LONDON, March 26, 2026, 14:57 GMT
Centrica Plc dipped roughly 0.5% to 200.4 pence as of 1119 GMT on Thursday, following news that the British Gas parent is teaming up with Ceres Power to roll out on-site fuel-cell power solutions for businesses in the UK and Europe. Broader London shares also lost ground, with the FTSE 100 slipping about 0.9%.
Why does it matter? Power demand from data centres, AI computing hubs, manufacturing, and logistics is outpacing the speed at which grids can hook up new capacity. Right in the thick of it: solid oxide fuel cells. These on-site systems convert fuel directly into electricity. According to Ceres, their technology goes in quicker than either gas turbines or nuclear, and can start out running on natural gas, with the potential to switch to biogas or hydrogen down the line.
Centrica CEO Chris O’Shea says companies are hungry for more power. For Ceres, CEO Phil Caldwell points to the appeal of a system that’s “modular and can be deployed faster.” Centrica, for its part, is also looking into whether it can pair Ceres’ electrolyser technology with its advanced modular reactor plans to produce green hydrogen. Reuters
Ceres shares surged 16% to 356.5 pence on the FTSE 250, despite the group posting a wider pretax loss and warning on softer revenue for 2025. Traders zeroed in on what Ceres described as “strong operational momentum” heading into 2026. Morningstar, Inc.
Centrica’s new hurdle is steeper now. Just last month, the company trimmed its 2026 profit forecast for the Optimisation trading arm down to around 250 million pounds—previous guidance ranged between 300 million and 400 million pounds. Centrica also hit pause on its share buyback after reporting a 39% slide in annual core profit. JPMorgan analysts flagged that the combination of a lower outlook and ongoing transformation costs might drag on the stock in the short run.
Centrica has been reworking its gas supply lineup. Back in February, the company inked a 10-year natural gas agreement with Canada’s Whitecap Resources, aiming to address market-price risk across its LNG portfolio.
Competition just shifted again. Tesla picked up a licence this month to supply electricity to British households, stepping in as a new player in UK retail power. Centrica, for its part, is upping its focus on commercial and industrial energy services.
But the real hurdle here is execution. Centrica didn’t release any financial details with the announcement, and its shares barely budged—investors appear to be waiting for concrete deals and more visibility on earnings before assigning much value to this partnership.
Investors get their say on May 7, with Centrica’s proposed 3.67 pence final dividend up for a vote. If it passes, that puts the 2025 total payout at 5.5 pence.
