More Related Content Similar to Fuel Cell Startups in the UK - SB Cha ACAL Energy Stanford Apr1309 (20) More from Burton Lee (20) Fuel Cell Startups in the UK - SB Cha ACAL Energy Stanford Apr13091. ACAL Energy Company Presentation
Dr. Sukbae Cha, CEO
Stanford Program on European Entrepreneurship & Innovation
April 13, 2009
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2. ACAL Energy
Developing a new low cost, reliable ‘big’ PEM Fuel Cell
architecture thru better chemistry
Will enable Fuel Cells to replace IC engines in stationary, auto and
micro-CHP applications
Experienced Management Team and Board
AIM, NASDAQ listing successes, over $.7B generated for investors
Total investment into the company about £7M, combination
of pubic and private funds
£4M raised December 2008 from UK VCs, European and
Japanese Corporations
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3. Company Founded in 2004 by Former
Unilever and ICI Employees
Dr. Andrew Creeth,
Ms Amanda Lyne
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4. ACAL Team – Many Years of Business
Creation Experience
SB Cha – Chief Executive Officer
CDT, Philips, BCG, Texaco
Bob Longman – VP Engineering
Co-founder Plasmon, Cambridge Consultants
Bob Pettigrew – Non Exec Chairman
Co–founded Generics, 20 business creation experience.
David Fyfe – Non Exec Director
Chair and CEO of CDT Ltd, CEO of Harris Speciality Chemicals
James Wilkie–Npn Exec Director
Birmingham Univ., Technical Director JM Fuel Cell
Strong technical, commercial support from corporate investors
Private and Confidential © 2009 4
5. Financing History
ERDF Loan £10k
Carbon Trust Incubator Fund £40k
One North East Cluster support £5k
₤1.6M Investment by 4 UK VCs
One North East Cluster support £5k
KTP with Univ. of Manchester £70k
₤4M Investment by UK VCs, European &
Japanese Corporations
TSB Collaborative research project £313k
Carbon Trust Investment Grant for R&D
£250k
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6. Fund Raising Timeline
August - October 2007: Rebuild business strategy, move away from
small portable applications to larger applications
October – December 2007: Build detailed business plan, begin
adding more technical resource
January- February 2008: Select corporate finance advisor, legal
advisor, prepare supporting documents
February 2008: Kick-off process, start meeting potential investors
March 2008: First potential lead investor emerges, begin preparing
for due diligence
April - July 2008: Corporate investors emerge, existing investors
make commitments, it looks like we have a deal
August 2008: Lead investor pulls out, CTI step in
September – December 2008: Finish DD, legal documents, final
close
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7. ACAL Energy Today
Located at the Heath
Technical Park, Runcorn, UK
Occupy about 4,000 sq. ft lab
and office space
Have grown in 18 months
from 5 people to 23 total
employees, mostly engineers
and chemists
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8. Fuel Cells Offer Potential for Clean,
Renewable Power
The Opportunity:
Clean
Quiet
Efficient
The Challenge:
x Too expensive
x Poor performance
x Not yet commercial
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9. ACAL PEM Cell
Conventional Pt Cathode Reduced
e- Catholyte
PEM Cell
Solution, Heat
Air, Water
Vapour &
Excess Heat Air,
H+
Fuel Out
Water
Aerator
Vapor,
Membrane H+ ACAL Cathode, Heat
No Platinum
Catalyst Air
H+
Oxidized
Fuel In Catholyte
Solution
Humidification Air
system
Pt Anode
Confidential
Page 9
11. ACAL Core Technology
Catalyst/Mediator Chemistry
Current Generation System Next Generation System
Polyoxometallate Transition metal-ligand
Inorganic association complex complex
Very stable and robust
Power density approaching Pt Higher potential catalyst
Power density to beat Pt
X
X X
T
M
X X
Y
Can deliver 0.6-0.8+W/cm2, ready
today for back-up power and remote Will deliver up to 1W/cm2, ready
power applications. end of 2009 for larger remote
power, transport applications
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12. Peak Power Increasing Rapidly
1000
900
Power Density, mW/cm2
800 2009
700 Target
600
500
400
Actual
300
200
100
0
Sep-05 Mar-06 Oct-06 Apr-07 Nov-07 Jun-08 Dec-08 Jul-09 Jan-10
Jan, 05 Jan, 06 Jan, 07 Jan, 08 Jan, 09
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13. Substantial Cost Reduction Possible
Very low cost stack
Eliminates Pt from Cathode, simple graphite
cathode
Simple bi-polar plate design, will enable low
cost, high volume manufacture
Hydrocarbon membrane work well, lower cost
than nafion
Large net balance of plant cost reduction
Eliminates air and fuel hydration equipment,
Eliminates high pressure compression
Liquid cathode system replaces liquid cooling
system – more efficient heat removal
Private and Confidential © 2009 13
14. ACAL System Could 40% Less
Expensive
Cost Estimate of 5kW Fuel Cell System
12,000
Total = $10,238
10,000
8,000
Total = $6,282
Cost, $
6,000 Assembly
4,000
Other Mechanical
Balance of Plant
2,000
Stack
0
Conventional System
1 ACAL System
2
System Cost ($) for 5kW Back-up Power Application – Conventional System is non-pressurized liquid
cooled system
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15. ACAL Technology More Reliable and
More Robust
Eliminates membrane dehydration
Eliminates cathode oxidation
Eliminates peroxide formation
Eliminates cathode catalyst agglomeration
1-100kW+ units possible
0-100% operating range, rapid response
Flexible thermal management
0-100% air humidity air
More resistant to air contaminants
Simpler water management
Catholyte replaceable, system repairable
Private and Confidential © 2009 15
16. ACAL Technology Removes Most
Barriers toMass Commercialisation
Market Need ACAL’s Technology Delivers
Reduction of the amount of √
expensive catalyst
Less severe operating conditions √
Catalysts that last longer √
No need to pressurise √
Lower maintenance costs √
Simple mechanism to control √
temperature
Simple method to manage water √
Improved security of supply √
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17. ACAL Business Strategy Summary
Simpler business model: Sell fuel cell modules and chemicals
IP based competitive advantage – 15+ filings to date
Core capabilities: chemistry, module engineering.
Aggressive drive to cost down – less than $500/kw module in 5 years
Market targets
Pre 2012: H2 fueled 1-5kW stationary power module, followed by
reformate fueled module for stationary power and CHP.
Post 2012 products: Larger stationary power (20kW+), expand to
automotive with an auto partner
Build partnerships with key supply chain companies and OEMs
Module production JV, chemical supply, lead system OEM, automotive
17 Private and Confidential © 2009
18. Development Pipeline
2007 2008 2009 2010
Proof of Concept Engineering System Product Demo Application Testing
demonstrated Proven Delivered Complete
50 W 50 W 1 kW System
Stack Unit Demonstrator Modules
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19. Partnership Strategy
Electrode Mediator Catalyst Air/O2
e- Medox Cat O2,H+,
a ahd
tc t oe
Med Catox H2O
Chemistry
and Cell, System Design
Chemicals
Production
Engineering Key Components, inc
Design and non-PT anode
Build
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20. Market Applications
Short Term
Diesel Genset replacement for back up, UPS
and auxiliary power (Up to $10billion market)
Fuel Cells are:
Quieter: 70db at 1m
(typical FC) vs. 70 db
at 7m (diesel)
Cleaner: No NOx,
SOx, PM10, unburned
HCs
Cooler operation
Smaller & lighter
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21. Market Applications
Longer Term
Reduction of CO2 emissions and moving away from
fossil fuels
Replacement of ICE in transport
applications
Micro CHP for small scale industrial and
domestic distributed energy
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22. Cost Barrier is Challenging
Diesel Generator Cost Vs. Size
700
$/kW Cost: Diesel Generator
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
0 50 100 150 200 250
Generator Size, kW
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23. Key Milestones Over Next 18 Months
Chemistry ready for first products
First commercial products available
Alfa, beta 1kW demos
Evaluation Kit for sale
Production Partnerships
POM commercial capacity mid 2010
First production capacity for evaluation kits by end 2009
Commercial engagement
Evaluation kit sales 2010
Lead module customer by end 2010
Fund raising to start again in early 2010
Private and Confidential © 2009
24. ACAL Energy Profitable 2013
Revenue Cash Flow
160,000 70,000
140,000 60,000
120,000 50,000
100,000 40,000
GBP, 000s
GBP, 000s
80,000 30,000
60,000 20,000
40,000 10,000
20,000 0
0 -10,000
2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018
Year Year
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25. Some Takeaways from ACAL
Experience
There some great ideas and very talented people in UK and the rest
of Europe
Seed funding available but development funding more difficult, gap
in the ‘middle’
Smaller VCs don’t have the resources, larger VCs looking for revenues
Grants help but public sector funding also lacking at this stage
New environment and energy technologies are expensive and take
longer to become self sustaining business
Government policy often most important driver
International opportunity, some regions have invested in certain
sectors for many years
Partnerships, linkages can make a significant difference
25 Private and Confidential © 2009