REG - Agronomics Limited - AUD 2.5 million investment in HydGene Renewables

AgronomicsAnnouncement

15/06/2023 07:00

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RNS Number : 7630C  Agronomics Limited  15 June 2023

15 June 2023

Agronomics Limited

("Agronomics" or the "Company")

AUD 2.5 million investment in developer of synthetic biology technology for
hydrogen production

Agronomics (ANIC:LSE), the leading listed company focused on the field of
cellular agriculture, is pleased to announce that the Company has invested AUD
2.5 million ("the Subscription") in HydGene Renewables Pty Ltd ("HydGene"), a
developer of synthetic biology to engineer microorganisms for use in hydrogen
production.  The Subscription is part of HydGene's AUD 6 million Seed
financing round. The Subscription is in line with Agronomics' wider focus in
investing in opportunities seeking to minimise the irreversible damage to the
natural environment, was paid using cash from the Company's own resources and
will result in Agronomics holding 188,239 Series Seed Preferred Shares and
owning, on a fully diluted basis, 12.50% of HydGene. Joining the round are the
Clean Energy Finance Corporation ("CEFC" - whose investment is managed by
Virescent Ventures), Understorey Ventures and NOAB Ventures.

HydGene engineers microorganisms, using synthetic biology, to act as a
proprietary biocatalyst for the production of green hydrogen. This
biocatalyst, produced via fermentation, enables the conversion of waste
biomass into gases such as hydrogen and ammonia. The global hydrogen market is
estimated to be worth US$ 160 billion in 2022(( 1  (#_ftn1) )), with hydrogen
being derived primarily from fossil fuels and used for the production of
chemicals such as ammonia and methanol. The Hydrogen Council forecast this
could become a US$ 2.5 trillion global market by 2050 as hydrogen's usage
expands to fuel for transport applications, off-grid power generation, and
seasonal energy storage, with hydrogen constituting up to 18% of the global
energy supply.(( 2  (#_ftn2) ))

Crucial to hydrogen becoming a mainstream supply of energy is the development
of cost-effective green hydrogen solutions, with HydGene's biocatalyst
technology providing a unique decentralised solution, allowing for hydrogen to
be produced at the site of use and circumventing expensive transportation and
storage costs.

Jim Mellon, Executive Director of Agronomics said:-

"Efficiently and effectively harnessing hydrogen as a renewable source of
energy is vital if we are to meet our net zero ambitions and reduce our
reliance on fossil fuels. By upcycling waste biomasses into renewable gases,
such as hydrogen and ammonia, HydGene's biocatalyst technology provides an
entirely renewable carbon-negative solution which will support this global
transition.

"HydGene's unique decentralised solution aims to accelerate the cost-effective
adoption of low carbon technology across the fuel sector, and we are excited
to see the substantial impact this could have on the global transition to
hydrogen fuel."

Louise Brown, Co-founder and CEO of HydGene said:-

"Collaborating with Agronomics as our lead investor for our Seed raise
instills us with tremendous confidence and opportunities. Together, we want to
provide affordable and sustainable alternatives in the production of green
molecules, firstly hydrogen, derived from waste biomass. Our biocatalyst
technology, which lies at the heart of our vision, is the driving force behind
our mission to shape a decentralised manufacturing future."

Virescent Ventures Partner Blair Pritchard said :-

 

"We are proud to manage the CEFC investment of AUD 2 million in HydGene. This
exciting technology has the potential to grow the global green hydrogen
industry as a critical factor in our net zero emissions economy of the future.
The potential demand for green hydrogen is huge, and not every place has
abundant renewable energy resources or the land needed for electrolysis. We
need to make green hydrogen in more geographies, with a wider range of inputs
than just sun and wind. Organic waste streams, which Hydgene uses, are a
perfect example."

 

Galloway Limited, a company indirectly wholly owned by Jim Mellon, an
Executive Director of Agronomics, also participated in the fundraise, with an
AUD $200,000 investment on identical terms.

