AFC Energy PLC (LON:AFC) has received a significant show of shareholder support for its hydrogen-based fuel cell technology after a funding round that raised £31.6mln was heavily oversubscribed, it said.
Of the proceeds, £30mln came from a placing, £1.5mln from a retail offer through the PrimaryBid platform, and £100,000 from a subscription. All the share sales were priced at 16p a share.
AFC said the money would give it the capacity and flexibility to ramp up the manufacture of its H-Power fuel cell systems to meet expected demand over the next two years. This will include combined 20kW and 160kW units, it said, and also a system that will be trialled by Spanish construction group ACCIONA in 2021.
AFC said that with the additional cash it will also be able to accelerate the development of its AlkaMem anion exchange membrane and to deliver its solid-state membrane fuel cell system (HydroX-Cell(S) in 2022.
Adam Bond, AFC’s chief executive said several new institutions had subscribed to the placing.
"Today's raise will enable AFC Energy for the first time to make material inroads into the scaling up of our manufacturing capability, our internal staffing and system deployment, further demonstrating the underlying strength in the company's position within the wider Hydrogen economy.
“We also expect the raise to support our credentials in future industrial and strategic partnering which could provide the basis for a transformational underpinning of the business today and into the future," Bond added in a statement.