Operations Update

RNS Number : 8961I

ITM Power PLC

26 March 2018

 

26 March 2018

ITM Power plc

("ITM Power" or "the Company")

Operations Update

Contract Backlog increased to record high of £33.3m

ITM Power (AIM: ITM), the energy storage and clean fuel company, announces an update on the backlog for the period since the announcement of its interim results on 29 January 2018.

Contract Backlog

The Company maintains its focus on increasing commercial sales and currently has £33.3m (29 January 2018: £27.0m) of projects under contract and a further £5.5m (£10.4m) of contracts in the final stages of negotiation constituting a total backlog of £38.9m (£37.4m). Since 29 January the Company has finalised contracts totalling £6.3m and increased the total backlog by £1.5m of new projects.

Further Information on the OLEV Announcement

The announcement today contains details of an OLEV funding grant for £8.8m, of which ITM Power is the hydrogen refuelling partner, and shall be the recipient of £4.3m, which will enable the deployment of four new on-site electrolysis refuelling stations. Three of the four new stations shall be deployed on Shell forecourts, at prime strategic logistical locations across the UK. Shell and ITM Power continue to extend the forecourt siting agreement first signed in September 2015 leading to additional ITM Power refuelling stations being integrated on Shell forecourts.

In addition, five further ITM Power refuelling stations are being upgraded to expand their capacity and to facilitate the enlarged fleet of hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs). These stations will support an additional 200 extra FCEVs also announced and being deployed as part of the project. The 200 vehicle users have been selected as heavy duty cycle vehicles, such as the MET Police.

ITM Power shall own and operate all of the hydrogen refuelling stations as part of the project. This will bring ITM Power's owned and operated public refuelling stations in the UK to a total of 11. ITM Power shall continue to sell hydrogen for £10/kg plus VAT. A typical Fuel Cell Electric Car can hold 5kg of hydrogen providing an estimated range of between 300 and 450 miles.

New Manufacturing Facility

Since the last update on 29 January 2018, significant progress has been made towards establishing the Company's new factory site.  Led by ITM Power's Engineering Director, planning of the site has included modelling production flow and manufacturing capacity up to 300MW per annum.  The facility will include a 7MW power supply with a 10kV high voltage connection to enable the testing of significantly larger electrolyser modules on site, and represents a significant increase on the power supply at the current factory of 1MW.  Together with a configurable shop floor to make both standard and bespoke products, the enlarged footprint will also incorporate the technology centre and a large demonstration area to host potential clients and industry events.

At this time, the factory layout has been finalised, tenders have been received from candidate principal contractors and shortlisted.  Detailed plans have been submitted to the landlord for approval and Heads of Terms have been agreed, with the contract expected to be signed by the end of Q2 2018.  A designated project manager has been appointed by ITM Power to oversee the execution phase of the project.

ITM Power is pleased to have secured £0.4m of financial support for the upgrade of the site from Sheffield City Region, aligned with job growth in the Company over the next three years.

Dr Graham Cooley, CEO, ITM Power commented "We are delighted to extend our siting agreement with Shell for the purpose of the rollout of the next phase of refuelling stations that ITM Power shall own and operate. Adding 200 new FCEVs to the UK roads represents a significant boost to the current fleet on UK roads, and is a significant step in accelerating and co-ordinating the roll out both FCEVs and hydrogen refuelling stations. Our contracted order book, at its highest ever, demonstrates a consolidation of a period of high growth. We are also delighted to have finalised heads of terms and received the grant from the city region, showing our growth as being in line with their strategy."

For further information, please visit or contact:

ITM Power plc Andy Allen, CFO [phone] Investec Bank plc (Nominated Adviser and Broker) Corporate Finance: Jeremy Ellis / Jonathan Wynn Corporate Broking: Chris Sim / Rob Baker [phone] Tavistock (Financial PR and IR) Simon Hudson / James Collins [phone]

About ITM Power plc

ITM Power manufactures integrated hydrogen energy solutions which are rapid response and high pressure that meet the requirements for grid balancing and energy storage services, and for the production of clean fuel for transport, renewable heat and chemicals. ITM Power plc was admitted to the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange in 2004. The Company signed a forecourt siting agreement with Shell in September 2015. The Group currently has £33.3m of projects under contract and a further £5.5m of contracts in the final stages of negotiation, totaling £38.9m, subject to exchange rate variation.

www.itm-power.com 

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