4th Sep 2006 07:00
Oxford Catalysts Group PLC04 September 2006 4th September 2006 OXFORD CATALYSTS GROUP PLC ("Oxford Catalysts" or "the Company") Carbon Trust Grant Award Oxford Catalysts Group PLC, the leading catalyst innovator for clean fuels, ispleased to announce that it has been awarded c. £118,000 from the Carbon Trustto help finance a two year project to develop reforming catalysts for fuelcells. This award is part of a £150,000 joint grant to both the Company and aleading UK-based Solid Oxide Fuel Cell ("SOFC") company, that was initiallyawarded in March 2006, subject to contract which has now been agreed. The work programme will focus on the development of two catalysts for thereforming of Liquid Petroleum Gas ("LPG") and natural gas, based on theCompany's patented metal-carbide catalyst platform. The project will alsoinvolve the optimisation of the new catalysts, as well as the development of aprocess for their deposition directly onto an appropriate surface. Reforming is an important process for the operation of fuel cells that useconventional hydrocarbon fuels. Oxford Catalysts believes that its patentedmetal carbide catalysts will offer improved reforming performance at a lowercost, and that the new deposition process could facilitate more efficientcatalyst performance and more effective heat transfer in the catalyst activearea, thereby enhancing the overall efficiency of the fuel cell system. The other partner in the Carbon Trust project (a leading UK-based SOFC company)will utilise its experience in fuel cell systems using LPG and natural gas todefine the specifications for the new catalysts and to test their performance. Roy Lipski, Chief Executive of Oxford Catalysts, said: "The commencement of this project is a key milestone for us in the developmentof our technology for use in the production of clean fuels, generally, and inparticular for fuel cells. We are grateful to the Carbon Trust for this grant,which recognises the significance of our technology, and we are pleased to beworking on this exciting project with one of the leading SOFC companies." Garry Staunton, Head of Low Carbon Research at the Carbon Trust, added: "We are delighted to be providing grant support to this Oxford Catalysts-ledproject. We believe that the application of Oxford Catalysts' leading-edgecatalyst formulations to fuel cell technology has produced a potentiallyground-breaking project which could lead to substantial greenhouse gas emissionsavings. Grants are a key part of the Carbon Trust's work in encouraging the transitionto a low carbon economy. Our aim is to support the best emerging thinking in theenergy world, and bring the worlds of science and business closer together byconverting theory into potential profit." - Ends - For further information, please contact: Roy Lipski, Oxford Catalysts 07958 970 855Jonathon Brill / Billy Clegg, Financial Dynamics 020 7831 3113Megan MacIntyre, KBC Peel Hunt 020 7418 8900 Notes to Editors Oxford Catalysts Group plc, the leading catalyst innovator for clean fuels,designs and develops specialty catalysts for the generation of clean fuels fromboth conventional fossil fuels and certain renewable sources such as biomass.Its patent-pending technology is the result of 19 years of research at theUniversity of Oxford's prestigious Wolfson Catalysis Centre, headed by ProfessorMalcolm Green, one of the world's most respected inorganic chemists. OxfordCatalysts was founded by Professor Green and Dr Xiao in October 2004 and wasadmitted to trading on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange on 26th April2006, having raised £15m before expenses from a solid base of institutionalinvestors. Oxford Catalysts' strategy is to license its catalysts for commercialapplication by entering into co-development partnerships with leadingmanufacturers, producers and suppliers in the petroleum, petrochemicals, fuelcells, biogas, steam applications and catalysis markets. Oxford Catalysts has two key platform technologies. The first is for a novelclass of catalysts made from metal carbides which, for certain reactions, canmatch or exceed the benefits of traditional precious metal catalysts at a lowercost. Applications of these metal-carbide catalysts include the removal ofsulphur from crude oil fractions (known as hydro-desulphurisation or HDS), theconversion of natural gas or coal into virtually sulphur-free liquid fuels viathe Fischer-Tropsch reaction (known as the GTL and CTL processes respectively),and the transformation of biogas (waste methane) into syngas - the building block of liquid fuels. The second platform relates to chemical reactions involving a liquid fuelcontaining an alcohol (such as methanol), hydrogen peroxide and water. Thecompany's novel catalyst can be used to release hydrogen gas from this liquidfuel, instantaneously starting from room temperature. This groundbreakinghydrogen-on-demand technology has the potential to significantly accelerate thecommercial adoption of fuel cells in the portable and other mobile markets, byproviding the much needed source of cheap, safe transportable hydrogen. Another of the company's catalysts can be used to produce superheated steam(800c+) from the above fuel, instantaneously starting from room temperature.Such portable high-temperature steam could have important applications in abroad range of markets, from cleaning and disinfecting, to motive power andelectricity generation. www.oxfordcatalysts.com About the Carbon Trust The Carbon Trust works with UK business and the public sector to cut carbonemissions and develop commercial low carbon technologies. An independent companyset up by Government to help the UK meet its climate change obligations, theCarbon Trust creates practical business-focused solutions to carbon emissionreduction on energy efficiency, carbon management, and investment. The Carbon Trust's Applied Research Programme provides grant support for thedevelopment and commercialisation of technology with the potential to reduce UKcarbon dioxide emissions. Over the past four years the Carbon Trust has investedin excess of £13 million in projects that have demonstrated their potential tofacilitate the progress of low carbon technologies towards large scaledeployment. The Carbon Trust's annual funding is in excess of £105m in grants from theDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the Department ofTrade and Industry (DTI), the Scottish Executive, the Welsh Assembly Governmentand Invest NI. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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