Companies: ITM   

In a strong endorsement of its technology, Saffron Walden-based fuel cell developer ITM Power is to work with the US Navy’s research department to help power unmanned submarines.

The Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division, Newport, Rhode Island, will work with ITM to develop its fuel cells so that they can function with liquid instead of air – as they currently do – and thus be employed deep underwater. A statement from ITM Power explains that it ‘has an interest in furthering research and development of its specific fuel cell design and will, along with the Navy, benefit from this collaborative effort’.

‘We believe electrolyser and fuel cell systems have many military applications,’ added Jim Heathcote, chief executive of ITM, ‘and we hope this agreement will open the door to large potential markets for our technology.’

Shares in ITM, which announced a deal with Boeing to design a refuelling station for unmanned aircraft back in November, have vacillated between 100p and 150p over the course of the year and finished 6p higher at 130p today.

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