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Carbon Trust Invests in Fuel Cell Company CMR Fuel Cells Limited
Publication date: 20-November-2003
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Carbon Trust is pleased to announce an investment in CMR Fuel Cells Ltd
based in Cambridge. This investment will help advance the much broader
emerging fuel cell industry in the UK which is part of the Carbon Trust’s
drive to promote a low-carbon economy. CMR has successfully completed a
first round private equity investment with the Carbon Trust investing alongside
Lead Investor Conduit Ventures.
Fuel cells (FC) are electrochemical devices that convert fuel (e.g. hydrogen, methanol, methane) directly into electricity at higher efficiency than internal combustion engines and have the potential for higher power storage capacity than lithium-ion batteries. Fuel cells have the potential to become the dominant technology for automotive engines, power stations and the power packs for portable electronics. CMR is a radical new fuel cell stack technology that has the promise of unlocking this enormous market potential. CMR’s patented design architecture aims to make fuel cells 10 times smaller and more powerful and up to 80% cheaper than competing products, thereby overcoming the key hurdles delaying mass-market global sales. Whereas current fuel cells are complex, tightly toleranced stacks of individual multi-component cells with precious metal catalysts, CMR delivers a radical architecture simplification and a robust porous “solid state” stack with dramatically fewer and cheaper components. CMR is developing fuel cell stacks for use in applications such as battery chargers, auxiliary power units, laptops, power tools, robotic devices, portable generators, and portable military applications. The core team is led by Michael Priestnall, previously Head of Fuel Cell Consulting at Generics, and Michael Evans, previously a Principal Researcher at Cambridge University. The team has over twenty years of experience in the fuel cell industry. Michael Priestnall, CEO of CMR Fuel Cells Limited commented: “Cost, durability, system complexity and fuelling are key barriers delaying mass-commercialisation of fuel cell technology. Our Compact Mixed-Reactant stack technology addresses each of these head-on. We are applying it first in portable direct methanol fuel cells where we believe the market opportunity is closest. I believe that one day all fuel cells will have to be built this way and appreciate the support that our investors and development partners have brought to enable this to happen.” According to Russell Pullan of Carbon Trust Investments, “We are actively investing in a range of new businesses that will help the UK achieve a low carbon future and fuel cells are widely recognised as an important part of this story. Fuel cells are expected to lead to more efficient means of producing electricity and heat than traditional methods of power generation. CMR Fuel Cell technology could offer ultra-low emissions for distributed generation, producing heat and electricity in small units at the point where the energy is needed. Moreover, we are excited by CMR’s ‘disruptive technology’ which has the potential to reshape the fuel cell industry.” The Lead Investor in the round was Conduit Ventures. The Generics Group remains a minority shareholder in CMR Fuel Cells Limited.
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