Market values fuel-cell company at £66m

Shares in Ceres Power, the fuel cell developer, began trading on London’s secondary stock market on 25 November 2004 after an institutional placing of 13.3 million shares at £1.20 per share, valuing Ceres at £66m.

The company is entering the commercial manufacturing stage of fuel cells that use widely available fuels and are manufactured using low-cost materials and mass-production techniques.

Ceres products are being developed for applications as diverse as home boilers and stand-alone generators to be branded “Powered by Ceres”. Its fuel cells will offer substantial economic and environmental benefits to users around the globe.

Ceres CEO Peter Bance said: “We have achieved a genuine technology breakthrough and our arrival on AIM (Alternative Investment Market) will allow us to capitalise on major commercial opportunities.”

Ceres was recently described by the prime minister, Tony Blair, as a “world leader”, while energy minister, Mike O’Brien, said the company was “at the forefront of the race to make fuel cells a commercially viable technology”.