Technology Strategy Board Grant Award

RNS Number : 8914H

ITM Power PLC

18 July 2012

ITM Power plc

("ITM Power" or the "Company")

Technology Strategy Board Grant Award

ITM Power, the energy storage and clean fuel company, has been awarded a grant by the Technology Strategy Board, the Government's innovation agency, for a project that will build and integrate into the power system, a hydrogen energy storage and vehicle refuelling system on the Isle of Wight.

The project will be led by ITM Power in a collaboration with SSE, Toshiba, IBM, Cable & Wireless Worldwide, National Physical Laboratory, Cheetah Marine, Arcola Energy, Ecoisland Community Interest Co, ("Ecoisland CIC") and the Universities of Glamorgan and Nottingham. ITM Power will receive £1.3m of grant funding directly with a further £1m going to the collaboration partners who are integrating their equipment with ITM Power's refuelling technology. The total project value is £4.66m

The project focuses on the integration of an electrolyser based refueller with the island's renewable energy. This allows the electrolyser refueller to act as a demand side management ("DSM") load which enables zero carbon hydrogen to be produced for use as a vehicle fuel.

The project will design, build, install and operate two grid-connected hydrogen refuelling platforms on the Isle of Wight, with 100kg/day and 15kg/day capacities for the operation of a fleet of hydrogen vehicles including vehicles from Hyundai, Microcab andRiversimple. Vehicles showcased will include fuel cell electric vehicle ("FCEV") cars, hydrogen internal combustion engine ("HICE") vans and a HICE boat.

The system includes integrated power control systems to allow the electrolysers to operate as a DSM load under a variable load factor and a highly accurate metering and monitoring system of hydrogen delivery.

· ITM Power will design and build two refuellers and take a key role in the system integration.

· SSE is providing the grid connection to utilise the island's renewables and will utilise the refueller and vehicles in the final year demonstration.

· Toshiba will ensure compatibility of the hydrogen system with its Energy Management System and the Distribution Network Operator ("DNO") networks - enabling it to actively participate in the energy balancing of the distribution network in future.

· IBM will develop a user interface to allow smart card payments facilities to the refuellers to meter and monitor hydrogen provision.

· Cable & Wireless Worldwide will provide communications to allow remote monitoring of both refueller and vehicles and allow data collection and data cloud integration.

· National Physical Laboratory will develop hydrogen purity tests to ensure compliance with FCEV requirements (ISO14687-2).

· Ecoisland CIC will assist in site surveying, planning applications, and will operate the hydrogen car club - members of which include Vestas and Southern Water. With Arcola Energy they will organise and run a FCEV road show with ride and drive.

· Arcola Energy will develop an educational and dissemination package and will provide public and commercial engagement activities.

· Cheetah Marine will build a hydrogen catamaran in conjunction with ITM Power and operate it in validation trials.

· The University of Nottingham and The University of Glamorgan will evaluate the performance and operating characteristics of the refuelling stations and use their own ITM Power electrolyser fed refuelling stations for the generation of refuelling strategies to optimise the efficiency of operation.

The Technology Strategy Board has offered the consortium the grant on the standard condition that pre-project documents are completed by the deadline. The project will commence once all grant conditions have been met.

Management and reporting will include in addition to quarterly reports a high-level steering group meeting twice a year made up of consortium executives, key industry and other stakeholders and representatives from automotive OEMs including Toyota Europe and Hyundai.

Dr Graham Cooley, CEO of ITM Power plc commented: "Ecoisland represents a quantum leap for renewable technologies in the UK. ITM Power's energy storage and clean fuel technology will be at the heart of this project that gives us an ideal opportunity to link our equipment with world leading smart grid technologies to create the integrated energy grid of the future."

David Green, CEO of Ecoisland CIC, added: "We are delighted that the Technology Strategy Board is backing this key element to our plans. We will be the model for the future smart grid and the Isle of Wight will become a global centre for energy technology. The team we have pulled together for this project has the potential to lead the world in smart grid systems."

Charles Farley, Head of National Development at SSE, said:"We are pleased to be working with the leading technology players in the smart grid and energy storage fields and we intend to build a valuable commercial proposition from this project."

For further information please visit www.itm-power.comor contact:

ITM Power plc

Graham Cooley, CEO

0114 244 5111

Singer Capital Markets Limited

(Nominated Adviser & Broker)

Shaun Dobson / Samantha New

www.singercm.com

020 3205 7628

Tavistock Communications

Simon Hudson / Kelsey Traynor

020 7920 3150

The Technology Strategy Board is the UK's innovation agency. Its goal is to accelerate economic growth by stimulating and supporting business-led innovation. Sponsored by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), the Technology Strategy Board brings together business, research and the public sector, supporting and accelerating the development of innovative products and services to meet market needs, tackle major societal challenges and help build the future economy. For more information please visit www.innovateuk.org.

The grant award was award following a successful application to the Technology Strategy Board's 'Fuel Cells and Hydrogen: Whole System Integration' competition for research and development funding.

About ITM Power

ITM Power plc was admitted to the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange in 2004 and raised its initial funding of £10m gross in its IPO. A further funding round of £28.5m was completed in 2006. The Company has now made the transition from a research and development company to a product manufacturer and technology provider. The Company has both a strong base of intellectual property and engineering expertise for providing complete hydrogen solutions. The Company has been successful in developing strategic industry partnerships in the following projects:

· 700bar Dispensing Collaboration in Germany

http://www.itm-power.com/news-item/700bar-dispensing-collaboration-in-germany/

· Marks & Spencer Pilot Materials Handling Fuel Cell Project

http://www.itm-power.com/news-item/ms-agreement/

· UKH2Mobility with leading auto OEM's, UK Gov't and industrial gas companies

http://www.itm-power.com/about-itm/partners/?id=49

· EcoIsland with Toshiba, IBM, Cable & Wireless, SSE and Southern Water

http://www.itm-power.com/about-itm/partners/?id=46

· Boeing Unmanned Aircraft System Refueller

http://www.itm-power.com/news-item/agreement-with-boeing/

· Electrolyser Distribution with Horizon Fuel Cells

http://www.horizonfuelcell.com/fuel_solutions_hbox.htm