REG - ITM Power PLC - GB Energy 40m investment and DESNZ 46.5m grant

ITM PowerAnnouncement

Today 07:00

For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
https://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20260409:nRSI7155Za&default-theme=true

RNS Number : 7155Z  ITM Power PLC  09 April 2026

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION FOR THE PURPOSES OF ARTICLE 7 OF
THE MARKET ABUSE REGULATION (EU) 596/2014 (AS IT FORMS PART OF THE LAWS OF THE
UNITED KINGDOM BY VIRTUE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (WITHDRAWAL) ACT 2018, AS
AMENDED FROM TIME TO TIME) (UK MAR), AND IS DISCLOSED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE
COMPANY'S OBLIGATIONS UNDER ARTICLE 17 OF UK MAR.  UPON THE PUBLICATION OF
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT, SUCH INSIDE INFORMATION IS NOW CONSIDERED TO BE IN THE
PUBLIC DOMAIN.

9 April 2026

ITM Power plc

£40 million strategic investment by Great British Energy and

£46.5 million grant from DESNZ

to enable a 1 GW Chronos manufacturing line in the UK

 

ITM Power is pleased to announce that we have secured an investment of £40
million through a non-pre-emptive subscription (the "Subscription") by Great
British Energy Group Limited ("GBE").

Furthermore, we have received a letter from the Department for Energy Security
and Net Zero ("DESNZ") confirming their intention to award us a grant of
£46.5 million (the "Grant")*.

The Subscription and the Grant will support the establishment of operational
capability to manufacture our next-generation Chronos electrolyser stack
technology (the "Project").

Highlights

·      The UK government backs ITM Power with a combination of a £40m
equity investment through GBE and a £46.5m grant from DESNZ*, which is a vote
of confidence in our technology, delivery credibility, and demonstrates the UK
government's commitment to promoting the UK's sovereign technology and
manufacturing capability in clean energy infrastructure.

·      This significant support follows a rigorous technical and
commercial due diligence by a third party to assess the effectiveness and
likely impact of our next-generation stack platform Chronos.

·      The funds will support the establishment of a new large-scale
automated manufacturing line in the UK with an annual capacity of 1 GW for our
next-generation stack Chronos, underpinned by strong order momentum and
growing order backlog over the last 24 months.

·      With superior energy efficiency and substantially lower cost,
Chronos will help us to further grow our market share, speed up the industrial
adoption of hydrogen, and accelerate our growth and path to profitability.

·      FY26 cash guidance improved to between £210m and £215m (from
previous range of £170m-£175m), reflecting the funds from the Subscription.

* The Grant remains subject to subsidy control scrutiny, a statutory process
required to ensure any public funding complies with the Subsidy Control Act
2022. The subsidy referral was submitted on 7 April and is expected to
conclude in June 2026, after which, subject to a satisfactory outcome, the
grant would then be contracted.

Dennis Schulz, CEO of ITM Power, commented: "We are grateful for the
confidence and support demonstrated by the UK government. Clean power
increasingly underpins energy sovereignty and resilience, which are critical
to long-term economic success against a backdrop of recent geopolitical
instability.

The UK government's support, through a combination of equity participation and
grant funding, marks a pivotal step in establishing ITM Power at the centre of
the UK's hydrogen economy and firmly positions us as a natural partner for
projects in the UK.

The funds will enable the build-out of large-scale domestic manufacturing of
our next-generation Chronos platform, underpinning confidence in our
technology and sustained growth."

Ed Milliband, Energy Secretary, said, "This investment is the Government's
clean energy mission in action - rebuilding our energy security with clean
homegrown power and good industrial jobs for South Yorkshire.

Communities have long been calling out for a new generation of good industrial
jobs, and with these plans we answer that call, helping to create an economy
in which there is no need to leave your hometown just to find a decent job.
Thanks to this government's commitment to clean energy, a generation of young
people in our industrial heartlands can have well-paid secure jobs.

This has only happened thanks to months of intense collaboration between Great
British Energy, our publicly owned energy company, the government and ITM
Power. It is time to make and build things in Britain again, and with this
Government's clean energy mission, we will."

Dan McGrail, CEO of Great British Energy, said, "With this investment Great
British Energy is backing British innovation, technology and hundreds of
skilled jobs.

This is our Energy Engineered in the UK strategy in action. We are investing
in ITM Power, helping them to scale, compete globally and keep vital
engineering expertise here in the UK."

Management presentation

Dennis Schulz, Amy Grey, and Simon Bourne will provide a pre-recorded
presentation at 9:00 a.m. GMT. The presentation will be via the Investor Meet
Company platform. Analysts and investors can sign up to Investor Meet Company
for free via:
https://www.investormeetcompany.com/itm-power-plc/register-investor
(https://www.investormeetcompany.com/itm-power-plc/register-investor) . Those
who follow the Company on the Investor Meet Company platform will
automatically be invited.

