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CFCL has signed agreements with leading European utility customers and appliance partners to develop and deploy micro-CHP units using CFCL's SOFC technology. These agreements are a significant achievement for the Company, validating the Company's model of working in ‘3 way' partnerships and allowing the Company to move from field trials into product development, deployment and sales.
These agreements give the Company access to four large and advanced European markets for m-CHP units: Germany, France, the UK and Benelux. The Company's utility partners in these markets have a total of more than 20 million gas and electricity customers.
France
In December 2006 the Company signed a product development agreement with Gaz de France and De Dietrich Thermique. 
Gaz de France is Europe's leading distributor of natural gas, with 11 million customers in France. In 2006, Gaz de France sold 762 billion kWh of natural gas and 20 billion kWh of electricity. Gaz de France is also one of the world's top 5 suppliers of liquefied natural gas. The group operates in 30 countries, with more than 53,000 staff. In 2005 the group reported sales of €22.4 billion and net income of €1.7 billion. Gaz de France has an active interest in distributed generation and is leading the EU-DEEP program, a €30M program to evaluate decentralised energy systems.
Visit: www.gazdefrance.fr 
De Dietrich Thermique is the largest provider of gas heating systems in France, with origins stretching back to 1778. De Dietrich Thermique has over 200 employees based across four manufacturing sites. The Company has a strong commitment to training and installation, with 10 training centres in Europe offering 29 technical courses on the installation and maintenance of De Dietrich Thermique products and a dedicated service division known as Serv' élite.
Domestic CHP is a new strategic market for De Dietrich Thermique which has been assessing fuel cell and other generator technologies for several years. Supported by a leading R&D department with more than 100 staff, the Company is well positioned to integrate CFCL's technology in their future appliances.
Visit: www.dedietrich-thermique.fr
Germany
In March 2007 CFCL signed a product development agreement with EWE and Bruns Heiztechnik GmbH (Bruns), a specialist German boiler manufacturer. 
EWE has been working with CFCL since July 2005. EWE ranks among Germany's largest energy services companies and is headquartered in Oldenburg in the state of Lower Saxony. The group's business activities comprise electricity, natural gas and water supply, environmental technology as well as gas transmission and trade, telecommunication and information technology.
In 2006, the EWE Group employed around 5,800 people and recorded sales of €9.0 billion. EWE has extensive experience in distributed generation, m-CHP and fuel cells.
Visit: www.ewe.de 
Bruns has been making boiler systems for over 40 years and in 2006 employed over 200 staff. The company develops and constructs tailor made boilers and storage systems under various brand names and also makes products for the solar thermal market. The strength of Bruns lies with the company's flexibility and ability to engineer and manufacture innovating heating products for the European market.
Visit: www.bruns-heiztechnik.de
United Kingdom
In July 2007 the Company signed an agreement with E.ON UK Ltd, the company that runs Powergen, to develop a unit for the UK market. 
E.ON UK is the UK's largest integrated power and gas company, generating and distributing electricity, and retailing electricity and gas for around 8.5 million customer accounts. E.ON UK employs around 16,000 people in the UK and is a leader in the implementation of microgeneration technologies. E.ON UK is part of the E.ON group, the world's largest investor-owned power and gas company. In 2006, the E.ON group sold 949 billion kWh of natural gas and 400 billion kWh of electricity to customers in more than 20 countries.
Visit: www.powergen.co.uk 
Gledhill Water Storage Ltd joined CFCL and E.ON UK on 30 August 2007 as the projects' UK appliance partner. Gledhill produces an advanced range of appliances for the delivery of domestic mains pressure hot water and heating. The Gledhill group of companies include the largest boiler and storage vessel expertise in the UK and the longest established under the same family ownership. Gledhill's manufacturing headquarters in Blackpool operates to world class standards - Gledhill has become the first within the industry to achieve ‘World Class Manufacturer' status under the CBI PROBE scheme for promoting business excellence.
Visit: www.gledhill.net
Benelux
Also in July 2007, the Company signed an agreement with Nuon NV and De Dietrich-Remeha Group to develop units for The Netherlands and Belgium. 
Nuon is a leading energy company that serves over 2 million customers in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany with electricity, gas, heating and related services. Nuon is active in the production, trading, transport and supply of renewable energy. Nuon pursues balanced growth for all stakeholders: shareholders, employees, customers, the environment and society. Total net turnover for 2006 was € 5.6 billion and at the end of 2006 the group employed 9,768 staff. CFCL is developing a large-scale fuel cell plant at the Oberbruch industrial park in Heinsberg, Germany, which is owned and managed by Nuon.
Visit www.nuon.com 
De Dietrich-Remeha Group is one of the largest boiler manufacturers in Europe. The Group, headquartered in The Netherlands, has revenues of some € 540 million in 2005, employs 2.500 people and sells products into 40 countries around the world. The group includes De Dietrich Thermique in France and Broag-Remeha in the UK and has significant expertise in high-efficiency heating products. The product development project for Benelux will build on CFCL's collaboration with De Dietrich Thermique for the French market.
Visit www.remeha.com |
