Tuesday 6th December 2006
Royal Society of Chemistry's SME of the Month
Oxford Catalysts Group PLC ("Oxford Catalysts" or "the Company"), the leading catalyst innovator for clean fuels, is pleased to announce that it has been recognised as the Royal Society of Chemistry's ("RSC") SME of the Month for the month of December.
The catalyst technologies developed by the Company have applications in a broad range of markets, including:
- Removal of sulphur from hydrocarbon fuels;
- Converting natural gas or coal into virtually sulphur-free liquid fuels;
- Hydrogen-on-demand, generating hydrogen gas for fuel cells instantaneously from room temperature using a liquid fuel;
- Producing high temperature steam from a liquid fuel starting from room temperature for use in portable and motive applications.
The Royal Society of Chemistry is the largest organisation in Europe for advancing the chemical sciences. Its activities span education, conferences, science policy and the promotion of chemistry to the public. The RSC has a global membership of over 43,000, and the longest continuous tradition of any chemical society in the world.
Roy Lipski, Chief Executive of Oxford Catalysts, said:
"We are delighted to receive this recognition from the prestigious Royal Society of Chemistry, both for the outstanding quality of the technology underpinning Oxford Catalysts, as well as for our successful progress towards its commercialisation."
For further information, please contact:
Roy Lipski, Oxford Catalysts 07789 810 592
Jonathon Brill / Billy Clegg, Financial Dynamics 020 7831 3113
Brian Emsley, Royal Society of Chemistry 020 7440 3317
Notes to Editors
Oxford Catalysts Group PLC, the leading catalyst innovator for clean fuels, designs and develops specialty catalysts for the generation of clean fuels from both conventional fossil fuels and certain renewable sources such as biomass. Its patent-pending technology is the result of almost 20 years of research at the University of Oxford's prestigious Wolfson Catalysis Centre, headed by Professor Malcolm Green, one of the world's most respected inorganic chemists. Oxford Catalysts was founded by Professor Green and Dr Xiao in October 2004 and was admitted to trading on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange on 26th April 2006, having raised £15m before expenses from a solid base of institutional investors.
Oxford Catalysts' strategy is to license its catalysts for commercial application by entering into co-development partnerships with leading manufacturers, producers and suppliers in the petroleum, petrochemicals, fuel cells, biogas, steam applications and catalysis markets.
Oxford Catalysts has two key platform technologies. The first is for a novel class of catalysts made from metal carbides which, for certain reactions, can match or exceed the benefits of traditional precious metal catalysts at a lower cost. Applications of these metal-carbide catalysts include the removal of sulphur from crude oil fractions (known as hydro-desulphurisation or HDS), the conversion of natural gas or coal into virtually sulphur-free liquid fuels via the Fischer-Tropsch reaction (known as the GTL and CTL processes respectively), and the transformation of biogas (waste methane) into syngas – the building block of liquid fuels.
The second platform relates to chemical reactions involving a liquid fuel containing an alcohol (such as methanol), hydrogen peroxide and water. The company's novel catalyst can be used to release hydrogen gas from this liquid fuel, instantaneously starting from room temperature. This groundbreaking hydrogen-on-demand technology has the potential to significantly accelerate the commercial adoption of fuel cells in the portable and other mobile markets, by providing the much needed source of cheap, safe transportable hydrogen.
Another of the company's catalysts can be used to produce superheated steam (800c+) from the above fuel, instantaneously starting from room temperature. Such portable high-temperature steam could have important applications in a broad range of markets, from cleaning and disinfecting, to motive power and electricity generation.
About the Royal Society of Chemistry
The RSC is the largest organisation in Europe for advancing the chemical sciences. Its activities span education, conferences, science policy and the promotion of chemistry to the public. A century and a half on from its beginnings, the Royal Society of Chemistry today has a global membership of over 43,000, and the longest continuous tradition of any chemical society in the world. It is the sole heir and successor to four well known and long-established bodies: The Chemical Society which was founded in 1841; The Society for Analytical Chemistry, which was founded in 1874; The Royal Institute of Chemistry, which was founded in 1877 and The Faraday Society which was founded in 1903.