The recording will be available on the Investor Relations section of the ITM
website after the event.

Background

With 26 years of innovation and experience, ITM Power is an established leader
in PEM electrolyser technology and hydrogen plants. We are strategically
well-positioned in a fast-expanding market, and our vertical integration and
IP have created a defensible competitive advantage. Our comprehensive product
portfolio, addressing all project sizes, is the foundation for our proven
capability in large-scale project delivery with repeat blue-chip customers
including Shell, RWE and Linde.

Robust manufacturing, supply chain, and quality systems are helping us deliver
approximately 500 MW of projects, with more than 550 MW of additional capacity
reserved and a strong sales pipeline. Our healthy balance sheet ensures
long-term resilience and eases project bankability for our customers, as
recently demonstrated in the Northfleet project with Octopus Energy Generation
in the UK.

Rationale for the Subscription and the Grant

The UK government has ambitious goals for hydrogen. DESNZ, a ministerial
department of the UK government, is awarding funding to projects under the
Hydrogen Allocation Round ("HAR") programme, aiming to make the UK a
clean-energy superpower. Through its publicly owned energy company, GBE, they
aim to power Britain with clean, secure, homegrown energy. The two partners'
significant support of ITM Power is a strong endorsement of our technology,
delivery credibility, and a commitment to promote the UK's sovereign
technology and manufacturing capability in a critical energy infrastructure
building block of the future.

With strong government support, a stable policy framework for hydrogen in the
UK, early successes in HAR-funded projects, and the upcoming HAR3 scheme, the
UK is a very attractive home market for us. ITM Power also benefits from being
located in Sheffield, within a region well-known for manufacturing and highly
skilled, advanced engineering and technical expertise. This, coupled with the
synergies of co-locating the Trident and Chronos manufacturing lines, and the
strategic support from both GBE and DESNZ, led to the decision to make the UK
the home of Chronos.

We have been developing the Chronos stack for over two years. It is an
evolutionary design leveraging significant carryover from the already
successful Trident stack platform. By incorporating the latest technological
developments and the valuable lessons from commercial projects and extensive
field data, Chronos is expected to deliver substantial improvements in
cost-effectiveness and energy efficiency, representing a step-change in
electrolyser performance.

This will enhance our market offering and further substantiate our technology
leadership. Chronos will form the basis of our full product line-up and
upgrade our Neptune, Poseidon and Alpha plants.

Chronos will further offer low performance degradation over time, and high
responsiveness for grid flexibility and coupling to renewable energy. The
substantially higher power density of Chronos also results in a more compact
physical footprint, leading to reduced installation costs.

As part of this transaction, our Chronos development programme has undergone
rigorous technical and commercial due diligence by a third party to assess the
effectiveness and likely impact of Chronos.

In parallel, our current stack platform Trident will remain an important part
of our stack technology suite. We will continue to manufacture Trident to
serve our existing customers and long-term service agreements. Importantly, we
will continue to innovate our Trident stack, allowing current customers to
take advantage of future increases in energy efficiency and cost
competitiveness. This will include adoption of compatible features from
Chronos.

Use of proceeds: the Chronos manufacturing line

The Chronos manufacturing line is planned to be built in our existing
facilities in Sheffield and will use many of the existing processes that have
been incrementally introduced to the Trident production line over the last
five years, albeit on a larger scale. The core of the project involves the
procurement and installation of bespoke, automated production equipment
essential for 1 GW of production capacity. This will include capital
investments in catalyst-coated membrane manufacturing equipment, electrode
welding, specialist coatings, and stack assembly lines, alongside cleanroom
facilities. To ensure operational readiness and quality assurance, this will
be complemented by the internal production and installation of modularised
test systems, as well as the purchase of all necessary validation materials.
We expect the total investment to be made over the next three years and to be
up to £120m, enabled by the £86.5m UK government support. We target
commercial operation of the manufacturing line in 2028.

The Subscription

GBE has agreed, subject to Admission (defined below), to subscribe for, in
aggregate, 71,994,240 new ordinary shares of 5 pence each in the capital of
the Company ("Subscription Shares") at a subscription price of 55.56 pence per
Subscription Share ("Subscription Price") which will be issued under the
Company's existing share allotment and disapplication authorities.

The Subscription Shares will represent approximately 10.4% of the Company's
issued share capital immediately following the Subscription and the
Subscription Price represents a 13.7% discount to the closing mid-market price
of an ITM Power ordinary share on 8 April 2026. Application will be made for
the Subscription Shares to be admitted to trading on AIM ("Admission") and it
is expected that settlement for, and Admission of, the Subscription Shares
will take place on or before 8.00 am on 13 April 2026.

The Subscription amounts to £40 million before costs for the Company.

Pursuant to the Subscription, GBE has agreed, other than in certain
circumstances, not to, during the 12-month period following Admission:

-     sell any of the Subscription Shares; nor to

-     acquire further ordinary shares where such acquisition would result
in GBE holding more than 29.99% of the ordinary share capital of the Company.

For as long as GBE holds fully paid ordinary shares in the capital of the
Company representing no less than 3% of the ordinary shares in issue, GBE
shall have the right to appoint a representative to attend as an observer at
meetings of the board (and any committee of the board, if and to the extent
that the business of any committee meeting relates to the Project) who will be
entitled to speak at any such meetings but will not be entitled to vote
("Investor Observer").

For as long as GBE holds fully paid ordinary shares representing 10% or more
of the ordinary shares in issue, GBE shall have the right to nominate either
an Investor Observer or one non-executive director for appointment to the
board.

The Company has given certain undertakings to GBE in relation to the
implementation of the Project, including the use of proceeds for the purposes
of the Project. The Company has also undertaken that, for three years
following this Announcement, it will seek general authorities at each annual
general meeting under sections 551 and 570 of the Companies Act 2006 in a
manner and at a level which is consistent with its past practice.

The Company has also agreed to a provision which applies for six months from
this Announcement. If the Company carries out a further fundraise at an issue
price with a discount which is greater than that applied in this Subscription
when compared to the prevailing market rate, the Company would be required to
compensate GBE as if the Subscription had been made at the same discount
level.

The Grant

The DESNZ Grant of £46.5m will be paid quarterly in arrears and used to
offset the capital expenditure costs of building the Chronos manufacturing
line.

The Grant remains subject to subsidy control scrutiny, a statutory process
required to ensure any public funding complies with the Subsidy Control Act
2022. The subsidy referral was submitted on 7 April and is expected to
conclude in June 2026, after which, subject to a satisfactory outcome, the
grant would then be contracted.

As part of the grant conditions, the Company has made a commitment to
increasing our UK workforce by c.250 employees over the next five years, in
line with the anticipated increase in demand for our products.

Updated guidance

Having previously given improved revenue guidance in February 2026, we now
anticipate our year-end cash balance to be between £210m and £215m (up from
£170m to £175m), reflecting the funds from the Subscription by GBE.

Share Capital following the Subscription

The Subscription Shares will rank pari passu with the Company's existing
ordinary shares.

The Company acknowledges that it will issue the Subscription Shares amounting
to up to 11.7% of its issued ordinary share capital on a non-pre-emptive basis
utilising authorities approved by the Company's shareholders at its annual
general meeting held on 8 October 2025, including the authority to disapply
pre-emption rights in connection with a specified capital investment.

Immediately following issue of the Subscription Shares, the Company's enlarged
issued share capital will comprise 689,365,229 ordinary shares of 5 pence
each with voting rights in the Company. This figure may be used by
shareholders in the Company as the denominator for the calculations by which
they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a
change in the interest in, the share capital of the Company under the FCA's
Disclosure and Transparency Rules.

For further information, please visit www.itm-power.com or contact:

 ITM Power plc

 Justin Scarborough, Head of Investor Relations   +44 (0)114 551 1080

 Berenberg

 Ciaran Walsh, Harry Nicholas                     +44 (0)20 3207 7800

 J.P. Morgan Cazenove                             +44 (0)20 7742 4000

 Richard Perelman, Charles Oakes

 

Burges Salmon LLP are acting as legal advisers to the Company.

About ITM Power plc

ITM Power designs and manufactures industrial-scale electrolysers for green
hydrogen production. Its proprietary PEM technology, vertically integrated
manufacturing, and in-house engineering capabilities enable it to supply
standardised, high-performance hydrogen plants.

With a proven track record in large-scale projects, ITM Power helps leading
industrial and energy companies achieve their decarbonisation goals. In
addition to its equipment offering, the company provides reliable and
cost-competitive hydrogen supply through its build, own and operate (BOO)
model, Hydropulse.

Headquartered in the UK, ITM Power is listed on the London Stock Exchange AIM
(LSE: ITM) and holds the Green Economy Mark, which recognises companies that
generate over 50% of their revenues from green products and services.

IMPORTANT NOTICES

No offer document or prospectus has been, or will be, delivered to the
Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA") in relation to the Subscription.

This Announcement does not constitute or form part of any offer or invitation
to purchase, or otherwise acquire, subscribe for, sell, otherwise dispose of
or issue, or any solicitation of any offer to sell, otherwise dispose of,
issue, purchase, otherwise acquire or subscribe for, any security in the
capital of the Company in any jurisdiction.

