Ceres Power Regulatory News (CWR)

23 May 2005 07:01

Ceres Power Holdings plc23 May 2005 Research Update - Ceres Power Holdings plc ("Ceres Power" or the Company") Larger fuel cells cheaper to produce and easier to assemble AIM-quoted Ceres Power has succeeded in making its high-performance fuel cellfour times larger. This means that the fuel cell, which among other uses is destined for use indomestic boilers to generate electricity as well as heat, will become muchcheaper to manufacture and dramatically simpler to incorporate into commercialproducts. Ceres Head of Product Development Andrew Baker said: "Our development so far hasused fuel cells the size of an After Eight mint. Now we can produce cells thesize of a CD case, which produce 4 times as much power. This dramatic scale upin size should slash manufacturing costs and represents a key step towards usingthe cell in applications where greater outputs of electricity are needed." Fuel cells generate electricity and heat when gas is passed over one surface andair over the other. Unlike most others, the Ceres Power cell is manufacturedusing low cost materials and cheap mass production techniques. It does not needplatinum as a catalyst, and will run on natural gas as well as hydrogen. The latest breakthrough follows the announcement last week of other recenttechnology firsts, when Ceres exceeded a clutch of key industry performancebenchmarks previously unmatched by other companies in the sector. Larger fuel cells technical background: Ceres Power's third generation solid oxide fuel cells are based on patentedmetal-supported thin ceramic layer technology. The inherent compatibility ofthe thermally matched metal and ceramic layers in the Ceres design has enabledmuch larger cells to be developed as stack components. This successful quadrupling of the cell size has major commercial significance.The dramatic reduction in part count not only applies to the four-fold reductionin the number of cells in the stack but also to other components as a result ofthe simplified stack design. As a consequence, the projected manufacturingcosts for materials, components, and assembly operations have been slashed andthe expected stack manufacturing throughput rates significantly increased.Stack volume and weights based on the enlarged cells should make the Cerestechnology attractive for a broader range of market applications where theseparameters are critical. The combined technological improvements and cost benefits from reduced partcount and simplified stack design represent a major step towards mass marketcommercialisation. For further information contact: Peter Bance, Chief Executive, Ceres Power Ltd: +44 (0) 1293 400 404Ian Foster, First City Financial Public Relations: +44 (0) 20 7436 7486 +44 (0) 7739 185 050 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange