The increase in power, which is from 25mW/cm2 to 55mW/cm2 on an air breathing,
room temperature fuel cell, demonstrates that platinum-free HYPERMEC catalysts
offer unrivalled performance compared to other platinum-containing catalysts,
yet they can be manufactured for a fraction of the cost. It also demonstrates
that fuel cells powered by ethanol, which is safe and environmentally friendly,
can match or exceed the power output of the best reported fuel cells powered by
methanol.

Commenting on the announcement, Dr Sean McLoughlin, European Manager, Fuel Cell
Markets, an independent company that helps with the commercialisation of fuel
cell technologies worldwide, said; 'this development is a key milestone for Acta
and could deliver significant benefits to the fuel cell industry. Doubling the
power output at room temperature brings the prospect of commercialisation for
fuel cells a step closer. Encouragingly, Acta has achieved this doubling of
their power output in a very short space of time'.

Commenting on the announcement, Mr Paolo Bert, Chief Executive of Acta, said:
'These results are extremely encouraging for all portable fuel cell developers.
However, we believe that this is just the beginning. We shall be improving both
our catalyst and our application technology and I am confident that we can
continue to improve the power output further still'.

Toby Woolrych, Chief Operating Officer, added: 'We have been encouraged by the
response of the market to HYPERMEC and we are delighted to be able to offer our
customers a catalyst which delivers the power they need, together with a
practical new fuel. This is another step closer to the commercialisation of fuel
cells to the mass consumer market.'

The catalysts driving the new developments were among the first batches to be
produced at the company's new Lavoria factory near Pisa in Italy, which already
has installed capacity of over 1,000kg per annum: enough to meet the industry's
development needs. This development with Acta's platinum free catalysts comes at
a time of tight market conditions which have recently pushed platinum prices to
a 25 year high.