically viable Beta product. Brendan Dow, Managing Director CFCL, commented: "Today's agreement highlights the growing demand for more efficient power andheating systems and represents a further step towards commercialisation of ourfuel cell technology. This is another example of our commercialisation model ofworking with utilities and appliance partners to develop and deploy our systems.We very much look forward to collaborating with EWE and Bruns to produce acommercial-ready product for the German market. It is another important step inour strong relationship with EWE." With regard to this, Heinrich Bruns jun., Managing Director of Bruns, says: "For almost 50 years now Bruns has been successfully producing heatingappliances. Bruns has had a substantial influence on significant ecological andeconomical developments in the heating appliance market. The fuel cell as anintegral part of a micro-CHP unit can mean an enormous advance in terms ofoptimal fuel utilisation while at the same time considerably reducing exhaustemissions. In keeping with our advertising slogan "Always one step ahead" weboth want to and have to play our part in an innovative development whichpromises a high level of efficiency, low CO-2 levels and the use of alternativefuels. Our success and our market approach are based in particular on theinnovative orientation of our company, and at the same time, this is the basison which to create new jobs and to safeguard existing ones." ENDS For further information please contact: Ceramic Fuel Cells Tel: +61 419 950 771Andrew Neilson Tel: +44 (0) 7798 554 191Brendan Bilton Email: investor@cfcl.com.au Hogarth Partnership Tel: +44 (0) 20 7357 9477Nick Denton / Sarah MacLeod NOTES TO EDITORS About CFCL Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited (CFCL) is a publicly listed company on the AustralianStock Exchange and the Alternative Investment Market (AIM: CFU) and world leaderin developing solid oxide fuel cells. CFCL's fuel cells have the potential tomeet significant market demand in Europe, UK and Asia for clean, efficient andreliable electricity for use on site and sale back into the power grid. With 100skilled staff and extensive patented technology, CFCL is pursuing partnershipsfor manufacture, production and use of its fuel cells in delivering electricityin homes, offices and industry around the world. www.cfcl.com.au About EWE EWE ranks among Germany's largest energy services companies and is headquarteredin Oldenburg in the federal state of Lower Saxony. The group's businessactivities comprise electricity, natural gas and water supply, environmentaltechnology as well as gas transmission and trade, telecommunication andinformation technology. EWE's state-of-the-art energy infrastructure ensures a safe and secure supply aswell as efficient operations. At an early stage, the company expanded itsactivities beyond its core competences as a network operator. Today, EWE offersa diverse range of services. In addition to its activities in its home regionbetween the Ems, Weser, and Elbe rivers, EWE continues to expand its operationsin Eastern Germany and diverse European countries. Today, EWE employs around5,200 people. In 2005, the EWE Group recorded sales of €7.4 billion. www.ewe.de About Bruns Bruns Kesselbau has been located in Saterland for over 40 years and in 2006employed over 200 staff. The company has a large portfolio of products, butsells only a few products under its own brand. Bruns products are known undervarious brand names in the heating market. The company develops and constructstailor made boilers and storage systems and also products for the booming solarthermal market. With its own R & D section, Bruns is capable of developingproducts known for their simplicity, reliability and maintainability. Thiscombined with extensive manufacturing expertise, product flexibility and qualityensures the company's success in the very competitive heating market in Europe. www.bruns-heiztechnik.de This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange