I'm not sure what alternative they had. They either shut up shop...

I'm not sure what alternative they had. They either shut up shop or raise some money. A placement can only succeed at a discount to the prevailing share price.

Its unfortunate for them that the UK funds have been flooding the market with their fire-sale (to mix a metaphor), but they did well waiting until the shareprice spike caused by the 60% efficiency achievement.

It hurts to be diluted, but its an unavoidable consequence of losing all that capital with their dodgy investments. It would hurt more to see their business plan fail at this late stage when it is showing so much promise. With the money raised they should be able to finally move towards profitability.