Jul 19 2010
Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited (AIM/ASX: CFU) – a leading developer of high-efficiency low-emission electricity generation units for homes and other buildings – has been awarded the prestigious Innovation NRW.INVEST AWARD for 2010, by the Government of North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany.
More than 11,000 foreign companies based in North Rhine-Westphalia are eligible for the NRW.INVEST awards. Each year three awards are presented, for outstanding achievements in the categories of Innovation, Expansion Investment and New Investment.
Ceramic Fuel Cells is honored to have received the 2010 award for Innovation. Last year’s winner of the Innovation award was the Canadian BlackBerry manufacturer Research in Motion.
Announcing the award at a ceremony in Dusseldorf, the North Rhine-Westphalian Minister for Economic Affairs Ms Christa Thoben said “To appreciate the importance of foreign investors for the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, once a year we give the NRW.INVEST AWARD. Foreign company investment helps to accelerate the economic and cultural development of our state."
"Fuel cells with high efficiency are a key technology of the future. Ceramic Fuel Cells, with its innovative products, contributes to a more efficient and cleaner energy supply in North Rhine-Westphalia", added Petra Wassner, Managing Director of NRW.INVEST.
Ceramic Fuel Cells’ Managing Director Brendan Dow said: “It is a great thrill for Ceramic Fuel Cells to receive this award. It not only recognises the efforts of hundreds of people who have contributed to our development, from the CSIRO staff who were involved in the early technology breakthroughs, through to our current Australian and German staff, but it is also recognition of – we believe – the potential of our product in Europe and elsewhere to make a significant difference to electricity production and climate change.”
Speaking at the official awards ceremony, the Australian Ambassador to Germany, Mr Peter Tesch, said “I am convinced that Ceramic Fuel Cells will shape the world market and especially the German market of private energy supply."
In October 2009 Ceramic Fuel Cells opened a high volume manufacturing plant in the Industriepark Oberbruch, 40 minutes’ drive from Dusseldorf in the North Rhine-Westphalia region of Germany. The plant is one of the first in the world for the volume production of solid oxide fuel cell stacks.
Ceramic Fuel Cells has secured orders for just under 50 BlueGen gas-to-electricity generators from major utilities and other foundation customers in Europe, Japan and Australia, including German utilities EWE, E.On Ruhrgas, Rheinenergie, Alliander and the German Gas Association.
About the size of a dishwasher, BlueGen uses patented fuel cell technology to convert natural gas into electricity and heat with very high efficiency. BlueGen units can generate electricity at a peak electrical efficiency of 60 percent, far higher than any other technology in the large global market for small scale electricity generation. When heat is recovered for hot water, total efficiency is up to 85 percent – twice as efficient as the current European power grid.
By generating power close to where it is used, Ceramic Fuel Cells’ products can meet the future demand for low emission electricity without the need for huge investments in electricity transmission and distribution infrastructure.
Ceramic Fuel Cells is also developing fully integrated power and heating products with leading energy customers and appliance partners in Germany, France and the United Kingdom.