Company Information for Oxford Catalysts plc

Company stock charts - 12 Month chart

AIM; OCG View full financial data

Company Statement

Oxford Catalysts produces specialty catalysts for the generation of clean fuels, from both conventional fossil fuels and renewable sources such as biomass.

Innovating energy

Our patent-pending intellectual property and technology is the result of 19 years of research at the University of Oxford's prestigious Wolfson Catalysis Centre, headed by company co-founder Professor Malcolm Green, one of the world's most respected inorganic chemists.

Each of our catalysts boasts several of the following key benefits:

• Greater cost effectiveness
• Higher productivity (double in some cases)
• Better selectivity (leading to higher quality output)
• Increased resistance to contaminants
• Longer operational life

Operations and Technology

Petro/Chemicals - HDS

Oxford Catalysts has two main carbide-based catalysts for the petroleum and petrochemicals markets:

Hydro-desulphurisation (HDS) and Fischer-Tropsch (FT).

Hydro-desulphurisation ("HDS")

The Process

HDS is a the predominant process used for the removal of sulphur from hydrocarbon fuels, which involves treating a fuel with hydrogen gas in the presence of a catalyst.

The Market

Why is this so important? World governments have progressively lowered the level of sulphur permitted in petroleum fuels and will continue to do so over the next 10 years. At the same time, oil producers are increasingly using oil reserves that contain higher sulphur content than those previously exploited. Not surprisingly, the worldwide market for HDS catalysts is estimated at over $1bn and growing fast.

Many existing HDS catalysts, however, are not only unable to remove sulphur to expected future target levels in a single pass, but they can also have a detrimental effect on the octane number of gasoline, thereby degrading the value of the final product and increasing its overall cost of production.

The Benefits

Testing of our carbide-based HDS catalyst by an oil production company and at the University of Oxford showed that our catalyst outperformed two other commercially available catalysts, producing higher quality fuel with:

• half the final sulphur content remaining
• less destruction of the octane number
• lower processing costs

Petro/Chemicals - Fischer-Tropsch

Oxford Catalysts has two main carbide-based catalysts for the petroleum and petrochemicals markets:

Hydro-desulphurisation (HDS) and Fischer-Tropsch (FT).

Fischer-Tropsch ("FT")

The Process

The FT reaction is the key step in the process of converting natural gas (mainly methane) or coal into virtually sulphur-free liquid fuels, such as gasoline or diesel (known as GTL and CTL respectively). It uses hydrogen gas and carbon monoxide – known as syngas – to make waxes which are then split into liquid fuels.

The Market

GTL and CTL are disruptive technologies, opening up the oil transportation fuels market – which comprises approximately 50% of total oil markets – to competition from gas and coal. It is estimated that by 2030 the GTL market will grow from 12,500 to several million bbl/day, making it the fastest growing niche in the global energy market. The CTL market is also projected to rise to as much as 1.7m bbl/day by 2030 in the US alone. This combined level of production could require some $2.6bn of FT catalyst per annum.

The Benefits

Testing of our carbide-based FT catalyst by an oil major and at the University of Oxford showed that in comparison to the leading available industrial catalyst our product had:

• greater cost effectiveness
• double the productivity on a weight-for-weight basis
• higher quality output
• a tolerance to higher levels of water and carbon dioxide, making it particularly well-suited to CTL, where such contaminants are typically found

Fuel Cells

The Process

Hydrocarbon fuels can be "reformed" to produce hydrogen gas and carbon monoxide to power fuel cells, but this process requires heat. Oxford Catalysts is the first and only company to be able to reform a fuel instantaneously, starting from room temperature, thereby providing the much-needed practical source of hydrogen gas for portable fuel cells.

The Market

Fuel cells have tremendous potential to change the face of our cities and the way we power portable electronics. They generate energy by converting fuel, usually hydrogen, into electricity, and are quiet, low-maintenance, efficient and clean.