 

About HydGene (https://hydgene.com/)

HydGene seek to accelerate the adoption of low carbon technology by providing
an alternative green hydrogen solution. The hydrogen is made from biomass
waste in a carbon-negative process using the Company's engineered
microorganisms as a biodegradable biocatalyst.

 

By replacing fossil fuel derived hydrogen, HydGene directly reduces the
emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. And even more, by upcycling
biomass waste into hydrogen, it seeks to divert waste from either being burned
or ending up in landfill where its degradation process releases methane - a
more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.

 

With its decentralized approach to making hydrogen only when and where it is
needed, the technology also reduces infrastructure requirements and costs and
supports the sustainable trend of the future to decentralize energy production
and chemical manufacturing.

 

About Agronomics

Agronomics is a leading listed alternative proteins company with a focus on
cellular agriculture and cultivated meat. The Company has established a
portfolio of over 20 companies in this rapidly advancing sector. It seeks to
secure minority stakes in companies owning technologies with defensible
intellectual property that offer new ways of producing food and materials with
a focus on products historically derived from animals. These technologies are
driving a major disruption in agriculture, offering solutions to improve
sustainability, as well as addressing human health, animal welfare and
environmental damage. This disruption will decouple supply chains from the
environment and animals and be fundamental to feeding the world's expanding
population. A full list of Agronomics' portfolio companies is available at
https://agronomics.im/.

 

About Cellular Agriculture

Cellular Agriculture is the production of agriculture products directly from
cells, as opposed to raising an animal for slaughter or growing crops. This
encompasses cell culture to produce cultivated meat and materials, and
fermentation processes that harness a combination of molecular biology,
synthetic biology, tissue engineering and biotechnology to massively simplify
production methods in a sustainable manner.

 

Over the coming decades, the source of the world's food supply traditionally
derived from conventional agriculture is going to change dramatically. We have
already witnessed the first wave of this shift with the consumer adoption of
plant-based alternative proteins but today, we are on the cusp of an even
bigger wave of change. This is being facilitated by advances in cellular
agriculture. This change is necessary, given scientists' claims that if we
maintain existing animal protein consumption patterns, then we will not meet
the Paris Agreement's goal of limiting warming to 1.5℃.

 

AT Kearney, a global consultancy firm, projects that cultivated meat's market
share will reach 35% by 2040. This combined with the Good Food Institute's
estimate that a US $1.8 trillion investment will be required in order to
produce just 10% of the world's protein using this technology, means that we
are on the cusp of a multi-decade flow of capital to build out manufacturing
facilities. Funding in the field of cellular agriculture is accelerating,
however, still, less than US$ 5 billion has been invested worldwide since the
industry's inception in 2016.

For further information please contact:

 

 Agronomics                                       Beaumont              Canaccord Genuity Limited        Cenkos                Peterhouse Capital    SEC Newgate

 Limited                                          Cornish Limited                                        Securities Plc        Limited
 The Company                                      Nomad                 Joint Broker                     Joint Broker          Joint Broker          Financial

                                                                                                                                                     Communications
 Richard Reed                                     Roland Cornish        Andrew Potts                     Giles Balleny         Lucy Williams         Bob Huxford

 Denham Eke                                       James Biddle          Harry Rees                       Michael Johnson       Charles Goodfellow    George Esmond

                                                                        Alex Aylen (Head of Equities)
 +44 (0) 1624 639396                              +44 (0) 207 628 3396  +44 (0) 207 523 8000             +44 (0) 207 397 8900  +44 (0) 207 469 0936  Agronomics@secnewgate.co.uk

 info@agronomics.im (mailto:info@agronomics.im)

 

 

 

(( 1  (#_ftnref1) )) Hydrogen Generation Market Size, Share and Industry
Analysis
(https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/hydrogen-generation-market-494.html#:~:text=The%20global%20hydrogen%20generation%20market,10.5%25%20from%202022%20to%202027.)

(( 2  (#_ftnref2) )) Hydrogen, Scaling Up | Hydrogen Council
(https://hydrogencouncil.com/en/study-hydrogen-scaling-up/)

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