26 July 2024
EQTEC plc
("EQTEC",
the "Company" or the "Group")
Acquisition of property
housing the EQTEC Italia MDC plant
EQTEC plc (AIM:EQT), a global
technology innovator powering distributed, decarbonised, new energy
infrastructure through its waste-to-value solutions for hydrogen,
biofuels, and energy generation is pleased to confirm the
acquisition of two lots of property in Castiglione d'Orcia (SI),
Italy that house the EQTEC Italia MDC plant and feedstock storage
facilities (the "Property"). The Property includes
land, buildings and associated rights of way. Formal completion of
the Property acquisition (the "Transaction") occurred on 25 July 2024
and accordingly, EQTEC Italia MDC Srl's ("Italia MDC") ownership of the Property
is now registered with the Siena provincial authorities.
The first lot of the Property houses
the core gasification technology supplied by EQTEC to the plant,
including the gasification reactor, the cyclone, the thermal
cracking reactor, the filter and other components that comprise
EQTEC's patented and proprietary end-to-end syngas production
process. It also houses the control room for EQTEC's proprietary
control systems and an engine room that houses a Jenbacher engine,
which uses the syngas supplied by the EQTEC process as fuel to
generate heat and electrical power, the former of which is recycled
to support plant operations and the latter of which is exported to
the national grid, earning revenues at a preferential
tariff.
The second lot of the Property
acquired is a large, segmented storage facility that stores
feedstock to be input into the EQTEC process for thermochemical
conversion, and equipment regularly used by the operations &
maintenance team on site.
The consideration for the
Transaction was €0.57 million in cash, funded by Italia MDC from
the €2.9 million facility provided by Banda del Fucino S.p.A.
announced by the Company on 16 January 2024.
Prior to its legal acquisition of
the Property, Italia MDC had been leasing it from Toscana Cereali
Societa' Cooperativa Agricola. Following the Transaction, leasing
payments no longer apply, saving operational expenditure of c. €0.1
million per annum.
David Palumbo, CEO of EQTEC,
commented:
"Italia MDC has completed the
Transaction on schedule and thus takes ownership of critical
infrastructure and land to support the plant. In addition to
removing rent as a run cost to the facility, in the Board's view
this Transaction also substantially enhances the value of the
combined facility and gives Italia MDC the flexibility to develop
it further for efficiencies and new revenue
opportunities."
ENQUIRIES
|
EQTEC plc
David Palumbo / Jeffrey Vander
Linden
|
+44 20 3883 7009
|
|
Strand Hanson - Nomad &
Financial Adviser
James Harris / Richard
Johnson
|
+44 20 7409 3494
|
|
Fortified Securities -
Broker
Guy Wheatley
|
+44 20 3411 7773
|
|
Global Investment Strategy UK Ltd -
Broker
Samantha Esqulant
|
+44 20 7048 9045
|
About EQTEC Italia MDC srl
EQTEC Italia MDC Srl ("Italia MDC") is a company registered in
Italy for the purpose of cleanly transforming agricultural and
forestry waste into energy in a relatively remote and heaviliy
agrarian community. The Company currently owns 49.0% of Italia MDC,
with an option to acquire further equity in future.
Italia MDC owns and operates a 1 MWe
plant in Gallina (the "Plant"), a village near Castiglione
d'Orcia in Tuscany's Val d'Orcia, an area considered to be the
region's most scenic. With EQTEC technology at its core, the Plant
is capable of converting multiple types of biomass feedstock into
electrical power, thermal energy and biochar. For EQTEC
specifically, the Plant is a reference facility that demonstrates
the capabilities of EQTEC's patented and proprietary technology at
commercial scale.
Initially, the Plant is converting
higher-density wood waste into electrical power for export to the
national grid, for which a connection has been secured with a
preferential tariff. Thermal energy produced through the continuous
EQTEC thermochemical conversion process is being recycled to dry
the feedstock, improving the Plant's waste-to-energy conversion
efficiency. In addition to the electricity, the Plant is producing
biochar for which customers are being developed in Italy and
beyond.
The Plant is also capable of
supporting lower-density feedstocks such as straw or other
agricultural waste. This ability to switch amongst feedstock types
and suppliers adds resilience to Italia MDC's business model. In
future, Italia MDC is considering permits for different feedstocks
that could be supported by the technology and that might deliver
even better economics.
The Plant, which went into live
operation in March 2023 is working toward sustained, continuous
operation, having stabilised its operations and maintenance team in
2023. In 2024, the Plant has had successive operational runs, with
regular down time for maintenance and improvements. As a
reference plant for EQTEC, the Plant is already showing itself to
be an excellent testing ground for innovations and operational
enhancements that will contribute to improvement of EQTEC's
technology across all plants applying it. The focus of Italia MDC
remains sustained and continuous operation of the plant for stable
revenues and profitability.
About EQTEC
As one of the world's most
experienced thermochemical conversion technology and engineering
companies, EQTEC delivers waste management and new energy solutions
through best-in-class innovation and infrastructure engineering and
value-added services to owner-operators. EQTEC is one of only a few
technology providers directly addressing the challenge of replacing
fossil fuels for reliable, baseload energy. 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, specifies and
delivers clean, syngas production solutions in the USA, EU and UK,
with highly efficient equipment that is modular and scalable from
1MW to 30MW. EQTEC's versatile solutions process 60 varieties of
feedstock, including forestry waste, agricultural waste, industrial
waste 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 renewable 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 the London
Stock Exchange's Alternative Investment Market (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.