Portfolio co Ceres signs agreement with KD Navien
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FOR RELEASE ON |
22 July 2013 |
IP Group plc - Portfolio company Ceres signs commercial and technical partnership with South Korea's largest boiler manufacturer, KD Navien
IP Group plc (LSE: IPO) ("IP Group" or "the Company" or "the Group"), the developer of intellectual property based businesses, is pleased to note that portfolio company Ceres Power Holdings plc ("Ceres") has signed a new commercial and technical partnership with KD Navien Co. Ltd. ("KD Navien").
Ceres, a developer of clean, efficient, cost-effective fuel cell technology in which IP Group holds a 24.7% beneficial interest, announced that KD Navien will carry out trials of the Ceres 1kW class natural gas fuelled fuel cell module (FCM) at its facility in Seoul and will also engage in the first stages of design of a Micro-CHP Product for the mass residential market in Korea and potentially other territories.
KD Navien is the dominant boiler manufacturer in South Korea with the largest market share of all installed boilers. It is also a major exporter to key markets around the world, particularly the US. Following the technology assessment agreement, the two companies intend to enter into a licensing agreement for the manufacture and distribution of CHP products incorporating the Ceres FCM within the Korean residential market.
The full text of the Ceres announcement is below.
For more information, please contact:
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IP Group plc |
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Alan Aubrey, Chief Executive Officer |
+44 (0) 20 7444 0050 |
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Liz Vaughan-Adams, Communications |
+44 (0) 20 7444 0062 / +44 (0) 7979 853 802 |
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FTI Consulting |
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Ben Atwell, John Dineen |
+44 (0) 20 7831 3113 |
Ceres signs commercial and technical partnership agreement with South Korea's largest boiler manufacturer, KD Navien
Ceres Power Holdings plc (AIM: CWR.L) ("Ceres", "Ceres Power" or "the Company"), a developer of clean, efficient, cost-effective fuel cell technology, is delighted to announce that it has signed a new commercial and technical partnership with KD Navien Co. Ltd. ('KD Navien').
KD Navien is the dominant boiler manufacturer in South Korea with the largest market share of all installed boilers. It is also a major exporter to key markets around the world, particularly the US. South Korea represents a significant market for fuel cell CHP products, being one of the largest domestic boiler markets in the world with 1 million units sold per annum and having generous subsidies from the government for the deployment of fuel cell products.
Under the terms of a technology assessment agreement, KD Navien will carry out trials of the Ceres 1kW class natural gas fuelled fuel cell module (FCM) at its facility in Seoul and will also engage in the first stages of design of a Micro-CHP Product for the mass residential market in Korea and potentially other territories. Ceres will provide hardware and technical support to KD Navien during the term of the agreement.
Following the technology assessment agreement, the two companies intend to enter into a licensing agreement for the manufacture and distribution of CHP products incorporating the Ceres FCM within the Korean residential market.
Under the terms of the agreement, KD Navien will pay Ceres for hardware and technical support to develop FCM test and CHP system engineering capability. In addition, KD Navien and Ceres shall work together to maximise synergies with other partners already developing components or systems related to the Ceres technology.
Alan Aubrey, Chairman of Ceres Power, commented:
"We are delighted to be delivering on our stated strategy with the announcement of our first significant commercial agreement since the Company's change of strategy. KD Navien is the ideal partner to integrate the Ceres technology into products for the Korean residential CHP market. The largest residential gas boiler manufacturer in Korea, with the largest market share in the domestic residential gas boiler market, KD Navien brings brand strength, market access, cost-effective manufacturing and significant engineering resources to ensure successful CHP commercialisation in the Korean market. Both companies have a shared view of the market opportunity and the desire to take innovative and cost effective solutions to our customers. We are excited to have signed this agreement with KDN and very much look forward to working with them."
Jae-Bum Choi, Chief Executive Officer of KD Navien, commented:
"Ceres Power is the world-leading company in the area of intermediate temperature SOFC technologies. By entering into this technical partnership, KD Navien, with its world-class condensing technology, and Ceres Power will look to tie-up and leverage their core competencies for the development of an innovative, eye-opening SOFC system. KD Navien and Ceres Power are expected to bring forth a competitive product, in both performance and quality, which will maximise value to the customer and ultimately become a market-leading product."
Enquiries:
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Ceres Power Holdings plc Alan Aubrey, Chairman Richard Preston, Finance Director
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Tel. +44 (0)1403 273 463 |
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N+1 Singer (Nominated Adviser and Broker) Andrew Craig / Ben Wright
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Tel: +44 (0) 20 7496 3000 |
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Tavistock Communications Mike Bartlett / James Collins
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Tel: +44 (0) 20 7920 3150 |
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KD Navien Jae-Bum Choi, Chief Executive Officer Seong-Hwan Jang, Planning Director |
Tel.+82 2 3489 2209 |
Notes to editors:
About Ceres Power
Ceres Power is a leading developer of clean, efficient, cost-effective fuel cell technology for use in decentralised energy products that reduce operating costs, lower CO2 emissions and improve energy security. These products use the Company's mass manufacturable technology platform, the Fuel Cell Module, based on the Company's unique patented intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cell technology and operating on mains natural gas or in the future a range of other fuels. The Company is listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange, and has facilities in Horsham and Crawley, UK, including a pilot-scale fuel cell manufacturing facility.
www.cerespower.com
About KD Navien
KyungDong Navien Co., Ltd (KD Navien) was established in 1978 in Seoul, South Korea and has been ranked No.1 in boiler production and sales in the heating industry of Korea. Especially, KD Navien currently supplies heating equipment to more than 30 countries. An official ENERGY STAR® partner of the Residential Water Heater Program, Navien is the recognized leader in Condensing Tankless Technology and Combination Gas Boilers.
http://en.kdnavien.com/
Ends
Notes for editors
About IP Group
IP Group is a leading UK intellectual property ("IP") commercialisation company, developing technology innovations primarily from its research intensive partner universities. The Group offers more than traditional venture capital, providing its companies with access to business building expertise, networks, recruitment and business support.
The Company's portfolio comprises holdings in over 70 companies including Oxford Nanopore Technologies, the DNA sequencing development company, Revolymer, best known for its removable chewing gum and Xeros, which has received many accolades for its revolutionary clothes washing techniques with a much reduced requirement for water.
The portfolio includes early stage to mature businesses and has exposure to five main sectors - Energy & Renewables, Medical Equipment & Supplies, Pharma & Biotech, IT & Communications and Chemicals & Materials. To date, fifteen of the portfolio companies IP Group has backed have listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange and one on ISDX.
Founded in 2001, IP Group listed on AIM in October 2003 and moved to the Official List in June 2006.
For more information, please visit our website at www.ipgroupplc.com.
Ends
This information is provided by RNS
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