Contract win and dual-fuel ag

RNS Number : 7293C

Optare PLC

20 November 2009

Optare Plc

("Optare" or the "Company")

Exclusive dual-fuel agreement and contract win

Dual-Fuel Agreement

Optare is pleased to confirm that it has reached an agreement with the Hardstaff Group ("Hardstaff") giving it exclusive rights to Hardstaff's dual-fuel conversion system (the "Dual-Fuel system") for use in both new and existing passenger service vehicles. The Dual- Fuel system enables engines to run on a mixture of diesel and bio-methane gas with benefits in terms of reduced fuel cost and considerably lower emission and noise levels.

Contract win

Following the signing of the agreement with Hardstaff the Company is very pleased to announce that it has won its first contract to utilize the Dual-Fuel System with an order from Lincolnshire County Council ("LCC") for the conversion of 11 of the council's existing bus fleet so that they can run on diesel and bio-methane gas.

Buses using the Dual-fuel system are expected to achieve carbon reduction levels in excess of 50% of those from a conventional diesel only bus when utilising bio-methane derived from landfill gas or anaerobic digestion. Buses using the Dual-Fuel system are eligible for the Government's £30m "Green Bus Grant".

Development of the first dual-fuel Optare bus using the system has recently been undertaken by a consortium. The consortium is led by the Low Carbon Innovation Centre at the University of East Anglia and includes Anglian Bus a leading Norfolk independent bus operator, Optare and Hardstaff.

Speaking of the agreement with Optare, Hardstaff Group Managing Director, Trevor Fletcher, said: "We have already proven this system in heavy goods vehicles, which have accumulated over 40 million kilometres of lower cost and reduced emission driving. I am delighted to team up with Optare to offer UK bus operators another eco-friendly fuel system based on this tried and tested technology."

Jim Sumner, Chief Executive of Optare, commented, ""The Hardstaff agreement is a strategically important development for Optare, particularly given the current background that bus operators are facing with growing environmental pressures and rising fuel costs. We are therefore delighted to have secured the contract with LCC for the UK's first fleet of low carbon bio-methane buses. I am confident that LCC's example will lead the way for other local authorities to use bio-methane buses to help meet their carbon reduction goals."