ITM Power joins French national infrastructure programme

5th Jul 2013 08:07

Clean energy group ITM Power has joined a French national hydrogen energy infrastructure programme that aims to propel the fuel source to the forefront of the country's renewable energy campaign. Two days after ITM issued a profit warning after revenues for the year were "revenues are significantly lower", the company revealed details of its further 'embedding' in the energy and mobility infrastructure of Europe. ITM said it was one of 20 founding members of the Mobilité Hydrogène France (Mobility Hydrogen France) consortium that were working together to develop a private and public refuelling infrastructure in France.The consortium said hydrogen and fuel cells, both of which are sweet spots for ITM, could increase the potential for the deployment of electric vehicles in Europe, whilst strengthening renewable energy production capacities in regions of the country. The government-back group made a number of encouraging statements that bode well for uptake of hydrogen solutions in France in the medium-term. "Hydrogen can revolutionise energy storage as well as transportation," the consortium said. It added that the new initiative would help to contribute to the French government's efforts to develop a coherent national strategy for the development of hydrogen use. ITM Power Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Graham Cooley, said: "It is good to see France, a significant EU member state, taking hydrogen and fuel cells so seriously as part of its renewable energy campaign and we look forward to the development of this exciting project." Chairman Professor Roger Putnam added: "We are delighted that France has joined the strong EU drive towards hydrogen mobility, now including Germany, the UK, Denmark and France. ITM Power is embedded in all of these countries."Shares in ITM Power, which tanked earlier in the week due to the company's negative trading statement, were down a further 2.6% to 37p on Friday.OH