Last checked at 29 Jan 2009 15:30
| 29 January 2009 |
Proton Power Systems plc
("Proton Power" or "the Company")
Directorate Change
Proton Power (AIM: PPS), the designer, developer and producer of fuel cells and fuel cell electric hybrid systems, announces that it has appointed Helmut Gierse as a Non-Executive Director of the Company, with immediate effect.
Mr. Gierse has been President and Chief Executive of the Automation and Drives division of Siemens AG and is currently a member of the supervisory board of Kuka AG.
John Wall, Executive Chairman of Proton, said: "We are very pleased with the appointment of Helmut to the board of Proton; he brings a wealth of experience in industrial manufacturing and his advice will be very valuable as we continue to pursue our strategy".
Additional information:
The following additional information is given in accordance with Rule 17 and schedule 2 paragraph (g) of the AIM Rules. Other than the information contained within this announcement, there is no further information in relation to Helmut Gierse required to be disclosed by the AIM Rules.
Mr. Gierse, 58 years of age, has, in the past 5 years, been a board member of the following Siemens AG group companies:
Siemens Energy and Automation, Inc.
Flender AG
Siemens Belgium SA
Siemens France SA
Milltronics, Inc.
Siemens Canada, Inc.
He resigned from all these positions in December 2007. He is currently a member of the supervisory board of Kuka AG. He does not hold any interest in the Company's share capital.
For further information:
| Proton Power Systems plc | |
| John Wall, Chairman | Tel: +44 (0) 78 0291 7615 |
| Ali Naini, Deputy Chairman | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7329 1750 |
| Thomas Melczer, CEO | Tel: +49 (0) 89 127 626 599 |
| www.protonpowersystems.com |
| Arbuthnot Securities Limited | |
| Tom Griffiths / Antonio Bossi | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7012 2000 |
| www.arbuthnotsecurities.co.uk |
Media enquiries:
| Abchurch Communications Limited | |
| Heather Salmond / Justin Heath / Monique Tsang | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7398 7700 |
| monique.tsang@abchurch-group.com | www.abchurch-group.com |
Notes to Editors
Proton Power Systems plc is a developer and manufacturer of fuel cells and fuel cell hybrid systems for motive and stationary power supply. Its sales-driven strategy focuses on identifying applications with the greatest market needs and supplying large volumes of cost-competitive systems to fulfil those needs. Proton is targeting a global opportunity, accessing a broad range of markets through partnerships with leading OEMs such as Skoda Electric and Karmann.
Motive applications include forklifts, city buses, municipal utility vehicles and ferries; 'back-to-base' markets which can readily utilise the modularity and scalability of the Company's hydrogen fuel cell systems, and which do not depend on the existence of a ubiquitous hydrogen infrastructure, thereby facilitating swift commercialisation.
Stationary applications focus on the Uninterruptible Power Supply sector, where there is a large demand for mission-critical, grid-independent secure power supply in places such as telecommunications stations, data centres, hospitals, and power substations. Further market potential lies in industrial and chemical processing plants, where the otherwise wasted hydrogen by-product can be harnessed for producing local power.
Through its wholly owned subsidiary, Proton Motor Fuel Cell GmbH ("Proton Motor"), the Group has developed and produced a fuel cell module that can be integrated with energy storage media to create a hybrid fuel cell system. A proprietary, intelligent energy management software balances the power output across the fuel cell storage unit(s) to maximise efficiency and improve power delivery. The system thus boasts lower fuel consumption and more consistent levels of power delivery than conventional diesel/combustion engine or fuel cell-only systems, in addition to producing zero harmful emissions.
Proton Power Systems plc was admitted to trading on AIM on 31 October 2006 and is incorporated in the UK. Proton Motor has more than 15 years of experience in the fuel cell market and is located in Puchheim, near Munich, Germany, where its manufacturing facility is based.