Ceres Power and Cummins Win US Department of Energy Award to Develop Fuel Cell Power Systems for Data Centres

LONDON, September 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Ceres Power Holdings plc (AIM: CWR) is pleased to announce its key development role in a recently selected US Department of Energy ("DOE") programme awarded to Cummins Inc. (NYSE: CMI) ("Cummins").  Ceres Power will benefit from up to US$2.6m of the total US$4.9m project, which includes contributions from Cummins, US DOE and other parties, subject to final contract.

Ceres Power and Cummins will develop a novel 5kW Solid Oxide Fuel Cell ("SOFC") modular system targeting high electrical efficiency (60 percent) and scalable to meet multiple distributed power applications up to 100kW. The initial target application will be the data centre market; however, wider applicability to other markets such as commercial combined heat and power will also be considered. Ceres Power's unique Steel Cell offers greatly enhanced robustness to real-world operating conditions at a lower cost than conventional SOFC designs, as well as being fuel flexible, highly efficient and with lower emissions.  

If successfully implemented into data centres, the Steel Cell will enable data centre operators to cut current overall costs by more than 20 percent and reduce their carbon footprint by up to 49 percent. It has the potential to reduce world energy use significantly as data centres currently consume nearly two percent of the world's electrical power.

The award is under the US DOE Funding Opportunity Announcement DE-FOA-0001469 titled "Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Innovative Concepts and Core Technology." Ceres Power and Cummins will work closely with its consortium partners, University of Connecticut ("UConn") and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory ("PNNL"), one of the US DOE's national laboratories, to test the system to validate its feasibility in the target applications.  

Phil Caldwell, Ceres Power's Chief Executive Officer said:  

"This is a very exciting opportunity for Ceres Power to work with Cummins and the US DOE to address the rapidly growing market for cleaner distributed power for data centres and other commercial applications and strengthens our relationships in North America, a key market for our Steel Cell technology"

Wayne Eckerle, Cummins VP - Corporate Research and Technology said: 

"We are looking forward to working with Ceres Power, UConn, and PNNL to develop and ultimately commercialize this technology that can reduce costs for data centers and other potential customers while helping improve our environment. This is another example of technological collaboration that is a win for our companies, a win for our customers and a win for the environment."

Notes to Editors:

About Ceres Power 

Ceres Power (http://www.cerespower.com/ ) is a world leader in low cost, next generation fuel cell technology for use in distributed power products that reduce operating costs, lower CO2, SOx and NOx emissions, increase efficiency and improve energy security. The Ceres Power unique patented Steel Cell technology generates power from widely available fuels at high efficiency and is manufactured using standard processing equipment and conventional materials such as steel, meaning that it can be mass produced at an affordable price for domestic and business use.

Ceres Power offers its partners the opportunity to develop power systems and products using its unique Steel Cell technology and know-how, combined with the opportunity to supply the Steel Cell in volume through its manufacturing partners. 

http://www.cerespower.com
 

About Cummins Research and Technology 

Cummins values investment in research and development of new technologies, partnering with the USDOE and other government agencies. Additionally, the company devoted at least $700 million to research and development expenses for a fourth consecutive year in 2015, reaching $718 million.

The company is continuing its research and development focus on both critical future technologies and improving current technologies to meet future emissions and customer requirements around the world. Cummins' Research and Technology organization develops new technology six to 10 years, and sometimes longer, ahead of commercial production.

About Cummins Inc. 

Cummins Inc., a global power leader, is a corporation of complementary business units that design, manufacture, distribute and service diesel and natural gas engines and related technologies, including fuel systems, controls, air handling, filtration, emission solutions and electrical power generation systems. Headquartered in Columbus, Indiana (USA), Cummins currently employs approximately 55,000 people worldwide and serves customers in approximately 190 countries and territories through a network of approximately 600 company-owned and independent distributor locations and approximately 7,200 dealer locations. Cummins earned $1.4 billion on sales of $19.1 billion in 2015. Press releases can be found on the Web at http://www.cummins.com .  Follow Cummins on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/cummins and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/cumminsinc.

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SOURCE Ceres Power