Brunnthal--SFC Smart Fuel Cell AG (SFC), a leading global supplier of methanol-driven fuel cells, has continued to expand and increase profitability in HY1 2007. Sales in the first six months of the current business year improved by 150 per cent from EUR 3.0 million to EUR 7.5 million compared to the same period last year. 

“With sales growing by more than 150 per cent, we have exceeded our growth plan for HY1 2007,” says Dr Peter Podesser, SFC’s CEO. The success of the EFOY product line in the leisure activities sector and completion of the first commercial contract with the U.S. Airforce for the “Power Manager” device, in particular contributed to the strong growth in sales.

In the first half of 2007 2,372 EYOY fuel cells were distributed; in the same period the previous year there were only 697 units shipped (a growth of 240 per cent). Sales of the Power Manager increased by 1,083 per cent to 558 units compared to 26 units that were shipped in HY1 2006. The product share in sales rose to around 81 per cent compared to 56 per cent in the same period last year, while the share of sales from Joint Development Agreements (JDA) was reduced proportionately. SFC Smart Fuel Cell AG has thus successfully completed the transition from a Research & Development company to a market oriented manufacturing company.

At the same time SFC was able to reduce the manufacturing costs of both main products, EFOY 1200 and EFOY 1600, by around 25 per cent per fuel cell.

This, together with the positive sales development, enabled SFC to mark a significant milestone on the road to becoming a profitable company. SFC has reinforced the sustainable growth trend with new cooperation agreements in the recreational vehicles sector. SFC concluded cooperation agreements with RV manufacturers Dethleffs as well as Niesmann+Bischoff, as a result of which customers will be offered the fitting of EFOY fuel cells to power the grid-free electrical system. Following Hymer, SFC has thus gained two more leading European RV manufacturers as partners and now supplies a significant part of the German recreational vehicle market. “The interest shown by leading manufacturers such as Dethleffs and Niesmann+Bischoff shows that our EFOY fuel cells totally fulfil the customer’s desire for unfettered mobility combined with comfort and environmental friendliness, “ Podesser says. 

The “Power Manager” is an all-purpose voltage converter, enabling soldiers to optimize the use of different energy sources during a mission, thereby improving the efficiency of every operationFor the 2007 business year, SFC sees itself well on track to double sales from the previous year and to further improve margins of all product lines. 

About SFC Smart Fuel Cell AG 

SFC is the market leader for fuel cell technologies for mobile and off-grid power applications serving the leisure, industrial and defense markets. As one of the Germany’s most successful technology pioneers, SFC has won numerous innovation awards. In a U.S. Navy Assessment in 2005, SFC was awarded the highest score for technical maturity of all fuel cell products. In past years SFC has cooperated with the Hymer Group, Trigano, Webasto, the German Federal Army, the U.S. Army and the U.S. Air Force. Unlike most other fuel cell players, who are still in the R&D phase or run highly subsidized demonstration projects, SFC has been shipping fully commercial environmentally friendly fuel cells to industrial and private users. The company has an established, functional fuel cartridge supply infrastructure for methanol fuel. SFC is DIN ISO 9001:2000 certified.