National energy role
Ceres Power Holdings plc
26 January 2006
Ceres Power Holdings Plc ('Ceres', 'Ceres Power' or the 'Company')
Ceres Power selected to help shape UK's energy future
Founder member of the country's public-private energy alliance
AIM-quoted Ceres Power has been selected as the only fuel cell company in the
government's new Energy Research Partnership (ERP), launched yesterday.
Chancellor Gordon Brown set up the ERP so that private and public funders of
energy research can work together to identify a coherent national energy policy.
It is chaired by the government's Chief Scientist Sir David King and co-chaired
by E.ON Chief Executive Paul Golby.
Ceres will work closely with key energy companies including BP, Shell, E.ON, ITI
Energy, Scottish & Southern Electricity, BNFL, Alstom, Mitsui Babcock and
National Grid, as well as public sector organisations including DEFRA, the DTI
and the Carbon Trust.
The inclusion of Ceres reflects government interest in microgeneration projects
to produce energy in the home, rather than in power stations. This approach is
much more efficient, reducing valuable fossil fuel usage and carbon emissions,
and simultaneously slashing energy bills for consumers.
Ceres is working with British Gas to develop microgeneration products that run
off natural gas and other clean fuels. These produce hot water and heat like a
conventional domestic boiler, but also create enough electricity to run numerous
home appliances. Such 'combined heat and power (CHP)' systems extract maximum
energy from fuel, and directly address the UK's current energy debate.
Ceres Chief Executive Peter Bance, who will represent Ceres in the ERP, said: '
We are delighted that Ceres' leading status in commercialising fuel cell
technology has led to our inclusion in this important partnership. We see it as
a clear indication that fuel cell products running on natural gas are positioned
to make an early and exciting contribution to energy and environmental savings
and are seen as a major solution by both government and industry.'
The key objectives of the ERP are to identify policy drivers, regulatory
changes, emerging technologies and new R&D areas that could result in material
contributions to the UK's energy security, carbon emissions targets and
sustainable economic growth.
In April, the government is expected to launch its 'Microgeneration Strategy'
identifying home microgeneration as a major technology suited to mass market
up-take.
About Ceres Power
Ceres is a successful AIM-listed fuel cell business targeting a range of global
market applications including on-site/back-up generators, residential combined
heat and power, and auxiliary power units for transport. Critically, the
technology uses low-cost materials and existing mass-production techniques. And
unlike many fuel cells, the Ceres cell can run on widely available fuels like
LPG, propane and natural gas as well as on hydrogen.
The company received major recognition for its green credentials when it became
the 2003 winner of the prestigious Carbon Trust Innovation Award. More
recently, Ceres secured the industry's top accolade by winning the Institute of
Materials, Minerals and Mining's Gold Medal for 2005.
Since its formation in 2001, Ceres Power has raised over £25 million of funding
through two rounds of private equity and its AIM IPO in November 2004. The
company has many blue chip City institutions as financial backers including
Fidelity, Morley, Cazenove, and Jupiter.
For further information contact:
Peter Bance, Chief Executive, Ceres Power: +44 (0) 1293 400 404
Allan Piper: First City Financial Public Relations: +44 (0) 20 7436 7486
+44 (0) 7736 064 982
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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