Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited CFU organisation change to focus on Europe

TIDMCFU

RNS Number : 6530O

Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited

15 October 2012

Monday 15 October 2012

CFCL Strengthens Sales Resources in Germany

Aligns activities in Australia

Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited (AIM / ASX: CFU) a leading developer of generators which use fuel cell technology to convert natural gas into electricity and heat for homes and other buildings, announces that it is continuing to invest in measures to quickly increase sales in Germany.

We are pleased to announce that Mr Andreas Ballhausen has joined Ceramic Fuel Cells' European management team as Commercial Director. Mr Ballhausen will be responsible for leading our business development, sales and customer service activities in Germany.

Mr Ballhausen joins Ceramic Fuel Cells from leading German energy utility EWE, where he has held various senior management positions since 1996. Most recently Mr Ballhausen was in charge of establishing and running EWE'sbusiness unit selling energy services and contracting solutions for households, industry and communities.

Mr Ballhausen has extensive experience with fuel cells and micro combined heat and power products, having led EWE's project to evaluate, install and operate fuel cell products from a number of suppliers over many years. EWE was Ceramic Fuel Cells' first customer in Germany, and has been testing and operating our products since 2006. Mr Ballhausen is also a member of various committees in the energy sector, including the German Fuel Cell Initiative (IBZ).

"We are delighted that Andreas Ballhausen has chosen to join Ceramic Fuel Cells. His expertise in the field of fuel cell technology and his many years of experience in sales of CHP technologies are a tremendous asset to ourCompany," said Brendan Dow, Managing Director of Ceramic Fuel Cells.

"I'm looking forward to the new responsibilities at Ceramic Fuel Cells. High-efficiency micro-CHP systems can make a significant contribution to the success of renewable energy in Germany and in Europe. Ceramic Fuel Cells' BlueGen product offers an outstanding micro fuel cell power plant, and I look forward to driving our sales effort with a lot of passion," said Mr Ballhausen.

Earlier this month Ceramic Fuel Cells announced that 25 of its BlueGen gas-to-electricity units are being used to power Germany's first commercial, virtual fuel cell power plant.

The virtual power plant was officially opened on Tuesday 2 October by Mr Peter Altmaier, Germany's Federal Minister for the Environment, Mr Johannes Remmel, Minister for the Environment in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, together with Mr Bernd Wilmert, Chairman of the Board of the municipal utility network Trianel, and Sven Becker, CEO of Trianel.

During the opening ceremony at the Eurogress congress centre in Aachen, Mr Altmaier declared that distributed electricity generation and energy efficiency, along with a coordinated expansion of renewable energies and electricity grids on a national level, are central elements of the electricity market of tomorrow: "Virtual power plant networks are progressive milestones on the way to a successful energy reform," Altmaier said.

To underline the Company's further support for its European activities we have realigned the structure of our headquarters in Noble Park Melbourne to more effectively support our European markets. The changes, along with outsourcing of cell production are expected to result in annualised ongoing cost savings of approximately AUD 5 million and a reduction in headcount since 1(st) July this year of 56 staff.

Brendan Dow CFCL's Managing Director said "We are quickly aligning our corporate structure and operational activities to reduce overhead costs and to focus our resources on markets where we believe we can achieve immediate and significant sales growth - Germany, the UK and the Benelux markets. In the short term we are reducing our direct sales resources in other markets, Australia, Japan and North America."

Ceramic Fuel Cells achieved solid sales growth over the last financial year. The number of BlueGen and integrated mCHP units sold increased by 177 percent, and revenue increased by 82 percent to AUD 6.7 million in FY12. 

Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited Change in Board - New Director

RNS Number : 1509M
Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited
13 September 2012
13 September 2012
Board Changes
Mr Alasdair Locke to be appointed as Director
Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited (AIM / ASX: CFU) a leading developer of generators that use fuel cell technology to convert natural gas into electricity and heat for homes and other buildings, is pleased to announce that Mr Alasdair Locke has agreed to be appointed as a Non-Executive Director and proposed Chairman.
Mr Locke, based in London, is the founder and former Executive Chairman of Abbott Group plc, an oil services company which he founded in 1990. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange from 1995 until its sale in 2008 for GBP906 million to a US Private Equity fund. At the time of the sale, Abbott Group was one of the leading oil drilling service and engineering contractors in the world employing over 8000 people and operating in over 20 countries.
Mr Locke's career started in investment banking at Citigroup in 1974, where he specialised in shipping and oil. He is also Chairman of Argenta Holdings plc, an unlisted holding company which trades in the Lloyds of London Insurance Market and non-Executive Chairman of Hardy Oil and Gas plc.
Mr Locke has personally invested in each of the Company's fundraising rounds since 2009 and he has a beneficial interest in approximately 67 million shares in the Company (approximately 4.9 percent of the Company's issued shares).
Mr Locke's appointment as Director will be formalised after the Company has released its Directors' Report for the 2012 financial year. This will be released before the end of September.
The Board intends to appoint Mr Locke as Chairman at the next Annual General Meeting, to be held in late October. Mr Locke will also become a member of the Board Audit Committee and Chairman of the Remuneration and Nomination Committee. The current Chairman, Mr Jeff Harding, and Deputy Chairman, Mr Roy Rose, will retire at the Annual General Meeting.
Mr Locke said: "I am looking forward to joining the Board and to playing my part in taking the Company forward. My experience has been in guiding companies through the exciting and at times challenging growth stage, from market entry into commercial scale production and sales. I look forward to contributing this experience to Ceramic Fuel Cells."
Ceramic Fuel Cells' Chairman, Mr Jeff Harding, said: "We are delighted to welcome Alasdair. He has strongly supported the Company and the Directors are very pleased that he has agreed to make a further commitment to Ceramic Fuel Cells by joining the Board. After five years as Chairman I am proud to be able to hand over to someone with Alasdair's experience and capability as the Board and Management focus on the Company's key markets in Europe. During my time as Chairman, we have achieved a number of firsts including developing and commercialising the BlueGen generator - which has the highest electrical efficiency of any comparable-sized generator in the world. We have also made significant inroads into the very large European markets. The outlook for the next stage in Ceramic Fuel Cells' development is exciting and we are particularly well positioned to capitalise on this potential. I would also like to acknowledge Mr Roy Rose for his valuable contribution as a Director and Deputy Chairman over the last three years."
Full details as required by the AIM Rules will be provided by separate regulatory announcement on Mr Locke's formal appointment.