The $1.00 issue dropped as low as 80c yesterday but today had pushed up to 94c before closing at 88c. Queensland energy trader, Energex, and Woodside’s renewable business, Metasource, are major shareholders.

The IPO raised $15 million, which follows a private capital raising of $10 million earlier this year. These monies are intended for the imminent commercialisation and continued improvement of the technology. Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited (CFCL) has raised around $128 million over the last 11 years, which has been used for the development of the technology, establishing manufacturing processes and in the construction of a small scale manufacturing pilot plant in Melbourne.

CFCL executive chairman Julian Dinsdale said the listing on the ASX would be the catalyst for commercialisation of the fuel cell technology as discussions in Europe are now in progress with potential cell manufacturing joint venture partners and manufacturers of appliances that could incorporate fuel cells.

“Investors have recognised that we have the technology and capability for commercial success. They have also accepted the importance and relevance of renewable energy at a time when increasingly stringent environmental standards are both limiting the growth of conventional power generation capacity and encouraging the development of clean and alternative technologies,” he said.

CFCL is focussing on distributed generation, particularly the micro combined heat and power (Micro-CHP) and secure power markets. Initial target markets are distributed generation for residential homes in Western Europe, Australia and the USA.

The CFCL technology utilises a flat plate Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC), which is a highly efficient system for generating electricity and heat from fuels such as natural gas.

SOFC works by passing a methane-rich gas across an anode on one side of a ceramic electrolyte whilst passing air across a cathode on the other side of the fuel cell. This gives rise to an electro-chemical reaction that produces electricity and heat. Higher voltage and power can be achieved by stacking multiple fuel cells on top of one another to form fuel cell stacks and by grouping stacks in parallel on a common gas manifold.