Research Update

ITM Power PLC
30 November 2005

30 November 2005



                                 ITM Power Plc

                                Research Update


  Composite Membranes and Direct Electrical Control of Fuel Cell Power Output



ITM Power aims to provide enabling technology for the hydrogen economy and as an
essential part of this process it continues to pursue fundamental research in
all aspects of fuel cell and electrolyser science. This announcement, the
Company's first Research Update, comprises two developments, composite membranes
and new methods of controlling the power output of fuel cells.  These represent
entirely new aspects of fuel cell science, which may be fundamental to the
successful application of fuel cells in the long term.



ITM's unique technology allows a wide range of material properties to be
engineered into its ionomeric polymers.  As previously announced, these
materials can be made with either acid or alkaline properties, while in addition
the materials developed specifically for the Alcohol Fuel Cell Programme
(announced on 30th August 2005) included variants produced by radiation graft
processes which facilitate the production of thin films in a range of mechanical
strengths and water contents.  The ability to control and engineer the
properties of the Company's materials has now led ITM to two, potentially
significant, improvements to fuel cell systems:



(i)  Composite membranes. These are membranes in which one side of the membrane
can be composed of an acidic polymer, while the other side is composed of an
alkaline polymer.  Such a system is more costly to make because it builds on a
pre-existing membrane, but it enables the separate choice of different catalysts
on each side of the cell.  For example, one catalyst chosen to operate in an
acid environment with the fuel, while a second (different) catalyst operates in
an alkaline environment with the oxidant.  Because the cost of a cell depends
both upon the cost of the membrane and of the catalyst, the overall system can
show economic and efficiency benefits even allowing for the increased cost and
complexity of the membrane structure.  Composite membranes potentially reduce
the overall cost of a fuel cell system by raising efficiency, reducing catalyst
costs and simplifying hydration control systems.



(ii)  Direct electrical control of fuel cell power output.  Conventional fuel
cells work well when operating steadily at full power, but the methods available
to change the power output or sustain operation at part load are problematic.
There are two existing strategies to address this issue: firstly, to restrict
the fuel supply, but in doing so only part of the cell or cell stack operates
while the rest 'idles'. This results in thermal and hydraulic stresses in a
single cell and the possibility of 'cell reversal' in a stack - a potentially
serious problem.   A second widely used method of control is to provide excess
fuel and allow all the cells to operate at all times.  This prevents damage to
the cells but involves a complex balance of plant to recycle the excess fuel and
control the output of the stack electronically.  Neither process is entirely
satisfactory.  Control problems represent a major (and costly) obstacle to the
use of fuel cells in situations (such as road vehicles) where rapid control of
output is essential.



ITM has demonstrated direct electronic control of a fuel cell by incorporating a
control grid into the junction between the two layers of a composite membrane.
The result is in some ways analogous to the control grid used in electronic
valves or transistors although here it is the flow of ions which must be
controlled, not electrons.  It is the availability of a composite acid/alkaline
membrane, as set out above, which has made possible the practical demonstration
of the control grid concept.



The Company has filed patent applications both on the invention of a composite
membrane of enhanced properties including specifically an acid/alkaline
laminate; and on the use of control grids to act directly on and control the
electrical activity within a fuel cell.  This technology has the potential to
improve the efficiency of fuel cells and offers a unique route to controlling
the output from a fuel cell.  ITM considers that these developments represent a
significant addition to the long term value of its intellectual property
portfolio and could be of considerable potential value to the Company.



Commenting, Jim Heathcote, Chief Executive of ITM, said, 'We believe that these
developments represent an historic scientific advance.  The breakthroughs
announced today help address some fundamental barriers to the adoption of fuel
cells including hydration control, improved lower cost catalysis, higher
efficiency and direct rapid electronic control over power output through what is
effectively the world's first 'ionic transistor'.



'ITM is currently focused on proving the technology it has developed to make low
cost and durable fuel cells or electrolysers prior to commercial exploitation.
During this phase of the Company's development, we are continuing to file
important patent applications that greatly increase our intellectual property
portfolio and consequently our value.  Our objective is the development of
convenient and cost competitive systems that can rapidly enter the commercial
marketplace. We consider that these fundamental inventions significantly
increase the value of our patented technology to future licensees and increase
our probability of successfully exploiting our intellectual property for
shareholders.'



 -Ends-



For further information please contact:


Jim Heathcote             Gemma Chandler / Simon Hudson      Katherine Roe
ITM Power Plc             Tavistock Communications           Panmure Gordon & Co
Tel: [phone]         Tel: [phone]                 Tel: [phone]





or visit www.itm-power.com


Notes to Editors



About the hydrogen economy and ITM Power:



ITM is a leading technical innovator of fuel cell and electrolyser technologies
for the hydrogen economy.



The future shape of the energy industry is being driven predominantly by the
growth in the global demand for energy, the diminishing reserves of oil and by
the environmental impact of burning fossil fuels.



Hydrogen Economy:



•          Term used to describe the use of hydrogen as a critical element in
the energy economy- of the future.



•          Benefit of hydrogen is that it has the potential to a be a totally '
clean' source of fuel



•          The vision is that low cost electrolysers produce hydrogen from '
clean' energy sources such as solar, wind and wave and fuel cells use this
hydrogen to produce the electricity when it's required



'If all the sunlight hitting the earth's surface in one hour was harnessed and
converted into electrical power, it would be enough to fulfil mankind's energy
needs for a complete year' - BP Solar



Electrolysers, via an electrochemical process, convert electricity (from
renewable energy inputs) and water into hydrogen (which can be stored) and
oxygen and in turn fuel cells, via a similar process convert hydrogen and oxygen
into electricity and water.



ITM announced in November 2004 that it had successfully produced and tested a
Mark III electrolyser stack, which has been operated at a power rating in excess
of 200 Watts and are confident that the Company is well on track to achieve
their milestone of 500 Watts by June 2006. On the basis of these results, The
Generics Group, an independent scientific consultancy, have estimated that in
mass production it is possible to achieve $283 per kW. This closely approaches
the 2010 US Department of Energy target of $300 for an electrolyser stack.



PEM fuel cells developed so far are currently estimated to cost several thousand
dollars per output kW (for example, in February 2004, the US Department of
Energy estimated the current cost of a fuel cell to be approximately $3,000 per
output kW) whereas petrol engines are currently estimated at $50 per output kW.



ITM's Technology:



ITM Power plc believes it has developed and patented the keys to revolutionise
the hydrogen economy and is set to become one of the UK's leading innovators
within the alternative energy sources industry.



ITM's ionically conductive polymer materials and manufacturing processes are
used in the production of fuel cells and electrolysers, which are significantly
cheaper than those presently used in production.  The technology offers high
conductivity, hydration control and has the benefit of catalyst recycling.  The
Company has the ability to produce low cost fuel cells that meet the energy
demands of a wide range of industries and specialist technologies including
military, automotive and stationary fuel cell markets as well as the capacity to
produce household items such as laptops, mobile phones and domestic appliances.



ITM has patented a new manufacturing process that allows a fuel cell/
electrolyser stack of cells to be made in a single process similar to a mass
production casting process.   The process is capable of producing cells or
stacks of any shape that may also be flexible so that they can be moulded into
smaller products, such as mobile phones. The Company has applied this technology
to a low cost electrolyser that can convert carbon free energy into clean
hydrogen fuel on site and on demand, therefore completing the circle of the
manufacturing process.


                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange