Clean Power Hydrogen plc's (AIM:CPH2) MFE220 1MW unit sustained significant damage during the final Factory Acceptance Test at its dedicated Rossington test site, forcing an immediate suspension of operations.
The company is an AIM-listed developer of membrane-free electrolyser technology for co-production of high-purity hydrogen and above medical-grade oxygen.
In the final stages of Level 3 testing the unit experienced an unexpected error that triggered a standard shutdown, and during that shutdown an incident caused significant equipment damage.
All operations have been suspended and a thorough investigation into the root cause of the original error and subsequent failure is underway.
The incident will materially delay completion of the FAT, which the company had expected during May, and further updates will be provided in due course.
Discussions with certain existing shareholders and prospective new investors about a potential equity raise have been paused pending greater technical clarity, leaving the company with a constrained working capital position.
The Board is actively evaluating funding and strategic options, and the company is reviewing its insurance position and the potential implications for its commercial arrangements with customers. Because of the ongoing uncertainty and working capital the company has requested that its shares be suspended from trading on AIM with effect from 7.30 a.m. today.
"We will immediately start work towards resolving this technical issue so that we are able to minimise any commercial impact on our business," said Chief Executive Officer Jon Duffy.
