Chris Newell and Frank Wessely, partners at Quantuma, have been appointed joint administrators to Cella Energy Ltd, a pioneering Oxfordshire company which has been developing advanced hydrogen energy storage and has collapsed, with the loss of all jobs
Based in Didcot, Cella Energy Ltd was established in April 2014 and aimed to develop bespoke power systems with three times the specific energy compared to lithium-ion batteries. All 12 staff have now been made redundant.
The idea for the business came in 2011 as a spin-out from the government’s Science and Technology Facilities Council. Its goal was to build a company around a novel hydrogen storage material that is stable and safe to handle at room temperatures but releases large quantities of hydrogen when heated above 100 degrees centigrade.
The business had reached the point of developing two demonstration power supplies, one for an unmanned aerial vehicle and the other for automotive or aerospace applications.
Chris Newell, Quantuma partner and joint administrator, said: ‘Unfortunately, due to funding issues, the company has had to cease trading and be placed into administration.
‘Cella Energy Ltd has significant patented intellectual property which we will now look to sell, and we are inviting interested parties to make contact.’
Report by Pat Sweet
