ITM Power joins German P2G Strategy Platform

RNS Number : 4348H

ITM Power PLC

20 June 2013

20th June 2013

ITM Power plc

("ITM Power" or the "Company")

ITM Power Joins German Energy Agency's Power-to-Gas Strategy Platform

ITM Power (AIM: ITM), the energy storage and clean fuel company, is pleased to announce that it has joined the Power-to-Gas ("P2G") Strategy Platform (http://www.powertogas.info/) managed by the Deutsche Energie Agentur ("dena") - the German Energy Agency. dena itself (http://www.dena.de/) acts as a conduit between politics and business providing advice to politicians, manufacturers and service providers alike.

The Power-to-Gas Strategy Platform ("the Platform") - which includes 31 partners that are key players in the electricity and gas markets, equipment suppliers and leading German research institutes - was launched by dena in 2011. The Platform expedites the necessary interaction between the established and emerging industrial segments that will ultimately merge to bring to fruition the German Energiewende, which represents the complete, long-term transformation of Germany's energy markets.

Renewables continue to expand apace in Germany, the fifth largest economy in the world and Europe's largest, making the need for energy storage more acute and gives insight into the issues that Germany is beginning to master, the solution to which it will export beyond its borders. Today, renewable energy in Germany contributes on average around 25% of the countries power supply and for the first time recently contributed more electricity to the grid than conventional power stations. By 2050, the proportion of renewable electricity is expected to reach at least 80%, which will lead to the complete overhaul of the electrical system, which without the storage of energy in the form of hydrogen is inconceivable. To this end the natural gas network will function as the battery of the future.

ITM Power has identified Germany as a key plank in the Company's expansion plans, as evidenced by the establishment of ITM Power GmbH and its first P2G project with Thüga in Frankfurt am Main, currently under construction.

Andreas Weber, the Strategie Platform Projekt Direktor, commented: "We are delighted that ITM Power have joined the Platform and are convinced that its technology and know-how will make a significant contribution to our power-to-gas activities. Electrolysis is a key component in the development of the power-to-gas sector, without which the Energiewende will not succeed."

Phil Doran, MD ITM GmbH commented: "The Power to Gas Strategy Platform is a very significant grouping of international energy players working to establish the role of P2G in the Energiewende. Our invited membership is further testimony to how far ITM Power have developed in the German market"

Members of the Power-to-Gas Strategy Platform are; 50Hertz, Bayerngas, Biogasrat+ e.V., Robert Bosch GmbH, BTU Brandenburgische Technische Universität Cottbus, DBI - Gastechnologisches Institut gGmbH Freiberg, DVGW Deutscher Verein des Gas, EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg AG, ENERTRAG AG, E.ON, ETOGAS GmbH, Evonik Industries AG, EWE AG, Fraunhofer-Institut, Gasunie, GDF Suez, GP JOULE, Hydrogenics, IAEW, IVG Caverns GmbH, performing energy, RWE Deutschland AG, Thüga AG, TRIANEL, UGS GmbH, Der VKU im Profil, VNG Gasspeicher GmbH, Viessmann Werke GmbH & Co. KG, Volkswagen AG, WINGAS GmbH, ZSW Zentrum für Sonnenenergie- und Wasserstoff-Forschung Baden-Württemberg.

About the Energiewende

The key policy document outlining the Energiewende (Energiekonzept für eine umweltschonende, zuverlässige und bezahlbare Energieversorgung) was published by the German government in September 2010, some six months before the Fukushima nuclear accident, with supporting legislation being passed in 2011. The policy has resulted in a further expansion of renewables, particularly wind power. Indeed, the share of renewables in Germany's gross electricity consumption, which almost doubled between 1999 (5.4%) and 2005 (10.1%), more than doubled again by 2012 to around 23%.

The German Government has determined that Germany's energy supply should be generated primarily from renewables by 2050. The Energiewende sets out the move towards this age of renewables and energy efficiency. This requires a fundamental restructuring of the German energy supply system. The Federal Ministry for the Environment's ultimate goal is the abolition of coal and other non-renewable energy sources.

For further information please visit www.itm-power.comor contact:

ITM Power Gmbh Phil Doran, Managing Director	+49 6084 950012
ITM Power plc Graham Cooley, CEO	+44 114 244 5111
N+1 Singer (Nominated Adviser & Broker) Shaun Dobson / Jenny Wyllie	020 7496 3000
Tavistock Communications Simon Hudson / Kelsey Traynor	+44 20 7920 3150

About ITM Power

ITM Power plc was admitted to the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange in 2004 and raised its initial funding of £10m gross in its IPO. Further funding rounds of £28.5m in 2006 and £5.4m in 2012 have been completed. The Company has now made the transition from a research and development company to a product manufacturer and technology provider. The Company has both a strong base of intellectual property and engineering expertise for providing complete hydrogen solutions. The Company has been successful in developing strategic industry partnerships in the following projects:

· Incorporation of ITM Power ApS Denmark

http://www.itm-power.com/news-item/incorporation-of-itm-power-aps-in-denmark/

· Participation in H2USA

http://www.itm-power.com/news-item/participation-in-h2usa/

· Participation in North Sea Power-to-Gas Platform

http://www.itm-power.com/news-item/participation-in-north-sea-power-to-gas-platform/

· First Sale of 'Power-to-Gas' Plant in Germany

http://www.itm-power.com/news-item/first-sale-of-power-to-gas-plant-in-germany/

· First Sale in Russia

http://www.itm-power.com/news-item/first-sale-in-russia/

· First Sale in Japan

http://www.itm-power.com/news-item/first-sale-in-japan/