NEWS | Pioneering Clean Engergy Company Led by A Sainsbury Management Fellow Wins Presitgious MacRobert Award

We are delighted to announce that Ceres has won the Royal Academy of Engineering’s prestigious MacRobert Award (2023) for its pioneering clean energy technology, including fuel cells for power generation and electrolysers for green hydrogen. Ceres is led by CEO and Sainsbury Management Fellow, Phil Caldwell.

The solid oxide cell is based on common low-cost materials that, combined with an innovative deposition technique and a highly differentiated stack technology, delivers the sort of improved performance that will be crucial if the world is to decarbonise at the scale and pace required to tackle climate change.

Ceres has a proprietary technology that is truly reversible. Running in one direction it can use multiple fuels to generate electricity highly efficiently when and where it is needed. Run in reverse, it generates green hydrogen at high efficiencies and low cost - an innovation the MacRobert Award judges praised as a huge breakthrough in the clean energy revolution.

Fuel cells are not a new technology, but exotic material sets, high operating temperatures or the requirement for hydrogen fuel have made them the preserve of space missions. Ceres has pioneered the use of commonly found materials: a gadolinium-doped ceria ceramic membrane as an electrolyte printed onto thin perforated ferritic steel sheets that operate at temperatures in the range of 500–600C. This is a ‘Goldilocks’ temperature for performance, fuel flexibility, cost and robustness.

The result is Ceres’ patented cell technology. One cell is enough to light a room, but the 250 megawatts of capacity set to come on stream in 2024 could power half a million homes. Ceres’ licensing model has enabled it to establish partnerships with some of the world's most progressive companies, such as Bosch, Doosan, and Weichai, to deliver systems and products at the scale and pace needed to decarbonise power generation, transportation, industry, and everyday living.

Photo credit: Jason Alden