150,000+ kg Per Year, High-Technology, Ultra
Efficient, Low-Cost Facility Designed and Engineered by
Aurora Larssen Projects (ALPS)
TSX: ACB
EDMONTON, April 16, 2018 /CNW/ - Aurora Cannabis Inc.
("Aurora" or the "Company") (TSX: ACB) (OTCQB: ACBFF) (Frankfurt: 21P; WKN: A1C4WM) today announced
it is acquiring approximately 71 acres of land in Medicine Hat, Alberta, where the Company
intends shortly to commence construction on a new high-technology
hybrid greenhouse cannabis production facility. To this end, the
Company has signed a memorandum of understanding with the
City of Medicine Hat, concerning
terms and a general understanding of potential transactions,
including a prospective 10-year, 42 MW energy supply agreement.
The new facility, to be designed and engineered by the Company's
wholly owned Aurora Larssen Projects Inc. division, will be named
"Aurora Sun" in recognition of Medicine
Hat's status as the sunniest city in Canada, with more than 2,500 hours of sunshine
per year. At 1,200,000 square foot, or over 21 football fields, the
footprint of Aurora Sun will be 50%
larger than Aurora's Sky, a 100,000+ kg per year Health Canada
licensed facility the Company is completing at Edmonton International Airport.
To date, Aurora has approximately 280,000 kg per year of funded
capacity. With the addition of Aurora
Sun, total capacity will increase to over 430,000 kg per
year. In addition to the domestic medical cannabis market, in which
the Company already services approximately 45,000 patients, the new
facility is intended to serve both the pending legal Canadian adult
consumer market, and the quickly expanding international
market.
The global market is experiencing a massive excess of demand
over supply for legal, regulated medical cannabis, with extremely
rapid growth. This situation is expected to continue for a number
of years, and only a small number of producers around the world
have the experience in regulated cultivation, the production
capacity and the access to capital to successfully exploit this
opportunity. Aurora, currently exporting to Germany and Italy, with a combined population in excess of
140 million, intends to supply additional European medical cannabis
markets now coming online, and will devote a significant proportion
of its increasing production capacity to export the Company's
high-quality cannabis products into these undersupplied high-margin
markets.
Facility Characteristics
Like Aurora Sky, currently the world's most advanced cannabis
production facility, and Aurora Nordic, soon to begin construction
in Denmark, Aurora Sun will be a high-technology, highly
automated facility designed to deliver massive capacity, high
production efficiency, ultra-low operating costs and robust
margins.
- The facility measures 1,200,000 square feet, the size of more
than 21 football fields, and is readily expandable to 1,500,000
square feet
- The facility will have approximately 850,000 square feet of
flowering space, larger than the entire Aurora Sky facility
- Like all Aurora facilities, Aurora
Sun will be built in compliance with European Union (EU)
Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) standards, ensuring product from
the facility can be exported anywhere in the world where cannabis
is nationally legal for medical or (in future) adult usage
purposes
- The facility will be characterized by the use of advanced
technologies, such as:
-
- Forced air, positive pressure (closed system), minimizing risk
of contamination
- The closed system conserves energy
- Fully automated plant and bench movement, maximizes plant
density, accelerates crop turnover, minimizes human plant
interaction (reduced contamination risks), and ultimately results
in increased yield per square foot and superior economic
efficiencies (costs per gram)
- Robotized internal logistics, resulting in improved workflow
through the facility and allowing a further increase in plant
density
- Specialty glass ensuring optimal light penetration, shadow
reduction and diffusion to support plant growth, and, ultimately
reducing electrical consumption
- Specialized, custom nutrient delivery systems, optimized for
each respective strain growing in the facility at any time.
Furthermore, the irrigation system reduces waste and supports plant
health
- Best-in-class HVAC system ensuring optimized climate
conditions
- Precipitation collection for reuse within the facility and
irrigation processes
- Low-carbon footprint design
Key Project Metrics and Timelines
- Due to the high degree of automation, high plant density, rapid
turnover of crops and optimized grow conditions, the new facility
will be ultra-efficient. Management anticipates production costs to
fall to well below $1 per gram at
full capacity.
