Dr. Vaidya brings 25 years of successful international business and technology commercialization experience to Bac2. He has a proven track record of managing intellectual property to create tangible value through product sales and licensing. Furthermore, he has experience as an operational managing director and executive chairman of high technology early stage companies. Dr. Vaidya has worked for EMI Central Research Laboratories and Thorn EMI New Business Ventures and was founder and main board director of Scipher plc. He is a Chartered Physicist with a PhD in Superconductivity and an MBA from Henley Management college.

Commenting on the appointment, Mike Stannard, Bac2’s CEO said, “Ashok will be a great asset at this stage of our work. As well as providing general mentoring support he will take a particular interest in our development program as we continue to play our part in bringing forward the adoption of clean energy sources through materials research and new product development.”

For further information and reader enquiries:

Mike Stannard, CEO, Bac2, Set Squared, The University of Southampton S017 1BJ, UK

Tel: +44 (0) 23 8059 8572  E-mail: mike@bac2.co.uk

Web: www.bac2.co.uk

PR agency contact:

Bob Jones, TechnoPR Limited, The Old Vicarage, Upper South Wraxall, Bradford-on-Avon,  
Wiltshire BA15 2SB, UK

Tel: +44 (0) 1225 866930  E-mail: bob.jones@technopr.com 

Web: www.technopr.com

About Bac2

Bac2 is the developer of ElectroPhen™, an electrically conductive plastic that will make a significant contribution to the early adoption of clean energy from fuel cell stacks. Fuel cells are technically proven sources of clean energy for our planet, but adoption is presently limited by cost. Up to 30% of the cost of Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) fuel cell stacks, the most popular types, comes from so-called bipolar plates and end plates that interconnect individual cells and provide connections to the outside world. The bipolar plates have to conduct electricity, keep the reaction gasses separated and channel away waste water and heat from the reaction. ElectroPhen™ is a unique material that can be used to form these plates and it will contribute significantly to improvements in fuel cell cost/performance. Furthermore, as Bac2 demonstrates that ElectroPhen™ is mechanically more flexible than alternative materials developed for this application, it will result in a more rugged and reliable product. ElectroPhen™ therefore has the potential to bring forward the day fuel cells become widely adopted.

Already in commercial use as auxiliary generators, fuel cells are widely expected to power everything from cars and buses to laptops and mobile phones and even homes and offices in the years to come. They provide clean efficient energy as part of the emerging hydrogen economy, which is seen as the most viable energy technology for tackling increasingly serious concerns over oil and gas supply as well as harmful climate changing emissions caused by burning hydrocarbon fuels. The only waste product from hydrogen fuel cells is water.

Bac2 is in the process of developing ElectroPhen™ commercially and has patents pending in Europe, America and Japan. ElectroPhen™ is made from readily available low-cost constituents, can be pressed or moulded to complex shapes, and is robust enough for harsh environments. By comparison, competitors produce composite plates using electrically insulating resins to bind together conductive particles such as graphite. In addition to its role in fuel cells, Bac2 will find an increasingly wide range of applications in electrical and electronic industries.

Bac2 is a privately owned company based in Southampton, United Kingdom.