Released: 06/11/2009
com:20091106:RnsF1098C
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RNS Number : 1098C
Ceres Power Holdings plc
06 November 2009
6 November 2009
Ceres Power Holdings plc
Ceres Power begins European market entry for residential CHP with Bord Gssis,
Ireland
Ceres Power ('Ceres', the 'Company', the 'Group') today announces that it has
signed an agreement (the 'Agreement') with Bord Gssis Eireann ('BGE') for
residential combined heat and power ('CHP') products operating on natural gas
for the Irish market (including the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland).
This marks the first international contract for Ceres Power outside mainland UK
and forms part of the Group's expansion plans into Europe, initially targeting
highly adjacent growth markets.
The Agreement with BGE builds upon Ceres Power's existing natural gas CHP
programme with British Gas, and will use the same core technology platform,
allowing the Company to exploit economies of scale. Under the Agreement, Ceres
and BGE aim to establish CHP as the low carbon residential energy system of
choice for Ireland. There are more than 2.5 million homes in the island of
Ireland and Bord Gssis Energy, the retail arm of Bord Gssis, is Ireland's
leading dual fuel energy supplier selling natural gas and electricity to all
market segments. Bord Gssis also provides appliance servicing of products to
customers focusing on boiler service and repair and has recently announced a
major energy efficiency Home Services Initiative in 2010 offering homeowners a
full-scale energy efficiency service.
Under the terms of the Agreement, BGE will pay Ceres £1.6 million in milestone
payments during the development and trialling of the CHP Product (the 'Initial
Phase'), including an up-front payment of £1 million. In addition, BGE has
agreed to place a call-off order for 16,000 CHP products in aggregate over a
four-year period for the Irish market, conditional upon successful completion of
the Initial Phase and agreement of standard commercial terms, including the
price, for the supply of CHP products. Subject to BGE meeting minimum order
volumes, Ceres has agreed to sell the CHP product to BGE for the Irish market on
an exclusive basis for a four year period anticipated to begin in early 2012.
Ceres and BGE intend to maximise sales of the residential CHP Product by
addressing both the installed base of existing homes that would benefit from an
upgrade as well as the annual boiler replacement market. Both of these customer
groups will be able to enjoy convenient, low carbon, cost-competitive energy
with this environmentally friendly product.
Peter Bance, CEO of Ceres Power, said:
"We are delighted to have formed this relationship with Bord Gssis Eireann which
builds on Ceres Power's leadership position in the residential CHP market and
marks the beginning of our expansion plans internationally. Our technology has
the potential to address exciting markets across Europe as well as North America
and Asia. This new contract helps further underpin our investment in the Horsham
factory that will create new skilled 'green collar' jobs in the UK and in our
extended supply chain."
John Mullins, Chief Executive of Bord Gssis Eireann, said:
"Working with Ceres Power on this revolutionary technology further highlights
Bord Gssis' position as a market leader and green energy innovator in Ireland.
The Ceres Power residential CHP product will help accelerate a transition to a
low carbon economy and make much more efficient use of precious energy
resources. The CHP product has the potential to deliver significant energy
savings, carbon emissions reductions and improved overall energy efficiency for
the retrofit residential market in the Island of Ireland. We look forward to
bringing this product to our customers as part of our strategy to be Ireland's
sustainable provider of customer-led energy solutions. "
For further information contact:
Ceres Power Holdings plc Tel. +44 (0)1293 400 404
Peter Bance, Chief Executive Officer
Rex Vevers, Finance Director
Kreab Gavin Anderson Tel. +44 (0)20 7074 1800
Ken Cronin/Deborah Walter/Robert Speed
Notes to Editors
Bord Gssis Eireann is Ireland's leading dual fuel energy supplier, providing
customers with natural gas and electricity in Ireland and providing residential
customers with gas appliance service and repair products. The company built and
owns over 12,000km of gas pipeline, including two sub-sea interconnectors with
Scotland from where Ireland gets over 92% of its gas supplies. Bord Gais has
both a transmission pipeline business and a gas supply/distribution business in
Northern Ireland. The company is majority owned by the Irish government. The
company is currently investing E400 million in the construction of a 445MW gas
fired power plant in Co. Cork which will achieve commercial production in 2010.
Bord Gais is also committing an investment of up to E250 million in the
development of four 100MW gas cycle turbines and has committed over E250 million
to renewable energy developments. These investments underpin the company's
developments as a full service dual fuel provider in Ireland.
Further information on Ceres Power can be found at www.cerespower.com
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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