Acta S.p.A. Product Development Partnership and New Sale (2918M)

TIDMACTA

RNS Number : 2918M

Acta S.p.A.

15 July 2014

15 July 2014

Acta S.p.A. ("Acta" or "the Company")

Product Development Partnership and New Customer Sale

Acta S.p.A (AIM: ACTA), the hydrogen energy company, announces a product development partnership with Dantherm Power A/S ("Dantherm"), a subsidiary of Ballard Power Systems Inc (NASDAQ: BLDP), to develop a self-recharging fuel cell backup power system to address the significant opportunities for off-grid backup power in cold and remote geographic regions where traditional power sources suffer from severe drawbacks.

Initially, Acta will support Dantherm to integrate Acta's EL 1000 electrolyser with Dantherm's fuel cell backup power system. Once integrated, the combined device will be deployed on an island location close to the Arctic Circle, where it will be powered by a wind turbine. Shipment of the order is scheduled for September 2014.

Following previous demonstrations of the capabilities of Acta's system in arid and humid environments, the project is expected to demonstrate the suitability of Acta's electrolyser products for renewable energy storage applications in challenging cold environments. The Company and Dantherm are already in discussion regarding a number of suitable opportunities across the Nordic region.

Paolo Bert, CEO of Acta, commented: "We have been discussing technical collaboration with Dantherm for some time and we are pleased to be going ahead together with this installation. We see a significant opportunity for fuel cell backup power systems for remote locations including cold environments, where the ability to generate hydrogen onsite from renewable power sources is a key enabler.

"We also note Ballard's recent announcement regarding an engineering services agreement between Dantherm and M-Field Energy, our system integration customer in Taiwan, to enter the European material handling systems market, and believe that this channel collaboration will strengthen our leadership in onsite hydrogen generation for energy applications. We look forward to the success of the partnership with Dantherm and to extending our reach into the telecommunications backup power market together with them."

For further information please contact:

 
 Acta S.p.A.                              Tel: [phone] 
 Paolo Bert, Chief Executive Officer      www.actaspa.com 
  Paul Barritt, Chief Financial Officer 
 
 
 Altium Capital (Nominated Advisor)    Tel: [phone] 
 Adrian Reed / Dom Orsini 
 
   Cantor Fitzgerald Europe (Broker)     Tel: [phone] 
 Mark Percy / David Banks / Paul 
  Jewell 
 

Media enquiries:

 
 Walbrook PR                    Tel: [phone] 
 Paul Cornelius / Bob Huxford   [e-mail] 
 

About Acta S.p.A.

Acta S.p.A. is a developer and manufacturer of a range of clean energy products. Based on its world-leading expertise in alkaline membrane technology, the Company has developed a unique range of low-cost, compact hydrogen generators (electrolysers) which produce pure, dry compressed hydrogen at high efficiency from renewable or grid power.

In June 2013 Acta shipped the first Acta Power, an integrated electrolyser and fuel cell system for use in back-up power and renewable energy storage applications. Best understood as a "Hydrogen Battery", the system converts energy from renewable or grid power when it is available and stores it in the form of hydrogen, and then converts the hydrogen back to electrical power when needed due to grid black-out or lack of solar / wind power.

This system has extensive application as a back-up power unit for telecommunications base stations, where it competes on cost against traditional battery and diesel solutions, while offering a cleaner solution and better service. In particular, the use of rainwater and the generation of hydrogen on-site removes the cost and logistical barriers of fuel delivery, while also avoiding the theft risk associated with diesel, methanol and battery systems.

The supply of fuel cell back-up power systems for telecommunications base stations represents a large and fast-growing market, especially in extensively bad-grid and off-grid locations such as in Asia and Africa. Battery sales to the Chinese telecoms industry are currently valued at $4.7 bn to $7.8 bn per annum (Fuel Cell Today, China).

Acta holds a portfolio of patents and patent applications on its key technologies, manufactures its products through a combination of production, component subcontracting, and final product assembly and quality control, and has established distribution channels through partnerships in China, India, SE Asia, Australia, Africa, Middle East, Germany, UK, USA and South America.

Acta S.p.A. is based near Pisa, Italy, and was admitted to trading on AIM in October 2005.

www.actaspa.com

About Dantherm Power A/S

Dantherm Power, a subsidiary of Ballard Power Systems Inc., develops clean energy backup power systems, utilising Ballard Power Systems' proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell technology for telecom suppliers including Motorola and Ericsson.

Dantherm Power is an international enabler for the commercial application of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. Dantherm's fuel cell based backup power solutions are found inside IT and telecom network base stations all over the world. In 2005 the first backup power units were introduced driven by fuel cells, offering a commercially and environmentally viable alternative to diesel generators and battery backup units.

www.dantherm-power.com

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

END

MSCBZLLFZDFBBBL