EQT Eqtec Plc

TIDMEQT

RNS Number : 4424T

EQTEC PLC

24 November 2021

24 November 2021

EQTEC plc

("EQTEC", the "Company" or the "Group")

Croatia Joint Venture update

Belišće Project Financial Close and Karlovac Project first phase funding secured

EQTEC plc (AIM: EQT), a world-leading gasification solutions company building the future of a cleaner waste-to-energy industry, is pleased to announce that financial close has been achieved for the Belišće Project ("Belišće") and first phase funding for a second project in Karlovač ("Karlovač") has been secured. Both projects are being developed by Synergy Projects d.o.o. ("Synergy Projects") the Company's Croatian joint venture with local project development partner Sense ESCO d.o.o. ("Sense ESCO").

Highlights

 
      --        Sense ESCO has subscribed for additional shares in 
                 each of the Belišće and Karlovač Project 
                 SPVs which has resulted in it owning 51% of the equity 
                 in the respective SPVs. Synergy Projects has retained 
                 49% equity in both Project SPVs; 
      --        The projects are being funded through a mix of equity, 
                 debt and privately placed tradeable bonds; 
      --        The funding requirement for Belišće recommissioning 
                 is c. EUR 4.2m of which Sense ESCO will be providing 
                 EUR1.7m while EQTEC will provide the balance, in 
                 addition to the EUR550,000 loan previously provided; 
      --        The total funding requirement for Karlovač is 
                 forecast to be in the region of EUR10m. EQTEC and 
                 Sense ESCO will initially be providing 25% of the 
                 required funding through subscriptions to privately 
                 placed tradeable bonds and equity while third party 
                 investors and bank debt will be sought to fund the 
                 balance; 
      --        Full funding required for the technology upgrades 
                 and subsequent re-commissioning at the Belišće 
                 plant has been secured, in order to upgrade the design 
                 and an increase in capacity to 1.5MWe from the original 
                 1.2MWe; 
      --        The Company has completed full detailed engineering 
                 for the Belišće plant, all main components 
                 have been ordered and are expected to be on site 
                 during Q4 2021 and Q1 2022; 
      --        The Karlovač plant will be developed in two 
                 phases of 1.5MWe each, to take advantage of the existing 
                 infrastructure, grid connection and Power Purchase 
                 Agreement; 
      --        Partial funding for the first phase at Karlovač 
                 has been secured in order to accelerate completion 
                 of the detailed engineering design and order main 
                 equipment; 
      --        The technology sales for EQTEC over the life of project 
                 is EUR2.0m for Belišće, of which c.80% 
                 is expected to be invoiced by EQTEC in the current 
                 financial year, and EUR7.5m for Karlovac, of which 
                 c.20% is forecast to be invoiced in the current financial 
                 year, in each case subject to achievement of certain 
                 milestones; and 
      --        The Company and Sense ESCO are continuing discussions 
                 with investors and banks to secure additional debt 
                 and equity to fund Karlova c's current and future 
                 phases. Furthermore, discussions are underway to 
                 sell equity and or tradeable bonds in the projects 
                 either during construction or after achieving successful 
                 commercial operation in line with EQTEC's general 
                 business strategy. 
 

David Palumbo, CEO of EQTEC, commented:

"We are very pleased to complete financial close at Belišće, our Market Development Centre in Croatia and also confirm first phase funding for the Karlovac project in collaboration with our Croatian joint venture partner, Sense ESCO. Both of these projects are designed to provide a community cooperative model to local stakeholders, taking responsibly managed waste from each plant's surrounding areas and turning it into clean energy. We are applying project delivery focus and technical innovation towards commissioning these projects and delivering value to the local communities in 2022."

More information about Belišće and Karlovač projects

The project at Belišće was originally commissioned in 2016 and the plant was built around EQTEC's proprietary and patented Advanced Gasification Technology. The 1.2MWe plant will be recommissioned, upgraded to 1.5MWe and repowered to convert forestry wood waste from local farms and forests into green electricity and heat for use in the local community. It will also operate as an EQTEC Market Development Centre, where the Company will demonstrate EQTEC's technology in a fully operational, commercial environment.

The project in Karlova c sits on a site that contains a decommissioned plant which originally employed an early gasification technology from a third party. When redesigned, reconfigured and commissioned, the 3.0MWe plant will transform locally sourced wood chips and forestry wood waste from regional forests into green electricity for use by the local community and also produce high quality biochar to supply the growing demand of this commodity in Europe.

This announcement contains inside information as defined in Article 7 of the EU Market Abuse Regulation No 596/2014 and has been announced in accordance with the Company's obligations under Article 17 of that Regulation.

ENQUIRIES

 
 EQTEC plc                                         +44 203 883 7009 
 David Palumbo / N auman Babar 
                                                  ----------------------- 
 
 Strand Hanson - Nomad & Financial Adviser         +44 20 7409 3494 
                                                  ----------------------- 
 James Harris / James Dance 
                                                  ----------------------- 
 
 Arden Partners - Joint Broker                     +44 20 7614 5900 
                                                  ----------------------- 
 Paul Shackleton (Corporate) / Simon Johnson 
  (Sales) 
                                                  ----------------------- 
 
 Canaccord Genuity - Joint Broker                  +44 20 7523 8000 
                                                  ----------------------- 
 Henry Fitzgerald-O'Connor / James Asensio 
  / Patrick Dolaghan 
                                                  ----------------------- 
 
 Alma PR - Financial Media & Investor Relations    +44 20 3405 0205 
                                                  ----------------------- 
 Josh Royston / Sam Modlin                         EQTEC@almapr.co.uk 
                                                  ----------------------- 
 
                                                   +44 7554 014 188 / +44 
 BECG - General Media Enquiries                     7867 452 269 
                                                  ----------------------- 
 Carrie Lowe / Tom Gosschalk                       EQTEC@BECG.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 .

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November 24, 2021 04:13 ET (09:13 GMT)