A leading energy product supplier has announced it has won a $3 million grant from International Finance to establish fuel cell technology in South Africa.

Plug Power says it has been awarded the grant together with IST Holdings on behalf of the firm, which operates as the private sector arm of the World Bank Group.

The Global Environmental Facility authorised the funds as the first instalment of the comprehensive $54 million Fuel Cell Financing Initiative for Distributed Generation Applications.

Between them Plug Power and IST will install 400 fuel cells in areas across the country during the three-year deal.

Valued at $14 million, the project is designed to spread clean and reliable energy to some of South Africa's remoter reaches.

Mark Sperry, Plug Power’s chief marketing officer, said the funding was "essential" and said the deal would bring a new level of service to the market.

"We expect this initiative to positively impact businesses and customers who are regularly affected by power outages resulting in decreased reliability throughout their networks and infrastructure," he commented.

The fuel cells will initially be used in the telecommunications industry, but are intended to be operational in a range of industries by the end of the project.

The announcement marks the first phase in the Fuel Cell Financing Initiative's goal to help subsidise commercial and pre-commercial fuel cell projects, with $9 million available in grants until 2008 and a further $45 million in funding made available in the second phase.


Ÿ Adfero Ltd