The Subscription Shares have not been, nor will be, registered under the US
Securities Act of 1933 (as amended) or under the securities laws of any state
or other jurisdiction of the United States or qualify for distribution under
any of the relevant securities laws of Canada, Australia, the Republic of
South Africa, Republic of Ireland or Japan.

Persons (including, without limitation, nominees and trustees) who have a
contractual or other legal obligation to forward a copy of this Announcement
should seek appropriate advice before taking any action.

Joh. Berenberg, Gossler & Co KG, London Branch ("Berenberg") which is
authorised and regulated by the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority
(BaFin) and is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the FCA is
acting exclusively for the Company in relation to the Subscription and is not
acting for any other persons in relation to the Subscription.  Berenberg is
acting exclusively for the Company and for no one else in relation to the
matters described in this Announcement and is not advising any other person
and accordingly will not be responsible to anyone other than the Company for
providing the protections afforded to their clients, or for providing advice
in relation to the contents of this Announcement or any matter referred to in
it.  The responsibilities of Berenberg as the Company's nominated adviser and
broker under the AIM Rules for Companies and the AIM Rules for Nominated
Advisers are owed solely to the London Stock Exchange and are not owed to the
Company or to any Director, shareholder or any other person, in respect of
their decision to acquire shares in the capital of the Company in reliance on
any part of this Announcement, or otherwise.

J.P. Morgan Securities plc (which conducts its investment banking business in
the United Kingdom as J.P. Morgan Cazenove) ("J.P. Morgan Cazenove") is
authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated in the United
Kingdom by the FCA and the Prudential Regulation Authority, is acting
exclusively as corporate broker for the Company in relation to the
Subscription and is not acting for any other persons in relation to the
Subscription.  J.P. Morgan Cazenove is acting exclusively for the Company and
for no one else in relation to the matters described in this Announcement and
is not advising any other person and accordingly will not be responsible to
anyone other than the Company for providing the protections afforded to their
clients, or for providing advice in relation to the contents of this
Announcement or any matter referred to in it.

No liability is accepted by either Berenberg or J.P. Morgan Cazenove
 (together the "Banks") nor do they make any representation or warranty,
express or implied, in relation to the contents of this Announcement,
including its accuracy, completeness or verification or for any other
statement made or purported to be made by it, or on its behalf, in connection
with the Company, the Subscription and Admission and accordingly the Banks
disclaim all and any responsibility or liability whether arising in tort,
contract or otherwise which it might otherwise have in respect of this
Announcement or any such statement, to the maximum extent permitted by law and
the regulations to which it is subject.  The Banks have not authorised the
contents, or any part, of this Announcement.

This Announcement contains (or may contain) certain forward-looking statements
relating to the Company's future prospects, developments and business
strategies. These forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact
that they do not relate only to historical or current facts. Forward-looking
statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as "targets"
"estimates", "envisages", "believes", "expects", "aims", "intends", "plans",
"will", "may", "anticipates", "would", "could" or similar expressions or the
negative of those, variations or comparable expressions, including references
to assumptions. The forward-looking statements in this Announcement are based
on current expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties, which
could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or
implied by those statements. These forward-looking statements relate only to
the position as at the date of this Announcement. Neither the Directors nor
the Company undertake any obligation to update forward looking statements,
other than as required by the AIM Rules for Companies or by the rules of any
other applicable securities regulatory authority, whether as a result of the
information, future events or otherwise. You are advised to read this
Announcement and the information incorporated by reference herein, in its
entirety. The events described in the forward-looking statements made in this
Announcement may not occur.

Neither the content of the Company's website (or any other website) nor any
website accessible by hyperlinks on the Company's website (or any other
website) is incorporated in, or forms part of, this Announcement.

If in any doubt about any of the contents of this Announcement, independent
professional advice should be obtained.

All times and dates in this Announcement may be subject to amendment.

EACH OF THE COMPANY, THE BANKS AND THEIR RESPECTIVE AFFILIATES EXPRESSLY
DISCLAIMS ANY OBLIGATION OR UNDERTAKING TO UPDATE, REVIEW OR REVISE ANY
STATEMENT CONTAINED IN THIS ANNOUNCEMENT WHETHER AS A RESULT OF NEW
INFORMATION, FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS OR OTHERWISE.

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact
rns@lseg.com (mailto:rns@lseg.com)
 or visit
www.rns.com (http://www.rns.com/)
.

RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our
Privacy Policy (https://www.lseg.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy)
.   END  MSCEAELPEFFKEAA



            Copyright 2019 Regulatory News Service, all rights reserved