The lack of widespread, reliable, safe, efficient and accessible sources of hydrogen gas has delayed adoption of fuel cells. However, our innovative hydrogen-on-demand technology and higher temperature fuel reforming catalysts help overcome many of these barriers, allowing hydrogen gas to be produced where it is needed, from easily transportable fuels.

The market for fuel cells is expected to reach $10s of billions over the next five to seven years, with portable fuel cells for consumer electronics accounting for some $13bn by 2013.

The Benefits

Our hydrogen-on-demand technology is ideal for the portable and other mobile fuel cell sectors, because it offers:

instantaneous hydrogen gas production at ambient temperatures
high hydrogen density of the fuel mix
no waste solids or toxic liquids
simplicity, low weight and low cost
Our high-temperature fuel reforming catalysts also have advantages over existing catalysts, because they:

• are lower cost, since they don't use expensive metals
• have a longer operational life
• demonstrate greater resistance to contaminants 

Biogas Conversion

The Process

Oxford Catalysts' co-founder Professor Malcolm Green pioneered the Catalytic Partial Oxidation of methane ("CPOx") into syngas for making liquid fuels.  His co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer Tiancun Xiao won a Carbon Trust Innovation Award with the University of Oxford in 2005 for his work on the application of CPOx to biogas conversion.

The Market

Driven primarily by environmental regulation, market focus on renewable fuels has increased over the past few years, although the industry is still in its infancy. Biofuels, in particular, could account for as much as 5% of all gasoline consumption by 2010.

Methane, as found in biogas, is 21 times more potent a greenhouse gas as carbon dioxide. But capturing it and installing pipelines to transport it is cost-prohibitive for all but the largest production sites. Therefore, converting biogas into liquid green fuels that can be readily transported holds huge economic and environmental potential.

The Benefits

Our carbide-based CPOx catalyst, used on its own or in combination with other catalysts for conversion of biogas into syngas, achieves:

• maximal activity (i.e. maximum possible yield)
• lower cost
• longer catalyst life
• greater robustness to the contaminants often found in biogas (e.g. sulphur)

Portable Steam

The Process

One of Oxford Catalysts' most exciting technologies is our chemical method of producing superheated steam (up to 800°c+) directly and instantaneously from a liquid fuel mixture.

The Market

Today, steam is widely used in certain industrial, military, environment, healthcare and domestic applications, ranging from cleaning and decontamination to electricity generation using turbines. Our instantaneous steam production technology can be used for these purposes, but also unlocks new market opportunities, such as the use of high-temperature steam to improve the efficiency of steam engines, potentially to levels well above those of conventional internal combustion engines. Oxford Catalysts' technology could make quieter, cleaner, more efficient engines a reality.

The Benefits

Our steam production technology has the following advantages:

• instantaneous production
• high temperature or pressure achievable
• no flame or external heat source is required
• compact, safe and portable

Board of Directors and Key Management

Board of Directors
Dr Pierre Jungels, CBE	Non-executive Chairman
Roy Lipski	Chief Executive Officer
Dr Will Barton	FRSC, Chief Operating Officer
Paul Barnes	FCCA, Finance Director
Dr Tiancun Xiao	Chief Scientific Officer
Professor Malcolm Green, FRS	Non-executive Director
Jeremy P. Scudamore	Non-executive Director
Dr Jan Verloop	Non-executive Director
Scientific Advisory Panel
Professor Malcolm Green, FRS, Non-executive Director
Professor Roger Ainsworth, Advisor DPhil (Oxon)
Professor Peter Dobson, Advisor BSc, MA (Oxon), PhD, C Phys, F Inst P

Company Address 115e Milton Park Oxford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom OX14 4RZ Telephone: +44 (0)1235 841 700 Facsimile: +44 (0)1235 841 701 Email: info[at]oxfordcatalysts.com Website: http://www.oxfordcatalysts.com

Nominated Brokers Financial Dynamics

Nominated Advisors KBC Peel Hunt Ltd

Most Recent Statement

12/07/07 - £4m Raised from Global Investor
13/05/07 - 2006 Annual Report and Accounts
28/02/07 - Board Appointment: Jeremy Scudamore