Fuel cell maker IdaTech Plc said on Tuesday it intended to raise about 35 million pounds ($69.4 million) by floating and join a range of fuel cell companies listed on London's Alternative Investment Market. The US-based company makes hydrogen-powered fuel cells - a term often applied to small-scale devices that use a fuel source to create electricity - for back-up systems that can maintain power when the grid fails.
IdaTech joins other AIM-listed companies developing cells that use fuels such as ethanol or gas to make electricity. Fuel cell technology has been around for over 100 years, and many of the AIM-listed developers have spent over a decade trying to reduce costs to make them viable.
IdaTech, which already has some products in commercial production, will have a market capitalisation of between 80 million and 100 million pounds when it joins the FTSE Small Cap list, expected to be in July. It wants the funds for research and development of new products, to expand manufacturing and increase marketing.
The designs and purposes of fuel cells differ widely and its listed peers are still testing designs and products in the hope of landing big manufacturing deals.
Some, such as Ceres Power and Ceramic Fuel Cells, are making fuel cells which use gas for household boilers to create electricity as well as heat. Others, such as Acta and Polyfuel, are developing devices that use fuels such as ethanol to power laptops and mobile phones.
Some, such as ITM Power, are making electrolysers - the reverse of a fuel cell - which use electricity to create fuel, such as hydrogen, which it hopes can be used to power vehicles.