- Based on the experience gained during the construction of
Aurora Sky, the Company anticipates an accelerated construction
timeline, shortening time to market.
- Site preparation and construction will commence in the coming
weeks.
- Management anticipates first planting in the first half of
calendar 2019, and completion of the full facility in the second
half of calendar 2019.
Medicine Hat
Following a thorough review of potential locations across a
broad set of parameters, management selected Medicine Hat, Alberta, as the home for
Aurora Sun. The chosen location
provides a number of key advantages:
- Medicine Hat is located in the
sunniest area (sunbelt) of Canada,
which by comparison offers approximately 12.5% more annual sunlight
hours than Ontario's Niagara
region, resulting in significant power savings.
- Medicine Hat offers low-cost
electricity prices and affordable taxes.
- Medicine Hat has a "business
friendly" attitude, ensuring a smooth, efficient and rapid
permitting process.
- Medicine Hat owns its own
power, gas, water and sewage utilities.
Commentary
"Aurora Sun exemplifies our
cultivation and production philosophy focused on purpose-built,
high technology, highly automated facilities with industry-leading
efficiency, resulting in ultra-low production costs to ensure
robust margins in all our markets," said Terry Booth, CEO. "We have significantly
differentiated Aurora from our peers by investing in and rapidly
building the world's most advanced model of cannabis production on
a mass scale. We believe the Aurora Standard of cannabis production
represents the most effectively replicable and scalable system to
establish a successful global footprint."
Mr. Booth added, "We are grateful to the City of Medicine Hat, which has proven to be a
very agile, capable and pro-active partner in making this project
possible. We look forward to establishing ourselves both as an
important local investor and employer, with more than 450 full time
jobs anticipated, and a significant impact on the local economy for
years to come."
Ted Clugston, Mayor of
Medicine Hat, added, "With Aurora,
we look forward to welcoming a growing international company
committed to creating significant employment in our city.
Medicine Hat's stable and reliable
cost-competitive electricity and business-friendly environment are
attracting high-technology operations, such as Aurora Sun. The Memorandum of Understanding
signals our intention to work with Aurora to arrive at a mutually
beneficial agreement that will best serve the residents of
Medicine Hat."
The Honourable Deron Bilous, Minister of Economic Development and
Trade for Alberta, added,
"Large-scale capital investments – like Aurora's – are essential
for driving diversification and giving more Albertans an
opportunity to earn a good living for themselves and their
families. Aurora is making our province proud attracting
international attention and investment as we work together to build
an economic recovery that lasts."
ALPS
Aurora Sun is designed by
Aurora's in-house facility design, engineering and construction
oversight division Aurora Larssen Projects (ALPS), the world's
leading authority in advanced greenhouse design for the cannabis
industry. ALPS currently is engaged in 15 cannabis greenhouse
projects globally, including: Aurora sky, an 800,000 square foot
facility under construction in Edmonton,
Alberta, Aurora Nordic, a 1,000,000 square foot facility to
be constructed as a joint venture in Odense, Denmark, and an 850,000 square foot
Valleyfield, Quebec facility for
The Green Organic Dutchman (TGOD), in which Aurora holds a 17.62%
ownership interest.
Suppliers
Aurora anticipates working with the group of suppliers and
contractors that have been involved with the construction of Aurora
Sky. The close working relationship established during this
project, the quality of the products, technology and workmanship,
and the shared experience are anticipated to result in accelerated
project delivery.
About Aurora
Aurora's wholly-owned subsidiary, Aurora Cannabis Enterprises
Inc., is a licensed producer of medical cannabis pursuant to Health
Canada's Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations
("ACMPR"). The Company operates a 55,200 square foot,
state-of-the-art production facility in Mountain View County,
Alberta, known as "Aurora
Mountain", and a second 40,000 square foot high-technology
production facility known as "Aurora Vie" in Pointe-Claire, Quebec on Montreal's West Island. In January 2018, Aurora's 800,000 square foot
flagship cultivation facility, Aurora Sky, located at the
Edmonton International Airport,
was licensed. Once at full capacity, Aurora Sky is expected to
produce over 100,000 kg per annum of cannabis. Aurora is
completing a fourth facility in Lachute,
Quebec utilizing its wholly owned subsidiary Aurora Larssen
Projects Inc.
