The recently listed Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited (CFCL) raised $15 million with its IPO, 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.

Now the company has established a presence in Europe, headquartered in the UK, where investment in renewable energy programs is expected to be in the billions of dollars over the few years.

“Europe is a primary focus of our business plan where there is an existing demand for fuel cell products for sustainable electricity generation. Increasingly stringent environmental standards in the EU are encouraging the development of clean alternative technologies for which there is strong government support,” said executive chairman Julian Dinsdale.

CFCL is focussing on distributed electricity generation, particularly the micro combined heat and power (micro-CHP) and secure power markets. The initial target markets are environmentally friendly distributed generation for residential houses in Western Europe, Australia and the USA.

Fuel cell specialist, Brendan Bilton, has already been appointed to head up the company’s European subsidiary Ceramic Fuel Cells (Europe) Limited, with Dinsdale adding that Bilton’s appointment as CEO of the new subsidiary was a key milestone in the firm’s commercialisation in Europe.

“I am delighted to announce that we have been able to secure Brendan’s services to lead our European venture. His extensive background in the ceramics and fuel cell industries will be invaluable in the formation of European joint ventures for fuel cell production and end-use product application partnerships,” he said.

Bilton’s previous roles include senior executive positions within the Morgan Crucible Group, most recently as business development manager for Morgan Fuel Cell where he has established an international reputation in the fuel cell industry. He has two published fuel cell technology patents and is a member of the Fuel Cell Europe UK task group and the British Government’s Department of Trade and Industry steering committee on fuel cell initiatives.