Update on EU Grant and Strategy for SuperFuel

RNS Number : 5041V

Active Energy Group PLC

09 April 2019

 

Active Energy Group Plc / EPIC: AEG / Sector: Alternative Energy

9 April 2019

Active Energy Group Plc

('AEG' or 'the Company')

Update on EU Grant and Strategy for SuperFuel

Active Energy Group Plc, the London quoted renewable energy and forestry management business focussed on biomass, provides an update on the activities of AEG CEE Sp. z.O.O. the joint venture company (the 'Joint Venture') that was formed in March 2018 between the Group and Cobant Sp. z.o.o. ('Cobant'), a Polish research, development and environmental waste coal recovery company active in the land reclamation, environmental services and energy sectors.

The Joint Venture's primary objective is the production and commercialisation of a "SuperFuel" product that blends CoalSwitch™ with reclaimed coal from coal slurry dumps in Upper Silesia, Poland.  As per the Company's announcement of 13 June 2018, the Joint Venture received confirmation from the Polish Government Burn Test Laboratory that testing had been completed on the "SuperFuel™" product. The test results demonstrated that the "SuperFuel" has a similar calorific value to coal with significantly lower sulphur content and low ash and SOx and NOx emissions.  Receipt of approval from the formal independent certification tests enabled the commencement of commercial production of the "SuperFuel" for use in coal fired power stations across Poland, and also in municipal heating and private household heating systems. In addition, this approval certified the "SuperFuel" product to carry the Polish Government's Ecological Safety Symbol, a requirement to allow solid fuels to be sold without restriction in Poland.

In August 2018, the Joint Venture applied to the EU to request grant funding to support further development of the SuperFuel technology.  The Joint Venture has been notified by the National Centre for Research and Development that, whilst the Company's application scored highly, it has been unsuccessful in receiving EU funds at this time.

AEG and Cobant are together now re-assessing the application and are considering resubmitting the application to the EU.  A further announcement will be made regarding the status of the application as soon as practicable.

AEG's Directors believe the certification that SuperFuel received last summer from the Polish Government, that enabled its commercialisation, is unimpacted by the EU's decision regarding the grant. The "SuperFuel" product has generated interest from potential commercial partners and although no assurances can be given at this stage that formal agreements will be reached, AEG and Cobant remain engaged in discussions with several potential offtake partners. Further announcements will be made as appropriate.

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) 596/2014.

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Enquiries& Further Information:

Website	LinkedIn
www.aegplc.com	www.linkedin.com/company/activeenergy

Enquiries
Active Energy Group Plc	Michael Rowan Chief Executive Officer (Active Energy) Antonio Esposito Chief Operations Officer (Active Energy)
SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker	David Hignell / Lindsay Mair / Jamie Spotswood	Office: [phone]
Optiva Securities Ltd Joint Broker	Jeremy King	Office: [phone]
St Brides Partners Financial PR Adviser	Melissa Hancock / Gaby Jenner	[e-mail] Office: [phone]

About Active Energy Group:

Active Energy Group plc is a London listed (AIM: AEG) renewable energy company that has developed a proprietary technology which transforms low-cost biomass material into high-value green fuels. Its patented product CoalSwitch™ is the world's only drop-in biomass fuel that can be mixed at any ratio with coal or completely replace coal in existing coal-fired power stations without requiring plant modification.

Active Energy Group's immediate strategic focus is the production and commercialisation of CoalSwitch™ and SuperFuel™, a low emission CoalSwitch™ blend that utilises waste coal fines. 

About Cobant:

Cobant has been operating since 2014 carrying out research and development using modern research methods and techniques. In these activities Cobant has developed and tested prototype installation allowing in-field verification of developed innovative technology allowing recovery of high-quality coal from coal waste slurries deposited around Poland.  Cobant has focused on the Upper Silesian region, where the EU mandates the clean-up of brownfield coal waste sites.

Cobant provides comprehensive support for strategic stages of development, establishing cooperation within the academic community and scientific institutions and has two laboratories which will be utilised by JVA company, in Silesia.  One of which is located at the Silesia Polytechnical University in Slask, Poland.

The scope of Cobant's activities also includes the development of effective strategy, creation of innovations, implementation of revolutionary solutions and commercialisation of knowledge gained with a focus on the coal mining and coal-fired power industries of Poland and the CEE.  Its team consists of a dozen of Poland's leading experts from academia and industry with decades of experience in this sector in addition to relationships and experience of working with the Polish coal industry and coal-fired power operators for many years.

 

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