20th Jul 2010 07:01
Press Release |
20 July 2010 |
Acta S.p.A.
("Acta" or "the Company")
Italian Service Station Framework Agreement for
Photovoltaic and Hydrogen Generator Installations
Acta S.p.A. (AIM:ACTA), the clean energy products company, is delighted to announce that it has signed an exclusive supply agreement (the "Framework Agreement") with Girelli Bruni S.p.A., one of Italy's leading installers of filling station forecourt equipment, for the supply of photovoltaic installations and integrated hydrogen generators for the Italian service station sector. The Company estimates that, based on Girelli Bruni's current level of annual installations, the Framework Agreement has a potential revenue value to Acta of up to €5 million per annum and is expected to ramp up to this level over the next 12 to 18 months, initially biased towards photovoltaic installations.
Under the Framework Agreement, signed on 19 July 2010, Acta will be the exclusive supplier of photovoltaic installations to Girelli Bruni, which supplies forecourt installations in Italy for major brands such as Agip, Esso, Shell, Total, ERG, Repsol and Auchan. Girelli Bruni will also be the exclusive distributor of Acta's hydrogen generators for the fuel supply sector in Italy. Based on Acta's proprietary catalytic and hydrogen conversion technologies, these generators can be safely integrated with the photovoltaic installations to produce clean, dry and compressed hydrogen. Girelli Bruni completed more than 170 forecourt installation projects during 2009, of which the majority also requested the installation of photovoltaic capacity.
The Italian service station sector is currently adapting to the requirements of a regional law, being progressively adopted by each Regional Government of Italy, which requires any new fuel service station to install a minimum quantity of photovoltaic generation capacity and to provide a gaseous fuel alternative to petroleum. The regional law of Tuscany for example, passed in 2005, requires each new service station to install at least 12kW of photovoltaic capacity and the provision of at least one alternative fuel out of methane, LPG or hydrogen. Acta's agreement with Girelli Bruni will serve as a one-stop solution to fulfilling these regulatory requirements.
In addition, Girelli Bruni will become the exclusive supplier of the collapsible photovoltaic bike shed canopy developed by Acta together with Girelli Bruni and demonstrated in June 2010 at Viareggio as part of Acta's hydrogen village display. Acta intends to distribute these units, which can refuel hydrogen fuel cell bikes, boats and other applications, via the Company's low cost hydrogen generator, to local authorities, marinas, and other commercial customers.
Paolo Bert, Chief Executive, commented:
"This agreement will bring Acta's hydrogen products onto the forecourt and into the automotive sector for the first time. We are delighted that Girelli Bruni has chosen Acta as its exclusive supply partner and the agreement demonstrates the powerful synergies between our photovoltaic and hydrogen generation products and activities. Acta is now realising its ambition to bring the renewable energy value chain to the market."
- ENDS-
For further information please contact:
Acta S.p.A Paul Barritt, Chief Financial Officer
|
Tel: +39 050 644281 www.actagroup.it www.actaenergy.it
|
Altium Adrian Reed / Phil Frame |
Tel: +44 845 505 4343
|
Media enquiries:
Abchurch Communications Limited Hannah Sharman / Justin Heath
|
Tel: +44 20 7398 7725 www.abchurch-group.com |
About Acta S.p.A.
Acta S.p.A. is a developer and manufacturer of a range of clean energy products. Its product line includes market-leading compact hydrogen generators (electrolysers) which produce pure, dry and compressed hydrogen in a way that is easy-to-use and completely safe. The Company is also extensively involved in the Italian solar photovoltaic market through its photovoltaic business, ActaSol, and is committed to integrating its award-winning electrolysers with renewable energy sources. The Company is currently in the process of delivering a €32.2m (10.6MW) installation contract to SPF Energy through its joint venture company, SolGen, and is awaiting authorisation approvals for a further 19MW project pipeline.
Acta's cost-competitive electrolysers are based on its proprietary, inexpensive environmental catalyst and hydrogen conversion technologies. These products help overcome the barriers to the adoption of fuel cells, most notably the lack of a local hydrogen infrastructure.
Acta's low-cost hydrogen generators represent a unique breakthrough in electrolyser technology. They can operate using mains power or intermittent renewable energy, and produce clean, dry hydrogen already at pressure for use in fuel cell and other applications. This unique combination of features avoids the system complexity and energy cost of further cleaning, drying and compression of the hydrogen, resulting in a simple, compact, low-cost and highly efficient system that is ideally suited for energy conversion and storage applications. In such applications, which include battery replacement and renewable energy storage, low cost and high efficiency are critical to commercial viability, while hydrogen compression is essential for the energy density of the system. No other water electrolyser currently on the market offers this combination of benefits.
Acta is focusing on delivering its products to markets with high volume demand for high-value environmental solutions (transport, UPS, energy and leisure). It is accelerating the commercialisation of its products via partnerships with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), distributors, and agents in these sectors, and intends to drive down production costs at high volume via contract manufacturing.
Acta is marketing its electrolyser product range to early adopters through its energy products division, Acta Energy. This division's objective is to ensure, through facilitating the widespread adoption of commercial and domestic fuel cell products, that Acta's hydrogen generator becomes a familiar industrial and domestic appliance.
Acta S.p.A. was admitted to trading on AIM in October 2005. It is based near Pisa, Italy, from where it manages a growing overseas distributor network targeting a global fuel cell market estimated to be worth US$26 billion by 2020.
www.actagroup.it
www.actaenergy.it
About Girelli Bruni S.p.A.
Girelli Bruni has more than 50 years' experience in the service station sector, and supplies forecourt installations in Italy for major brands such as Agip, Esso, Shell, Total, ERG, Repsol and Auchan.
Related Shares:
ACTA.L