REG - EQTEC PLC - Acquisition of property housing Italy MDC plant

EQTECAnnouncement

26/07/2024 07:00

For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
http://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20240726:nRSZ9273Xa&default-theme=true

RNS Number : 9273X  EQTEC PLC  26 July 2024

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                                        +44 20 3883 7009 

 David Palumbo / Jeffrey Vander Linden 

  
 Strand Hanson - Nomad & Financial Adviser        +44 20 7409 3494 

 James Harris / Richard Johnson 

  
 Fortified Securities - Broker                    +44 20 3411 7773 

 Guy Wheatley 

  
 Global Investment Strategy UK Ltd - Broker       +44 20 7048 9045 

 Samantha Esqulant 

  

  

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
(http://www.eqtec.com/) .

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact
rns@lseg.com (mailto:rns@lseg.com)
 or visit
www.rns.com (http://www.rns.com/)
.

RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our
Privacy Policy (https://www.lseg.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy)
.   END  ACQGZGZNMKKGDZZ