19 April 2016
ITM Power plc
("ITM Power" or "the Company")
€2.75m Electrolyser System Cost Reduction Grant
HPEM2GAS will further develop a low cost PEM electrolyser optimised for grid management
ITM Power (AIM: ITM), the energy storage and clean fuel company, is pleased to announce the award of a €2.75m grant for the HPEM2GAS project funded by the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU) under Horizon 2020. ITM Power will receive €915,650 over three years.
The three year project will further develop the Company's electrolyser offering by incorporating smarter Balance of Plant (BoP) and lower cost Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) stack technology which together are capable of better serving the growing challenges faced by electricity grids as they assimilate greater quantities of renewable power. The project will culminate in a six month field test of an advanced 0.2MW (nominal), 0.3MW (transient) PEM electrolyser system.
The electrolyser developed will implement several innovations in advanced BoP including power tracking electronics, high efficiency AC/DC converters, high temperature ion exchange cartridges, advanced safety integration systems and enhanced control logic. The stacks will benefit from improvements to specific components intended to allow more aggressive operating conditions without detriment to overall efficiency or lifetime.
Several strategies are to be applied to lower the overall electrolyser cost to promote wider spread adoption of the technology. Central among these is a three-fold increase in current density. This is intended to result in a proportional decrease in capital costs whilst maintaining cutting edge efficiency and minimizing catalyst loading.
ITM Power will provide a strong commercial leadership to the group, putting ideas into practice within an improved electrolyser system optimised for Demand Side Management services and to be tested in the field at the Stadtwerke Emden site in Germany. Altogether, the improvements supported in this project will contribute significantly to a reduction of electrolyser total cost of ownership.
The partners in the project are CNR-ITAE Institute in Italy (the project coordinator), ITM Power, Solvay Specialty Polymers, IRD Fuel Cells A/S, Stadtwerke Emden GmbH, Hochschule Emden/Leer and Uniresearch BV.
Dr Graham Cooley, CEO, ITM Power commented: "We are delighted to be participating in this project which represents ITM Power's culture of continuous improvement. The commercial spirit of the consortium is particularly pleasing and we look forward to demonstrating the next generation of smart electrolyser systems with Stadtwerk Emden in Germany, one of our fastest growing markets."
ITM Power plc Graham Cooley, CEO |
+44 (0)114 244 5111 |
Zeus Capital Dan Bate / Andrew Jones / Hugh Kingsmill Moore |
+44 (0)20 3829 5000 |
Tavistock Simon Hudson / James Collins |
+44 (0)20 7920 3150 |
About ITM Power plc:
ITM Power manufactures integrated hydrogen energy solutions which are rapid response and high pressure that meet the requirements for grid balancing and energy storage services, and for the production of clean fuel for transport, renewable heat and chemicals. ITM Power plc was admitted to the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange in 2004 and is a founder member of the Social Stock Exchange. The company received £4.9m as a strategic investment from JCB in March 2015; signed a forecourt siting agreement with Shell in September 2015 and a fuel agreement with Toyota in October 2015. The Company currently has £11.65m of projects under contract and a further £9.04m of contracts in the final stages of negotiation, constituting a total pipeline of £20.69m.
www.itm-power.com
About CNR-ITAE Institute
The Institute of Advanced Tecnologies for Energy "N. Giordano" (ITAE) is one Institutes of the Engineering, ICT and Technologies for Energy and Transport Department (DIITET) of Italian National Research Council (CNR). Within the Department, ITAE's strategic mission is mainly aimed at promoting and developing innovative energy processes and technologies with a higher efficiency and a lower environmental impact based on the use of fossil fuels (still available today) and/or renewable energy sources.
About Solvay Specialty Polymers
Solvay Specialty Polymers, a world leader in high performance polymers, offers an unmatched portfolio of specialty polymers with over 35 product lines available in more than 1500 formulations designed for use in demanding markets around the world. Solvay's high performance plastics, polymers, fluids and elastomers are designed to meet the critical requirements that engineers face every day in key industries including, Automotive, Aeronautics, Smart Devices, Healthcare and Energy Production and Storage.
About IRD fuel cell A/S
IRD fuel cell A/S is a high technology company that develops and produces fuel cell. IRD was established in 1996 by Dr. J.S Lundsgaard. IRD has specialized in producing MEA's (cells) and bi-polar plates for Direct Methanol Fuel Cell, PEM electrolysers and fuel cells. This is achieved through extensive research programs, to refine the technology behind the systems.
About Stadtwerke Emden GmbH
Stadtwerke Emden GmbH is the regional integrated energy utility in Lower Saxony. They supply the city of Emden with gas, water, electricity and operate the car parks and the city buses in Emden. The company has supplied gas since 1861, water since 1897 and electricity since the 19th century. The company in its present form was established in 1963.
About Hochschule Emden/Leer
The Hochschule Emden/Leer is a University of Applied Sciences, in the northwest of the Federal Republic of Germany. The university was founded on 1 September 2009 and originated from the two predecessor institutions of the University of Applied Sciences Oldenburg/Ostfriesland/Wilhelmshaven and the Fachhochschule/Ostfriesland.
About Uniresearch BV
Uniresearch is an independent grant consultancy focussing on technological innovations. Our clients are based throughout Europe. UNR is specialised in the acquisition of regional, national and European grants.
About the FCH JU
The Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU) is a unique public private partnership supporting research, technological development and demonstration activities in fuel cell and hydrogen energy technologies in Europe. Its aim is to accelerate the market introduction of these technologies, realising their potential as an instrument in achieving a carbon-lean energy system.
The three members of the FCH JU are the European Commission, fuel cell and hydrogen industries represented by the NEW Industry Grouping and the research community represented by Research Grouping N.ERGHY.
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