Fuel cell developer Ceres Power (LON:CWR) told investors its agreement with Japanese powerhouse Honda R & D is the first of several commercial partnerships it expects to sign this year, as it expects an uplift in revenue in the second half of its current fiscal year.
The Honda deal, announced last month, was to develop fuel cell stacks using the group's Steel Cell technology to be used in a range of potential power equipment applications.
The firm has said it aims to secure five leading OEMs within the next two years and further commercial partners based on the improvements efficiency of its Steel Cell technology.
Ceres has developed a Steel Cell, which is a perforated sheet of steel with a special ceramic layer that converts fuel directly into electrical power. It uses mains gas, which means it can be mass produced at an affordable price for domestic and business use. The vision is to see a fuel cell for every home and business.
Highlights recently include the proof of concept for multi kW system built demonstrating more than 55% net efficiency which enables new power-only market applications and a 'Scale-up' project, which has shown its Steel Cell can be mass-produced at affordable prices.
The loss for the six months to end December rose to £5.5mln from £4.7m in 2014 in line with the firm's expectations and due to continued investment in the technology's capability.
Revenue and other operating income, mainly income from grants, was £0.45mln (2014: £0.43mln) and the firm ended the period with period with £12.8mln in cash and cash equivalents (2014: £22.7mln).
Revenues do not yet reflect commercial progress made in recent months, with the signing of several new customer agreements, and the group expects revenue in the full year to be significantly higher than last year.
The firm says it’s likely to raise further funding before the end of 2016 in order to develop its activities.