CHP Demonstration
Ceres Power Holdings plc
19 July 2007
19 July 2007
Ceres Power Holdings plc
('Ceres', 'Ceres Power' or the 'Company')
Wall-mountable Fuel Cell CHP Unit Demonstration
Ceres Power, the AIM-quoted fuel cell group, announces that it has designed and
built an integrated, wall-mountable combined heat and power unit ('the CHP
Unit') which will form part of an up-coming demonstration at the Company's
headquarters. This technical achievement demonstrates the commercial potential
of the product and also represents an important milestone in the Company's
residential CHP programme with British Gas.
The compact and wall-mountable design will enable access to residential mass
markets in the UK and overseas. The integrated CHP Unit is capable of
generating electricity and all of the central heating and hot water requirements
of a typical home, avoiding the need for a separate boiler, and so can address
new build and replacement markets. The CHP Unit uses the same natural gas,
water and electricity connections as a boiler, and is thus easy to install.
Key balance of plant components within the CHP programme have been developed in
partnership with well-established volume manufacturers from industries
including automotive and white goods. The operating temperature (500-
600degreesC) of the unique Ceres Power fuel cell technology has enabled the use
of widely available and cost-effective raw materials, components and
manufacturing equipment.
The Company is now focused on value engineering of the CHP Unit and the scale-up
of core manufacturing processes to meet expected customer demand.
The Company will be inviting analysts to its Crawley headquarters on Tuesday
September 11th for a CHP demonstration, management presentation and tour of the
facilities. Following this event, the Company will also showcase the CHP
hardware at the London Stock Exchange on Friday September 14th.
Peter Bance, Chief Executive of Ceres Power, commented:
'Building on our established technology leadership, we have now developed the
product engineering capabilities and supply chain relationships that have
enabled us to demonstrate an integrated wall-mountable CHP Unit. Achievement of
this important milestone is a significant step forward in the commercialisation
of our unique technology.'
- ends -
For further information contact:
Peter Bance, Chief Executive, Ceres Power +44 (0) 1293 400 404
Patrick d'Ancona / Charlotte Kirkham +44 (0) 207 153 1531
M: Communications
About Ceres Power
Ceres is a successful AIM-listed fuel cell business developing a range of global
market applications including residential combined heat and power, on-site /
back-up generators and auxiliary power units for transport. The technology is
based on commercially available materials for low cost manufacture and unlike
many fuel cells, the Ceres cell operates on widely available fuels like natural
gas and LPG, as well as on hydrogen.
Ceres has developed a new generation of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) technology
which operates in the temperature range of 500-600 degrees centigrade enabled
by the use of CGO (Cerium Gadolinium Oxide) as the electrolyte material. This
is substantially lower than the temperatures at which conventional SOFC
materials operate, typically 800-1000 degrees centigrade for YSZ (Yttria
Stabilised Zirconia).
The inherently lower operating temperature of the Ceres CGO-based SOFC
technology enables thin ceramic layers to be supported by metal substrates,
which, in turn, provides the basis of cell and stack designs manufactured from
commercially available grades of stainless steel, providing excellent sealing
integrity, mechanical robustness, and thermal shock resistance.
Fuel and air are supplied to a stack of fuel cell layers to produce electricity
and heat via a solid state electrochemical process, similar to a battery.
Unlike combustion in an engine or with a burner, this solid state process is
highly efficient, environmentally friendly, and quiet.
The uniqueness of the Ceres metal supported SOFC technology and its operating
temperature range provide the basis for a range of attractive commercial
applications in terms of: fuel efficiency, with associated economic savings and
reduction in carbon emissions; heat-to-power ratio ideally suited for domestic
CHP applications and well matched to seasonal variations in electrical and heat
demand; the ability to operate on a range of commercially available fuels
including natural gas and LPG; low temperature of operation enabling use of
commercially available materials resulting in reduced product costs.
In conjunction with the Ceres stack programme, the Company has been developing
the non-fuel cell elements within the complete product, known as the balance of
plant ('BOP'), as part of its systems integration activities aimed at
delivering products for specific customers. Because of the unique attributes of
the technology, Ceres has been able to dramatically reduce the time and cost of
BOP development and systems integration by utilising mature component supply
chains and ordinary, low cost materials. Unlike other fuel cell designs which
operate at more extreme temperatures, time-consuming and expensive bespoke
solutions for BOP components are not required.
This information is provided by RNS
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