Ceres Power signs key agreement with India's Thermax

Ceres Power announced on Thursday that it has signed a key agreement with Thermax to licence its solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) technology, marking its entry into the fast-growing Indian clean energy market.

The London-listed firm said the non-exclusive global licence would allow Thermax - a leading provider of energy and environmental solutions in India - to develop and manufacture SOEC systems based on Ceres’ advanced technology.

It said the systems would be deployed in industries such as green ammonia, petrochemicals, and steel, considered hard to decarbonize.

The board said the partnership was aligned with India’s ambitious National Green Hydrogen Mission, which aimed to produce five million tonnes of green hydrogen by 2030, both to meet the country's energy needs and to support decarbonisation efforts in key industrial sectors.

It said the collaboration also positioned Thermax as one of the few companies globally capable of delivering large-scale SOEC systems, helping accelerate the development of cost-effective green hydrogen solutions in India and other global markets.

Under the agreement, Ceres said it would receive licence fees and product royalties, while Thermax would leverage its experience in heat integration and waste heat recovery to build a first-of-its-kind pressurised SOEC module.

The module would serve as a foundation for future multi-megawatt SOEC electrolysers.

Thermax was planning to establish a local manufacturing facility for the electrolyser systems, develop a supply chain, and localise critical components, which would enhance India’s capacity to produce green hydrogen on a large scale.

“I am pleased to announce our SOEC systems partnership with Thermax, an engineering leader with expertise in heat integration and waste heat recovery processes and deep industrial customer relationships,” said chief executive officer Phil Caldwell.

“This system licence agreement will take Ceres into the Indian market which is rapidly becoming one of the most dynamic and increasingly important markets for green hydrogen, green steel and green ammonia.

“This is a strategically important agreement for Ceres as we continue to build our global ecosystem of world-class partners.”

Caldwell said the company’s technology would enable Thermax to develop next-generation hydrogen solutions for its customers in the “hard-to-abate” industrial sectors, stimulating market demand pull for its manufacturing licensees.

“Our entry into this new region marks an exciting opportunity for Ceres as we help enable the path to industrial decarbonisation in this rapidly developing market.”

At 1129 BST, shares in Ceres Power Holdings were up 3.98% at 188p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.