TIDMEQT
RNS Number : 6884Y
EQTEC PLC
08 September 2022
08 September 2022
EQTEC plc
("EQTEC", the "Company" or the "Group")
Mixed feedstock Market Development Centre approved by French
government
EQTEC plc (AIM: EQT), a world-leading technology innovation
company enabling the Net Zero Future through advanced solutions for
hydrogen, biofuels, SNG and other energy production, is pleased to
confirm that, further to its announcement on 20 July 2022, its
wholly owned French subsidiary EQTEC France SAS ("EQTEC France")
was, on 7 September 2022, notified of final approval from France's
Ministère de l'économie, des finances et de l'industrie ("MINEFI")
to acquire the 6.5MWe waste-to-energy gasification plant in
Villers-sous-Montrond, France (the "Plant").
On this basis, EQTEC France has launched an accelerated
construction and commissioning programme to upgrade the Plant. Once
operational, the Plant is expected to be France's largest ever
combined heat and power ("CHP") gasification project, transforming
c. 45,000 tonnes of mixed wood waste and refuse-derived fuel
("RDF") for export of clean electricity to the national grid, with
the option of increasing its production capacity in future.
Construction is expected to commence in Q1 2023.
The Plant will become an EQTEC Market Development Centre ("MDC")
for showcasing EQTEC's technical and commercial capabilities with
mixed feedstock, including a mixture of Grade A waste wood, Grade B
waste wood and RDF, and for catalysing further interest from
project funders and owner-operators.
David Palumbo, CEO of EQTEC, commented:
"We are excited to add France as our next MDC, alongside Italy
and Croatia. The French market presents a significant and growing
pipeline of opportunities for EQTEC, with potential for a network
of licence distributors, contractors and other partners that
support our journey toward becoming a leading innovator and
licensor for Net Zero technology.
"At our core, EQTEC is a clean energy technology innovator, and
our strategic focus is to make our leading-edge technology as
available as possible to as many owner-operators as we can around
the world. Our MDCs in target go-to-market geographies are critical
to our progress. MDCs are places where prospective customers and
partners can see, hear and touch EQTEC technology in a live,
commercial plant and where owner-operators can witness our highly
scalable solutions and consider how EQTEC can drive their future
lines of business."
David Le-Saint, EQTEC Market Lead for France, said:
"The France MDC will be a showcase in France for EQTEC's
leading-edge technology, built on our track record and R&D
efforts at our technology centre at the University of Lorraine. It
will boost our visibility with alliance partners and our
credibility with utility groups and institutional funders.
"The acquisition lifts EQTEC into a much better position to
pursue project opportunities in the wake of the energy transition
acceleration draft bill due out before the new session of the
French Parliament in October. The draft bill aims to simplify
permitting and set a new framework for the feed-in tariff on SNG
from methanation."
Acquisition highlights
-- The Plant, which originally benefitted from c. EUR35 million
of investment, has been acquired by the Company at a nominal value,
as it has been estimated that further investment of c. EUR30
million is required to recommission the plant utilising EQTEC's
technology.
-- Expressions of interest for the full funding required,
including Letters of Intent (the "LoIs"), from institutional
infrastructure investors have been received for the project.
Construction is expected to commence in Q1 2023.
-- The Plant, once operational, is expected to generate in
excess of EUR10 million in annual revenues, with further potential
to improve the economics of the Plant.
-- The Plant will process and transform a mixture of c. 45,000
tonnes of wood waste and RDF sourced and prepared by Bonnefoy Group
into 6.5 MWe of power for export to the national grid.
-- Pursuant to a local court ruling dated 13 July 2022 (the
"Ruling"), the legal transfer was carried out of negotiated
contracts and tangible assets of the previous Project SPV Synnov
Déchets SAS ("Synnov") to EQTEC France, after which EQTEC was able
to commence full engineering and design works and secure all
relevant, administrative authorisation and contracts toward
financial close with third-party investors.
-- EQTEC France has received two LoIs from two institutional
funders specialising in similar infrastructure investments; the
LoIs express interest by the potential funders in providing project
finance for the Plant, subject to customary due diligence.
-- The Company has received expressions of interest from two
French energy companies to potentially become owner-operators, once
the plant is successfully commissioned.
-- At financial close, all commercial requirements will have
been addressed, including feedstock supply, long-lease agreement
and agreement of a PPA tariff more favourable than that established
previously by Synnov.
