Proton Mtr Pwr Regulatory News (PPS)

10 Jul 2008 07:00



Proton Power Systems plc

("Proton Power" or the "Company")

Appointment of director

The Board of Proton Power Systems plc (AIM: PPS), a leading designer, developer and producer of fuel cells and fuel cell electric hybrid systems for the 'back to base' market, is pleased to announce the appointment of Ali Naini as a Non-Executive Director with immediate effect.

Mr. Naini is the co-founder and Managing Director of Turquoise International, an FSA authorised company specialising in corporate finance for energy and the environment. He has advised on a number of fuel cell related transactions and brings a mix of industry and corporate finance expertise to the Board of Proton. Mr. Naini is also a Director of Controlled Power Technologies, a developer of fuel and CO2 reducing automotive technologies. Prior to Turquoise, he was a Director at Close Brothers Corporate Finance with a focus on the energy sector. Before that he worked at Flemings, a British investment bank now part of JP Morgan.

Commenting on the appointment, Felix Heidelberg, Chief Executive of Proton Power, said:  "I am delighted to welcome Ali Naini onto our Board. Ali played a significant role in facilitating the placing by the Company which raised £3.0 million last May. His extensive experience in both the financial and environmental sectors will be of great value in supporting our drive to commercialise our low-emission fuel cell hybrid systems."

Further details as required under Schedule 2 (g) and rule 17 of the AIM Rules for Companies are contained in Appendix One to this announcement.

- ENDS - 

For further information:

Media enquiries:

  Appendix One:

In accordance with Schedule 2(g) and rule 17 of the AIM Rules for Companies, the following information in relation to the appointment of Mr Ali Naini is disclosed below: 

Ali Naini (formerly Aghahosseini Naini), aged 41, holds and has held within the five preceding years the following directorships and partnerships:

Turquoise International Limited, of which Ali Naini is Managing Director and a major shareholder, has a direct interest of 175,000 ordinary shares of 5 pence in the Company ("Ordinary Shares") representing 0.29% of the issued share capital of the Company.

Turquoise Capital LLP, of which Ali Naini is a partner, has a direct interest in 792,739 Ordinary Shares representing 1.29% of the issued share capital of the Company. Ali Naini controls the voting rights over 505,409 of the Ordinary Shares held by Turquoise Capital LLP.

Ali Naini therefore controls the voting rights over an aggregate of 680,409 Ordinary Shares representing 1.11% of the issued share capital of the Company.

Notes to Editors 

Proton Power Systems plc is a developer of fuel cells and fuel cell hybrid systems for motive and back-up power supply. Proton Power has more than 14 years of experience in the fuel cell market. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, Proton Motor Fuel Cell GmbH, the Company has developed and produced a fuel cell module running on hydrogen and integrated this with an energy storage system to create a hybrid electric fuel cell system. The system harnesses the excess power generated by the fuel cell during partial load (such as stop-start operations) and uses the stored energy in peak demand times. The system thus boasts lower fuel consumption and more consistent levels of power delivery than conventional combustion engine or fuel cell-only systems, in addition to producing zero harmful emissions.

Proton Power's market focus lies in industrial applications where 'back-to-base' refuelling occurs at the end of each shift or work period, such as in the materials handling and mass transportation sectors. In these markets, the commercialisation of applications is possible at a very early stage, as they do not depend on the existence of a ubiquitous hydrogen infrastructure. Through partnerships with leading OEMs such as Skoda Electric and Karmann, Proton Power's technology is already deployed in city buses and forklift trucks.  

Proton Power also targets the upcoming market for marine transportation applications and provides the hybrid fuel cell propulsion system for Europe's first fuel-cell powered passenger / river boat ferry, which will be operating in Hamburg from 2008. 

Proton Power Systems plc was admitted to trading on AIM on 31 October 2006 and is incorporated in the UK. Its operating subsidiary, Proton Motor Fuel Cell GmbH, is located in Puchheim, near Munich, Germany.