In a research note published on the UK fuel cell group, Numis said that Ceres enjoyed strong commercial partnerships with the major players in three of its five target markets -- Centrica for UK solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) combined heat and power units, and BOC for UK off-grid and international off-grid facilities.

It said that it expects to see OEM/partner relationships for international SOFC CHP auxiliary power units in the next 6-12 months.

It said residential CHP remained an exciting market, with Ceres already having demonstrated commercial traction through its relationship with Centrica. It said that it was looking for this relationship to move into delivery phase over the next two years, with the commencement of field trials.

The broker added that there were other markets potentially even more attractive within four years -- believing that, although the stock market had to date focused on residential CHP, the other target markets of off-grid power and vehicle auxiliary power units were potentially more attractive in the short-to-medium term.

It said these markets have materially lower barriers to widespread uptake, an evolving regulatory regime that already implicitly favours fuel cells, and clear economic advantages for such fuel cells.