Ceres Power Regulatory News (CWR)

13 Dec 2007 10:46

Ceres Power Holdings plc13 December 2007 Ceres Power Holdings plc ('Ceres', 'Ceres Power' or the 'Company') Ceres Power and British Gas jointly win new clean energy award Ceres Power, the AIM-quoted fuel cell group, and British Gas, the largest energy supplier in Britain's domestic market, have jointly won the Rushlight Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Award, a major new award for clean energy innovation. The two companies won the award at a ceremony on 10th December 2007, for their collaboration on combined heat and power (micro-CHP) systems for small-scale residential microgeneration. The work, which started in August 2005, recently resulted in the demonstration of a wall mountable fuel cell micro-CHP unit, integrating in a single unit the fuel cell and all other components to provide heating, hot water and electricity to the home. This micro-CHP technology is thus able to replace existing home boilers, with potential for mass market adoption by 14.5 million UK households. The Government recently published its Microgeneration Strategy, which highlighted the potential for microgeneration to provide up to 30-40% of the UK's total electricity needs. Fuel cell micro-CHP could significantly reduce residential carbon emissions and energy costs through efficient generation of electricity and heat at the point of use in the home. However, the sector has been awaiting commercially viable products suitable for domestic installation, brought to market via a strong consumer brand. Ceres and British Gas have been addressing these needs through their collaboration on the design, build and evaluation of fuel cell micro-CHP. The technology has the potential to reduce a household's carbon emissions by up to 50% or up to 2.5 tonnes of CO2 per year, and to lower annual energy costs by several hundred pounds. Peter Bance, Chief Executive of Ceres Power, commented: "We are proud to receive this award, which recognises the unique technology being commercialized, and the strength of the joint Ceres - British Gas team. We believe this innovation could make a major contribution to improving energy security and reducing household energy costs and carbon emissions." Gearoid Lane, Director of British Gas New Energy, commented: "This prestigious award recognises the innovative product that our partnership is bringing to market. It also recognises the unique combination of Ceres Power's technology and British Gas' market presence as Britain's biggest residential energy supply, installation and maintenance company. We're proud of what we've achieved so far and excited about the potential of our combined efforts to transform Britain's energy market." - ends - For further information contact: Peter Bance, Chief Executive Officer, Ceres Power +44 (0) 1293 400 404Patrick d'Ancona / Charlotte Kirkham +44 (0) 207 153 1531M: Communications About the Rushlight Awards The Rushlight Awards are designed to celebrate the significant achievements of UK and Irish technology, innovation and commerce in helping to address the key issues of climate change and waste management. The awards seek to set out the substantial advances that have been made, to promote and support the organizations and their achievements so far and to inform consumers, investors and industry of the progress that has been made, the choices that now exist and the future investment opportunities that lie ahead. Sponsors and partners of the inaugural Rushlight Awards include BT, Welsh Power and NESTA (National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts), whilst judges include individuals affiliated with DBERR (Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform) and the IET (Institution of Engineering and Technology). Further information can be found at http://www.rushlightawards.co.uk/ This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange