Like all technology start-ups, Ceres Power needed funding to sustain research and product development. That meant convincing investors that the technology was worth backing. And that called for clear and persuasive communication of its benefits and commercial potential, as well as a strong brand.
The company’s belief in the value of design led it to join the Innovate service. Ceres worked with Design Associate Chris Thompson, of innovation consultancy Viadynamics, not just on communications materials but also strategy. Thompson recalls: ‘We needed to explore the applications the technology could be used for, how we could get it to market and how we could communicate its value to potential partners and investors.’
Ceres Commercial Director Bob Flint adds: ‘It was absolutely vital that we developed a vision for what the technology could do and that we articulated it effectively to others.’
Early work focused on creating scenarios around additional routes to market beyond the initial concentration on domestic heat and power. The aim was to make the company more attractive to investors by spreading risk. Thompson says: ‘The more potential channels to market there were, the greater the opportunities for Ceres to succeed.’
The result was a new three-way focus. As well as boilers providing domestic heating, hot water and electricity, Ceres would now explore off-grid units. These supply power for homes and businesses lacking access to reliable grid power or act as back-up for vital services from hospitals to temporary traffic lights. In both cases fuel cells could do the work of diesel generators, with substantial efficiency and environmental benefits. The third application would be support for automotive electrical systems such as lorry refrigeration units or air conditioning in cars. Here, auxiliary fuel cell units supply power even when the engine is switched off, again reducing fuel costs and cutting emissions.
A clear picture of the benefits for both partners and consumers started to emerge. Bob Flint says: ‘Fuel cell-based heat and power systems are very attractive to utilities. They enable a move away from treating heat and power separately and towards an integrated solution. Also, consumers could cut their annual energy bills by between 25 and 40 per cent, depending on their existing boiler technology, and reduce emissions by between one and four tonnes.’
Ceres’ technology also compares favourably to other fuel cells – it’s more reliable, robust and cost effective, and it can run on bottled natural gas or LPG, while many other cells work solely on hydrogen. Flint says: ‘In addition, we now know the boiler design will be small enough to be wall-mounted, taking up no more space than a conventional boiler. That’s a key market enabler, as other fuel cell boilers are floor mounted.
‘The Designing Demand work helped us to develop presentations and other communications materials that made applications and benefits easy for non-specialists to understand.’ An early example was a 3D video prototype, developed with external designers, showcasing the commercial possibilities for Ceres’ fuel cells. It made a crucial contribution to raising £10m of private equity investment ahead of the eventual AIM flotation.
In parallel, Ceres realised the need to develop a credible brand to win the confidence of potential customers and investors. CEO Peter Bance says: ‘We were a small start-up wanting to punch above our weight. Design was central to this, from the layout of our workplace to the look and feel of our website and the content and format of our publicity materials. Everything was important in communicating the right image, be it our logo and business cards or the way we dressed and the how we spoke on the phone.’
Although Ceres is mainly a business-to-business brand, consumer profile will become increasingly important, says Bob Flint: ‘We want to be the “Intel Inside” of fuel cells, the equivalent of what microprocessors are to PCs. When the technology takes off, many companies will offer fuel cell-driven products and the public need to know which ones they can trust.’
Ceres has formed two key partnerships. With Centrica, it is developing a CHP domestic boiler that combines fuel cells with conventional technology and could come to market in 2009. An off-grid power unit resulting from a tie-up with EDF Energy Networks is planned to launch around the same time.
As Ceres Power has developed, so has its use of design: ‘Through Designing Demand we got our strategy straight in terms of target markets and improved our communications. It helped us communicate our ideas and our brand to get our technology understood in the business community and attract investment.
‘Now industrial design is helping us produce concepts that show partners and investors how heat and power can come from a single unit. And product design, interface design and understanding context of use will help us to integrate the product into customers’ lifestyles.’
Ceres’ ongoing relationship with design is summed up by Peter Bance: ‘For us, design is an approach and a philosophy, not something we put in a box. It permeates everything we do and we’ve believed in it from day one.’
