Acta SPA, an Italian fuel cell developer listed on London's AIM, has had some good news.

The company has been granted its first European patent for its proprietary technology, the platinum-free HYPERMEC branded catalysts.

Platinum prices have been the bane of most fuel cell manufacturers for some time. There really is no better catalyst but the price of platinum is going up faster than their ability to significantly drop costs. So in light of market conditions, Acta should be well placed to take advantage of this intellectual property asset.

Just over a year ago, platinum prices hit a 25 year high of $950 an ounce. The spot price is currently just under $1200. Just as the semiconductor industry competes with the solar industry for the supply of high grade silicon, here you can see the automobile industry who use platinum for catalytic converters competing with the fuel cell industry for the supply of platinum.

My guess is that the auto industry will win this one hands down.