-- Following commissioning of the Plant, EQTEC expects to act as
the technology supplier and O&M contractor.
-- Ownership of the project will be established through a new
SPV to be set up in France by EQTEC France SAS.
-- Pursuant to the Ruling and the Approvals, the assets of
Synnov will be transferred to EQTEC France, including the entirety
of the existing plant from the feeding-in system to the
grid-connected inverters, along with the existing environmental
permit and associated contracts including for the feed-in tariff
with EDF Obligation d'Achat ("EDF OA"); and
-- Prior to application to the courts for the Ruling, the
Company carried out a preliminary technical audit and legal due
diligence toward acquisition of the Plant from bankruptcy,
improvement of the Plant's business model, adaptation of the
technology process and recommissioning of it.
Plant history
The Plant was originally developed by Group Bonnefoy
("Bonnefoy") on Bonnefoy's stone quarry site located at
Villers-sous-Montrond, near the Franco-Swiss border. The
gasification plant was designed using non-EQTEC technologies but
was never fully commissioned, as the previous technology did not
successfully complete performance and endurance tests. The previous
project SPV Synnov Déchets SAS entered bankruptcy in November 2021,
after which EQTEC was approached as a potential buyer.
This announcement contains inside information as defined in
Article 7 of the EU Market Abuse Regulation No 596/2014, as it
forms part of United Kingdom domestic law by virtue of the European
Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, as amended, and has been announced in
accordance with the Company's obligations under Article 17 of that
Regulation.
EQTEC plc +44 203 883 7009
David Palumbo / Nauman Babar
-----------------------
Strand Hanson - Nomad & Financial
Adviser +44 20 7409 3494
-----------------------
James Harris / Richard Johnson
-----------------------
Arden Partners - Joint Broker +44 20 7614 5900
-----------------------
Ruari McGirr (Corporate) / Simon Johnson
(Sales)
-----------------------
Canaccord Genuity - Joint Broker +44 20 7523 8000
-----------------------
Henry Fitzgerald-O'Connor / Patrick
Dolaghan
-----------------------
Alma PR - Financial Media & Investor
Relations +44 20 3405 0205
-----------------------
Josh Royston / Sam Modlin EQTEC@almapr.co.uk
-----------------------
+44 (0) 20 7457 2381 /
Instinctif - General Media Enquiries +44 (0) 7887 884794
-----------------------
Chris Speight / Tim Field EQTEC@instinctif.com
-----------------------
About EQTEC plc
As one of the world's most experienced gasification technology
and engineering companies, with a growing track record of
delivering operational and commercial success for transforming
waste-to-energy through best-in-class technology innovation,
engineering and project development, EQTEC brings together design
innovation, project delivery discipline and solid commercial
experience to add momentum to the global energy transition. EQTEC's
proven, proprietary and patented technology is at the centre of
clean energy projects, sourcing local waste, championing local
businesses, creating local jobs and supporting the transition to
localised, decentralised and resilient energy systems.
EQTEC designs, supplies and builds advanced gasification
facilities in the UK, EU and US, with highly efficient equipment
that is modular and scalable from 1MW to 30MW. EQTEC's versatile
solutions process over 50 varieties of feedstock, including
forestry wood waste, vegetation and other agricultural waste from
farmers, industrial waste and sludge from factories and municipal
waste, all with no hazardous or toxic emissions.
EQTEC's solutions produce a pure, high-quality synthesis gas
("syngas") that can be used for the widest range of applications,
including the generation of electricity and heat, production of
synthetic natural gas (through methanation) or biofuels (through
Fischer-Tropsch, gas-to-liquid processing) and reforming of
hydrogen.
EQTEC's technology integration capabilities enable the Group to
lead collaborative ecosystems of qualified partners and to build
sustainable waste reduction and green energy infrastructure around
the world.
The Company is quoted on AIM (ticker: EQT) and the London Stock
Exchange has awarded EQTEC the Green Economy Mark, which recognises
listed companies with 50% or more of revenues from
environmental/green solutions.
Further information on the Company can be found at www.eqtec.com
.
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 or visit 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.
END
MSCUPURUBUPPPUM
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 08, 2022 02:01 ET (06:01 GMT)
Eqtec (LSE:EQT)
Gráfica de Acción Histórica
De Mar 2024 a Abr 2024
Eqtec (LSE:EQT)
Gráfica de Acción Histórica
De Abr 2023 a Abr 2024
