RFC Power JDA for long-duration energy storage

RNS Number : 0244S

Ceres Power Holdings plc

11 November 2021

 

CWR.L

11 November 2021

Ceres Power Holdings plc

Ceres forms strategic collaboration with RFC Power for long-duration energy storage

Horsham, UK:  Ceres Power Holdings plc ("Ceres", the "Company") (AIM:CWR), a global leader in fuel cell and electrochemical technology, is pleased to announce that it has signed a joint development and equity agreements with RFC Power limited ("RFC"), a long-duration energy storage company.

RFC is an early stage company that has a strategy to develop the world's lowest cost flow battery - a hybrid between a fuel cell and a battery that decouples power from energy. It is a unique and novel technology, which was spun out of Imperial College London in 2017, with a patented hydrogen manganese chemistry promising low cost, high round-trip efficiency and an extremely long cycle-life.

Long-duration energy storage technologies, such as hydrogen and flow-batteries, have an important role to play in decarbonising the energy system towards a net zero future. Ceres has been in discussions with the RFC team for some time and Mark Selby, Chief Innovation Officer of Ceres, will now join RFC's Board. He will leverage Ceres' expertise and experience in licensing technology to support the commercialisation of RFC's intellectual property. 

Mark also represented Ceres in Glasgow this week for the official launch of the Long Duration Energy Storage (LDES) Council. Formed of 24 founder members including energy tech, end-user and investor organisations, the LDES Council is targeting ~10% of all energy being stored in greater than eight-hour storage technologies, requiring 85-140TWh of deployed capacity, to achieve grid net-zero by 2040.

Phil Caldwell, Chief Executive Officer of Ceres:   As a licensing business committed to delivering clean energy for a net zero future, it is imperative that alongside delivering our fuel cell and hydrogen electrolysis business, we continue to drive innovation to create future value, both through investment in our own technology and partnering in new areas such as energy storage, which are aligned with our purpose."

Tim von Werne, CEO of RFC Power said: "Energy storage is a critical component of the transition to a low carbon energy system. This partnership with Ceres Power will accelerate RFC's technology development and enable us to bring our long duration energy storage technology to market at the pace required to meet this global demand.  We are delighted to welcome Mark Selby to our Board as we start this next phase of our commercial progress."

The joint development agreement will aim to improve and accelerate RFC's technology through the use of Ceres' capabilities in electrochemistry and device engineering. In exchange for the work done, Ceres will receive an 8.4% shareholding in RFC. Ceres has the opportunity to assess RFC's technology in this period and if the technology proves compatible to Ceres' strategy, Ceres has a 12 month option to acquire the balance of the outstanding share capital in the company for up to £25 million. This comprises a 50% initial payment on exercise and a 50% deferred payment based on commercial success, both payable in Ceres shares.

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For further information visit   www.ceres.tech or contact:

Ceres Power Holdings plc Elizabeth Skerritt	Tel: [phone]
Investec Bank PLC (NOMAD & Joint Broker) Jeremy Ellis/ Patrick Robb/ Ben Griffiths	Tel: [phone]
Berenberg (Joint Broker) Ben Wright/ Mark Whitmore	Tel: [phone]
Madano (Financial PR) Harry Spencer/ Lewis Popplewell	Tel: [phone]

About Ceres Power

Ceres is a world-leading developer of electrochemical technologies: fuel cells for power generation, electrolysis for the creation of green hydrogen and energy storage. Its asset-light, licensing model has seen it establish partnerships with some of the world's largest engineering and technology companies, such as Weichai in China, Bosch in Germany, Miura in Japan, and Doosan in Korea, to develop systems and products that address climate change for power generation, transportation, industry, data centres and everyday living.  Ceres is listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange ("LSE") (AIM: CWR) and is classified by the LSE Green Economy Mark, which recognises listed companies that derive more than 50% of their activity from the green economy.

About RFC Power ( www.rfcpower.com )

RFC Power specialises in developing novel flow battery chemistries for energy storage systems. The core activities of RFC Power are the chemistry, cell architecture and the optimisation of flow battery stack components.  RFC Power is working with partners to build and market its storage systems making use of existing production facilities, supplier networks and economies of scale. The company was spun out from Imperial College's Departments of Engineering and Chemistry by the institution's innovation arm in 2017.

About the LDES Council ( https://www.ldescouncil.com/ )

The LDES Council is a global, CEO-led organization that strives to accelerate decarbonization of the energy system at lowest cost to society by driving innovation, commercialization and deployment of long duration energy storage.  The LDES Council provides fact-based guidance and information to governments, industry and broader society, drawing from the experience of its members, which include leading energy companies, technology providers, investors and end-users.

 

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