TIDMACTA
RNS Number : 4432K
Acta S.p.A.
25 June 2014
Acta S.p.A. ("Acta" or "the Company")
Product Sales and Trading Update
Acta S.p.A (AIM: ACTA), the hydrogen energy company, announces
new product sales for its Acta Power systems and electrolysers and
provides an update on trading for the year to date.
Product Sales
Thailand: Renewable Power Storage
Acta has received an order for two Acta Power systems for a
renewable power storage application in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The
systems, which have a combined power output of 4kW, are to be
installed at a low-carbon residential and tourist development
project where they will provide a secure and grid-independent
source of power based on renewable energy storage. The installation
will ensure a continuous power supply to local buildings and
security systems, despite frequent periods of grid black-out.
The project developers are seeking to promote the development as
a template for future zero-carbon building developments,
particularly for villas and resorts for the local eco-tourism
sector and ex-patriot community. Having demonstrated the Acta Power
system's ability to provide reliable secondary power from a clean
source, it is envisaged that this development will also lead to
greater opportunities for Acta in the area.
Germany: Heliocentris
Heliocentris, the renewable energy solutions supplier to the
education sector, has placed an order for ten of Acta's 500L/hr
electrolyser stacks. This order follows numerous previous orders
received from Heliocentris since 2012.
Commercial Update
Telecommunications
Since summer 2013, the Company has been selling Acta Power
systems and electrolysers for commercial trials with mobile phone
operators. These systems have been purchased and installed onsite
in demanding locations across the globe and have all performed with
success under real-world operating conditions. Individual trial
results are as follows:
Egypt
In October 2013 a 4kW Acta Power system was installed for live
site evaluation at a major mobile phone operator's base station.
The system was initially installed as a second-line back-up power
system but, having successfully satisfied the customer beyond
specification in terms of functionality and performance, its role
has been upgraded to become a first-line back-up power system. Acta
is in negotiations to supply a larger number of systems in the
region and hopes to conclude these negotiations shortly.
Australia
Acta has successfully concluded the live site evaluation of an
Acta Power system undertaken by one of Australia's largest mobile
phone operators on a telecom base station located near Melbourne
and this is expected to be extended to a larger scale in the second
half of this year.
Acta's Australian distributor is also in negotiations regarding
numerous opportunities to install the Acta Power system for back-up
power and renewable energy storage applications within Australia
and the Pacific region.
Philippines
Two of the Philippines's largest mobile phone operators have
each purchased an Acta Power system for live site evaluation.
The first evaluation was successfully concluded earlier this
year and Acta is now in negotiations, expected to conclude later
this year, for the supply of a larger number of units for further
evaluation. The second evaluation is currently underway and is
performing well and according to specification.
Taiwan
Acta's electrolyser has been adopted by M-Field Energy Ltd
("M-Field"), a telecom back-up power fuel cell system integrator,
as a core component of M-Field's own back-up power system which has
seen significant early success.
M-Field ordered six electrolysers from Acta in October 2013 and
a further 15 systems in May 2014 plus a number of smaller units.
Acta expects further orders from M-Field during Autumn 2014.
Renewable Energy Storage
Acta has sold its electrolysers and Acta Power units into a
number of renewable energy trial projects, including a wind turbine
project in Cheshire, UK, a remote renewable energy storage project
in Singapore and, as stated above, a residential and tourist
development project in Thailand. The systems have performed well in
these trials and results will be disclosed in due course when
evaluations are concluded.
Electric Fuel Cell Vehicles Refuelling
The Company continues to pursue hydrogen fuelling applications
including the 3,000 fuel cell scooter project being implemented by
the Company's partner APFCT in Taiwan, for which a new 1 m3/hr
electrolyser was shipped in May 2014. The Company expects to
announce new opportunities in fuel cell car refuelling during the
second half of 2014.
Partnerships
The Company's partnership with Heliocentris continues to
progress well, as highlighted by the recent order stated above. In
addition, Acta's strategic US partner, ReliOn Inc has reiterated
its commitment to the telecom back-up power market and to the role
of Acta's products within its strategy. This follows a temporary
delay in strategic progress when in April 2014 ReliOn Inc was
acquired by Plug Power Inc, the leader in fuel cell systems
integration for the forklift truck and materials handling market.
Acta and ReliOn are exploring numerous opportunities to develop
Acta's onsite hydrogen applications within the back-up power
markets worldwide.
Outlook
The Board remains confident that the Company will deliver strong
revenue growth for the year with sales across all of Acta's
business lines gaining momentum and a growing pipeline of
opportunities. However, commercial experience gathered over the
last six months has highlighted that the duration of sales cycles
in the telecoms sector is longer and more difficult to determine
than had previously been estimated. The Board is therefore adopting
a more cautious stance with regard the rate of this revenue growth
for the remainder of 2014, and believes that, due to the risk of
delay in converting proposals and opportunities into orders, the
revenue performance for the year may be below current market
expectations.
The Board notes that such delays are frequently encountered
during the adoption of a new technology and remains firmly
convinced that the excellent results of the evaluations undertaken
to date validate the inherent value and commercial potential of
Acta's unique technology for onsite hydrogen generation.
Paolo Bert, CEO of Acta, commented: "Acta is making strong
progress across each of its lines of business through the sales of
its Acta Power and electrolyser systems and through the successful
performance demonstrated by these systems in live evaluations in
demanding environments. Despite the difficulty in determining the
length of sales cycles our increasing traction with clients and the
growing pipeline of opportunities that we are currently
experiencing demonstrates a clear demand for our solutions. We are
therefore confident of increasing volume orders and strong revenue
growth during this year and beyond as product adoption continues to
gather pace."
For further information please contact:
Acta S.p.A. Tel: +39 050 644281
Paolo Bert, Chief Executive Officer www.actaspa.com
Paul Barritt, Chief Financial Officer
Altium Capital (Nominated Advisor) Tel: +44 (0)845 505 4343
Adrian Reed / Dom Orsini
Cantor Fitzgerald Europe (Broker) Tel: +44 (0)20 7894 7000
Mark Percy / David Banks / Paul
Jewell
Media enquiries:
Walbrook PR Tel: +44 (0)20 7933 8780
Paul Cornelius / Bob Huxford acta@walbrookpr.com
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 April 2013 Acta launched the 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
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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