1 March 2023
EQTEC plc
("EQTEC", the "Company" or the "Group")
Update on share purchase agreement for Deeside project
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 confirms that, further to the Company's announcements on 30 June 2022 and 01 September 2022, Deeside WTV Limited ("Deeside WTV"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of EQTEC, and Logik WTE Limited ("Logik WTE"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Logik Developments Limited ("Logik") (the "Parties") have been unable to meet by the agreed deadline all completion requirements specified under the share purchase agreement signed by the Parties on 07 December 2020, and as amended by supplemental agreements announced on 06 December 2021, 01 April 2022 and 30 June 2022 (the "SPA").
Under the SPA, the Parties set out to meet a number of objectives for development of the Deeside project (the "Project") including the sale of Logik WTE to one or more investors. Despite progress, a number of these objectives remain outstanding, most notably the sale of Logik WTE. As announced by the Company on 01 December 2022, after several months the Parties were unable to reach mutually acceptable commercial terms with an initial investor, and the Company is responding to interest from other prospective investors in the Project.
While the SPA has not completed on the agreed date it remains in force and the Parties continue to discuss constructive options for moving forward with development of the Project, in line with the Company's stated business strategy of focusing on high-margin technology and innovation services, engaging partners and customers to develop and fund the capital projects that will deploy EQTEC's technologies.
David Palumbo, CEO of EQTEC, commented:
"The Company remains highly committed to the Deeside project, to supporting Toyota Motor Company and local communities in Flintshire with clean, decarbonised solutions for waste management and energy generation. We are working with Anaergia, Inc. as an important technology partner to bring the best possible technologies to the site. Funding the Project remains a primary focus and we believe that working with Logik and our other partners will help us achieve our objective. We look forward to updating the market as the Project develops."
This announcement contains inside information as defined in Article 7 of the EU Market Abuse Regulation No 596/2014, as it forms part of United Kingdom domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, as amended, and has been announced in accordance with the Company's obligations under Article 17 of that Regulation.
ENQUIRIES
EQTEC plc David Palumbo / Nauman Babar
|
+44 20 3883 7009 |
Strand Hanson - Nomad & Financial Adviser James Harris / Richard Johnson
|
+44 20 7409 3494 |
Panmure Gordon - Broker John Prior / Hugh Rich
|
+44 20 7886 2500 |
Instinctif - Media & investor relations enquiries Guy Scarborough / Tim Field |
+44 791 717 8920 / +44 788 788 4794 |
About the Deeside project
The Deeside project (the "Project") comprises 6.27 hectares of land off Weighbridge Road on Deeside Industrial Estate and adjacent to the Toyota Deeside Engine Plant, in Flintshire, north Wales, UK, on a site that was formerly a Gaz de France power station.
The prospective, multi-technology plant would include a material recovery facility ("MRF") and anaerobic digestion ("AD") facility that would deploy technologies from Anaergia, Inc. ("Anaergia"), with an advanced thermal conversion ("ATC") facility that would deploy EQTEC's syngas technology.
The MRF would process 182,000 tonnes per year of municipal solid waste ("MSW"), separating recyclables and sending them off site for processing, separating biogenic materials for processing at the AD facility and producing refused-derived fuel ("RDF") from the remaining materials, including plastics, for processing by the EQTEC ATC facility. The 2.0 MW AD facility would produce 5.5 million NM3 per year of biomethane, with 17,000 MWh of the gas (c. 29%) exported to Toyota and the remainder exported to the national grid. The 9.9 MW ATC facility would receive 77,000 tonnes per year of RDF from the MRF and produce 77 - 87,000 MWh of electricity per year, of which 27,000 MWh (c. 35%) would be exported to Toyota, with the remainder exported to the national grid. There is additional potential to apply the ATC facility to production of hydrogen, for which initial feasibility work has been undertaken.
At present, the Company is lead developer for the Project, in partnership with Logik, which owns the land on which the Project is being developed. As announced on 28 October 2021, Flintshire County Council's Planning Committee resolved to grant planning permission for the proposed plant. The planning authority's decision follows its prior approval of the site for the original plan of a recycling and AD facility.
The Project is one of three waste-to-energy/fuel projects the Group is developing in the UK, including others at Billingham, Teesside and Southport, Merseyside.
About EQTEC plc
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 AIM Market (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 .