We are delighted to announce that Parkwalk has closed an investment in Ceres Power, a specialist provider of low-cost, next generation....
 
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Parkwalk closes Ceres Power plc investment for the Opportunities Fund
 
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Ceres Power plc

We are pleased to announce that the Parkwalk Opportunities EIS Fund has participated in a £20m funding round in Ceres Power plc, the specialist provider of low cost, next generation fuel cell technology. Ceres Power is listed on the UK AIM market under the symbol CWR.

 
 

Dear , 

With technology originating from Imperial College, Ceres Power is a world leader in low cost, next generation fuel cells for use in distributed power products that have the potential to bring cheaper and cleaner energy to homes and businesses. The Group is working with some of the world's leading companies in order to create mass market fuel cell products for multiple markets worldwide.

The Company currently manufactures and supplies its fuel cells ("SteelCells") to partners wishing to use Ceres Power's technology as the foundation for their power products and offers its integration and engineering expertise as part of joint development programmes.

Technology
Ceres Power’s ability to print a ceramic layer at temperatures which do not require specialised materials and for the cell to operate at lower temperatures than peers lowers the cost of materials and processing significantly without compromising performance.

It manufactures steel based fuel cells, which can efficiently generate electricity through the non-combustion electrochemical reaction of air (oxygen) and fuel (hydrogen, methane, natural gas).

Commercial Progress
Ceres Power is now beginning the next phase of its commercialisation. The Company is targeting having five global engineering companies as customers in joint development agreements by the end of 2017 in order to achieve traction in multiple markets in the major regions across the world, with the intent to be in two commercial launch programmes by the end of 2018. The Board believes the Company's existing relationships with Honda, Nissan and Cummins show that it is well on the path to achieving this.

Recent technical improvements have allowed the Company to make significant commercial progress. After two years of testing with Honda, in January 2016 Ceres Power announced a follow-on joint development agreement with them. The Company's recently announced agreements with Nissan and Cummins are as a result of technical progress having opened up new higher power multi kW markets, and as a result Ceres Power is developing a 5 kW modular stack and system platform alongside its existing 1 kW residential CHP platform.

As the Company increases the number of global partners and those partners move through from evaluation to product development and to commercial launch, the company anticipates each progression will increase the revenue contribution to Ceres Power.

Maintaining technology leadership

Over the past two years, Ceres Power has significantly increased the performance of the core SteelCell technology in terms of power density and efficiency and has increased the number of patent families filed from 39 to 47. The Company continues to improve the SteelCell performance to maintain its technology leadership position, specifically focusing on the following areas:

  • improving lifetime, quality and maturity;
  • increasing performance through higher power density; and
  • improving efficiency targeting up to 60 per cent. net electrical efficiency for high power applications.

The Team
Phil Caldwell, CEO, has been CEO of Ceres Power since September 2013. Before that he was Corporate Development Director at Intelligent Energy having started his career as a Chemical Engineer at ICI. He has a Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Imperial College, holds an MBA from IESE Barcelona and is a Chartered Engineer and Sainsbury Management Fellow.

Alan Aubrey, Chairman, has been Chairman since Dec 2012. He is also CEO of IP Group, the FTSE-250 technology Venture Capital firm. He holds a number of non-executive roles in early-stage technology businesses. He is a qualified Chartered Accountant and a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales.

Dr. Mark Selby, CTO, joined Ceres Power in 2006 and has been on the Board since 2014. Mark has a background in Automotive and CleanTech, and more than 10 years of experience in highly complex multidisciplinary product development environments. Early in his career Mark was a Project Engineer at Ricardo.

Richard Preston, CFO, has worked at Ceres Power since 2008 and been on the Board since 2013. Previously Richard held a number of senior roles in business transformation and project finance at Cable & Wireless. He is a Chartered Accountant and Corporate Treasurer and holds a Master’s in Engineering and Management Studies from the University of Cambridge.

Investment Case
Parkwalk participated in Ceres Power’s recent £20m fundraise, investing alongside existing backers who include IP Group, Lansdowne, Baillie Gifford, and Imperial College.

These funds will allow the Group to continue to develop its technology whilst it advances through the key important negotiation stages with its partners, from product development through to entering commercial launch programmes, which are the key steps towards commercial profitability.

 
 
 
 
 
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Opportunities EIS Fund

The Parkwalk Opportunities EIS Fund is open to investors all year.

Please email funds@parkwalkadvisors.com for further details.

 
 
 
 
 

Important Information

This financial promotion is issued by Parkwalk Advisors Limited (Parkwalk), which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Investments referred to in this newsletter are not suitable for all investors.  Interested parties are strongly recommended to seek specialist financial and tax advice before investing in any product.  Capital is at risk and investors may not get back the full amount invested. Tax treatment depends on the individual circumstances of each investor and may be subject to change. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results, and the value of investments may go down as well as up. Projections and forecasts are also not a reliable indicator of future performance. Investments in small and unquoted companies carry a higher risk than many other forms of investment. Any investment in a Parkwalk product must only be made on the basis of the terms of the full Information Memorandum. Parkwalk is not able to provide advice as to the suitability of investing in any product.