Update on project pipeline

RNS Number : 8639G

EQTEC PLC

06 March 2018

 

6 March 2018

EQTEC plc

("EQTEC" or the "Company")

Update on project pipeline

EQTEC plc (AIM: EQT), the technology solution company for waste gasification to energy projects, is pleased to provide an update on the progress the Company has made with its near-term project pipeline since the completion of acquisition and readmission on 28 December 2017.

As stated in the Admission document dated 27 November 2017, a series of projects have been secured by way of an EPC contract and/or an MOU including, Reliable Energy Melton Hull and Reliable Energy Seal Sands projects as well as Zebec Energy project located in the municipality of Usk, Wales.

The Company is pleased to report significant progress by signing a new Memorandum of Understanding ("MOU") and taking key steps towards commencing these projects.  

Usk Project (previously known as Zebec Energy project)

The Usk Project located in the municipality of Usk is for a facility which will have a capacity to process ca. 42,000 tonnes of wood waste per year and a power output of 6.4 MWe.

The Company was recently informed by Brooke Energy, Ltd ("Brooke") that the Usk Project in south-east Wales is now to be built and operated by a consortium led by Brooke, a company that builds, operates and manages biomass fuelled power plants that cover the South West of England and Wales.

EQTEC had to renew its agreements with the new operator of the project and has now signed an MOU with the consortium containing Brooke, Exergon Sp. z o.o. ("EXERGON") and RAFAKO SA ("RAFAKO").  

Under the terms of the MOU, EQTEC will sell its patented EQTEC Gasifier Technology ("EGT") to RAFAKO who is the Engineering, Procurement and Construction ("EPC") Contractor for the whole power plant and will exclusively use its proprietary EGT for the gasification and gas cleaning process. The Usk site has already in place gas engines, a biomass drier, absorption chiller and grid connection among other equipment and the new owner has chosen EGT to complete the project.

Brooke will seek to secure equity finance for the project and RAFAKO will seek the debt financing. Financial close and the commencement of the project is, as previously expected, in the first half of 2018.

EQTEC revenues from the Usk Project are still expected to be c. €11 million to be invoiced over a period of two years.

Reliable Energy Solutions

Reliable Energy Solutions ("Reliable") is focused on developing Melton Hull and Seal Sands, two 16 MWe Energy from Waste ("EfW") projects in the North East of England.

A primary EPC contract was signed in July 2017 between Reliable and Energy China for both projects which specifies the use of the Company's EGT. The total project investment for the two plants is forecast to be approximately €210 million and each plant is expected to process 130,000t of waste each year.

In 2018, EQTEC and Energy China have been working on the engineering of a revised scheme for the application of EGT coupled to a steam turbine instead of the previous scheme of coupling to a gas engine. The shift to a steam turbine is because initial indications show an increase on the projected returns of the project. A future benefit of this revised scheme is that the additional engineering work will enable the Company to compete in a wider range of projects with power outputs up to 50 MWe.

As a result of the revision of the scheme, financial close and the commencement of both projects is now expected to occur within the next three to six months, when the engineering works to develop the revised scheme for the application of EGT coupled to a steam turbine will be finished. The estimated turnover of EQTEC on each project is €19 million of the EPC contract to be spread over a period of two years.

Discussions are ongoing with China Construction Bank for debt finance for the projects and with a major third-party investor for the provision of equity for each project.

Luis Sanchez, CEO of EQTEC plc, commented: "We are pleased that our three near-term projects in the UK are all progressing well. The objective of our strategy of forming strategic alliances with major players in the energy infrastructure sector such as COBRA, Energy China and RAFAKO is to accelerate growth and increase scale in order to take advantage of the lack of domestic incineration and gasification capacity that is forcing the UK to pay European incinerators to take its waste. The strategic alliances also enable us to be in a prime position to win Energy from Waste projects in the UK, Spain, France and Croatia."

Enquiries

EQTEC plc	[phone]
Luis Sanchez - Chief Executive Officer Gerry Madden - Finance Director
Northland Capital Partners Limited - Nomad and Joint Broker	[phone]
Tom Price / Dugald J. Carlean
SVS Securities Plc - Joint Broker	[phone]
Tom Curran / Ben Tadd
VSA Capital Limited - Financial Adviser and Joint Broker	[phone]
Andrew Monk / Andrew Raca
Luther Pendragon - Financial PR	[phone]
Harry Chathli / Alexis Gore / Ana Ribeiro

Notes to Editors

About EQTEC plc

EQTEC's business model involves sourcing and providing assistance in developing waste elimination projects to which it will ultimately sell its EQTEC Gasifier Technology ("EGT") and O&M services. EGT enables project developers to construct waste elimination plants and recover electrical and thermal energy from the waste streams.

EQTEC sources projects that have a local supply of waste in need of elimination and conversion. It builds relationships and brings together the developers, the waste owners, the building contractors and funders. It then supplies the energy recovery technology and provides engineering services to the projects. Furthermore, EQTEC will provide O&M services to the operating projects generating recurring revenues over the life of the projects.

The Company is quoted on AIM and trades as EQT. Further information on the Company can be found at www.eqtecplc.com.

About RAFAKO and EXERGON

RAFAKO is part of the PBG Group and is involved in the power generation industry with particular experience in biomass and waste power plants.

EXERGON is a spinout from the Silesian University of Technology in Poland. It operates in the power and related industries, providing computing and consulting services, preparing feasibility studies and business plans.

 

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