Th?ga plant delivered on schedule

RNS Number : 1782P

ITM Power PLC

30 September 2013

ITM Power plc

("ITM Power" or "the Company")

Thüga plant delivered on schedule

ITM Power (AIM: ITM), the energy storage and clean fuel company, is pleased to announce that it has delivered its first Power-to-Gas plant to the Thüga Group in Frankfurt on time and to budget.

The plant is now deployed at the Mainova Aktiengesellschaftsite in Schielestrasse, Frankfurt am Main where the compliant gas mixing and grid injection infrastructure, is already in place. The plant will now undergo an extensive acceptance, compliance and commissioning phase before going live in December. The install also includes a monitoring facility and visitor's reception so that members of the Thüga group can examine the performance of the plant.

The Company will update the market when commissioning is completed and the plant first injects hydrogen into the German Gas Grid. The operational data will be shared by the whole Thüga group - the largest network of energy companies in Germany with around 100 municipal utility members.

The Thüga plant is the first to be delivered of £4.5m of equipment being manufactured at ITM Power funded by commercial sales and grant funded collaborative projects. With an order book of £1.7m and a rapidly developing pipeline of revenue the Thüga delivery marks a significant juncture for ITM Power.

Commenting on the announcement, ITM Power GmbH Managing Director, Phil Doran, said: "It is marvellous to see the plant on site here in Frankfurt. Power-to-Gas technology is key to the success of the Energiewende (energy turnaround) and the Thüga Group have a clear understanding of this technology and where it fits for the energy network of the future."

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

ITM Power plc

Graham Cooley, CEO

0114 244 5111

Zeus Capital

Tim Metcalfe (Nominated Adviser)

John Goold (Corporate Broking)

020 7533 7727

Tavistock Communications

Simon Hudson / James Collins

020 7920 3150

About the Thüga project:

The project partners include: badenova AG & Co. KG, Erdgas Mittelsachsen GmbH, Energieversorgung Mittelrhein GmbH, erdgas schwaben GmbH, Gasversorgung Westerwald GmbH, Mainova Aktiengesellschaft, Stadtwerke Ansbach GmbH, Stadtwerke Bad Hersfeld GmbH, Thüga Energienetze GmbH, WEMAG AG, e-rp GmbH, ESWE Versorgungs AG with Thüga Aktiengesellschaft as project coordinator. Scientific partners will participate in the operational phase.

Power to gas energy storage is rapidly growing in significance in Germany and this deployment with Thüga-Group is the largest ever PEM Electrolyser deployment in a Power-to-Gas application to date. PEM electrolysers are able to respond rapidly to fluctuating renewable inputs and so are able to store renewable energy as hydrogen for injection into the gas grid. The ITM Power technology is unique since it can respond in one second and is self-pressurising up to 80bar, permitting direct injection into the German gas grid. The core of the plant is the electrolyser which is more environmentally friendly and more flexible to load.

The plant is being built on the Mainova Aktiengesellschaft site in Schielestrasse in Frankfurt am Main. "Frankfurt was chosen because the infrastructure to connect an electrolysis plant was already available," says Michael Riechel, member of the Thüga Aktiengesellschaft Management Board. In addition, the minimum gas sales in the region necessary for operation are guaranteed even in the summer months when consumption is low.

At the core of the plant is a proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyser produced by ITM Power. The project partners have opted for this facility because, in comparison with alkaline electrolysers, the operating medium is water rather than a potassium hydroxide solution and is therefore more environmentally friendly. Furthermore, the system reacts more quickly to changes in the electrical load on the grid thanks to the PEM electrolyser. A further advantage is the compact design, as a higher output can be achieved in the same unit area. The plant will produce around 60 cubic metres of hydrogen per hour and so feed 3000 cubic metres of natural gas enriched with hydrogen into the grid per hour. An expansion of the pilot plant is planned from 2016 and the hydrogen will then be converted to methane and fed into the gas distribution network.

In view of the high energy volumes to be stored, power-to-gas technology is of great importance. An analysis by Thüga has shown that the storage requirements could be 17 terawatt hours (TWh) in 2020 and could even reach 50 TWh in 2050. The municipal gas distribution networks can manage these quantities in principle. "Our gas distribution networks could therefore be the battery of the future," said Riechel. In order to allow the power-to-gas storage technology to realise its full potential, it first requires temporary start-up funding in the form of state grants in order to achieve a certain readiness for market as well as a legal foundation for this technology. So that operators should be exempt from end-user fees, for example. "Energy storage facilities and therefore power-to-gas technology are a key to the success of the Energiewende (energy turnaround). To develop them we need a sustainable market model in Germany in the long-term - such as the one presented by the Thüga Group - in order to secure the economic operation of energy storage," says Riechel.

About ITM Power plc

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, £5.4m in 2012 and £2m in 2013 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:

First Refuelling Station Sale in the US

http://www.itm-power.com/news-item/first-refuelling-station-sale-in-the-us/

ITM Power Joins Californian Hydrogen Business Council Hydrogen Energy Storage (HES) Program

http://www.itm-power.com/news-item/itm-power-joins-californian-hydrogen-business-council-hydrogen-energy-storage-hes-program/

German Energy Agency Power to Gas Strategy Platform

http://www.itm-power.com/news-item/itm-power-joins-german-energy-agencys-power-to-gas-strategy-platform/

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/