Aurora is close to completion of the acquisition of all the
outstanding shares of CanniMed Therapeutics Inc, Canada's most experienced licensed producer of
medical cannabis, adding over 20,000 kg per annum in funded
capacity, as well as Canada's
strongest medical cannabis brand.
Aurora also owns Berlin-based
Pedanios, the leading wholesale importer, exporter, and distributor
of medical cannabis in the European Union. The Company owns 51% of
Aurora Nordic, which will be constructing a 1,000,000 square foot
hybrid greenhouse in Odense,
Denmark. The Company offers further differentiation through
its acquisition of BC Northern Lights Ltd. and Urban Cultivator
Inc., industry leaders, respectively, in the production and sale of
proprietary systems for the safe, efficient and high-yield indoor
cultivation of cannabis, and in state-of-the-art indoor gardening
appliances for the cultivation of organic microgreens, vegetables
and herbs in home and professional kitchens.
Aurora holds a 19.88% ownership interest in Liquor Stores N.A.,
who intend to develop a cannabis retail network in Western Canada. In addition, the Company holds
approximately 17.23% of the issued shares in leading extraction
technology company Radient Technologies Inc., and has a strategic
investment in Hempco Food and Fiber Inc., with options to increase
ownership stake to over 50%. Aurora is also the cornerstone
investor in two other licensed producers, with a 22.9% stake in
Cann Group Limited, the first Australian company licensed to
conduct research on and cultivate medical cannabis, and a 17.62%
stake in Canadian producer The Green Organic Dutchman Ltd., with
options to increase to majority ownership.
Aurora's Common Shares trade on the TSX under the symbol
"ACB".
Forward looking statements
This news release includes statements containing certain
"forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable
securities law ("forward-looking statements"). Forward-looking
statements are frequently characterized by words such as "plan",
"continue", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate",
"estimate", "may", "will", "potential", "proposed" and other
similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions
"may" or "will" occur. Forward looking statements made in this
release include: (i) statements regarding the expected commencement
of construction of Aurora sun; (ii) statements regarding the
potential power supply agreement; (iii) statements regarding the
facility characteristics including its size, growing and capacity;
(iv) statements regarding the rapid growth of international
markets, Aurora's intention to supply those markets, and Aurora's
intention to use products grown at Aurora Sky to supply those
markets and the Canadian marketplace;and (v) information regarding
key metrics including predicted production costs. These statements
are only predictions. Various assumptions were used in drawing the
conclusions or making the projections contained in the
forward-looking statements throughout this news release. Certain of
the assumptions relied upon include: (i) the assumption that Aurora
will be able to complete land acquisition in Medicine Hat, obtain necessary zoning changes,
building permits, and commence construction; (ii) that Aurora will
conclude a power supply agreement with the City of Medicine Hat; (iii) that the facility
as permitted and constructed will meet the design characteristics
described in this news release, (iv) that international markets for
cannabis will continue to grow, and Aurora will be able to obtain
necessary licenses and permits not only for the Aurora Sky
facility, but to be able to sell its products in such international
markets; and (v) that the facility will perform in line with
Aurora's past practices and expected design parameters.
Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates
of management at the date the statements are made, and are subject
to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that
could cause actual events or results to differ materially from
those projected in the forward-looking statements. Factors that
could cause actual results to vary from those made in this news
release include risks that: (i) the Company is unable to obtain all
necessary regulatory approvals and licenses for construction and
operation of the facility; (ii) the Company's zoning application is
denied or requires amendment; (iii) the facility isnot completed to
design capacity; (iv) the market for cannabis does not develop as
expected. The Company is under no obligation, and expressly
disclaims any intention or obligation, to update or revise any
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable
law.
Neither TSX nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that
term is defined in the policies of Toronto Stock Exchange) accepts
responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this
release.
AURORA CANNABIS INC.
Terry
Booth
CEO
SOURCE Aurora Cannabis Inc.