REG - EQTEC PLC - Bank loan term sheet and Livadia project update

EQTECAnnouncement

21/06/2022 07:00

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RNS Number : 5386P  EQTEC PLC  21 June 2022

 

21 June 2022

EQTEC plc

("EQTEC", the "Company" or the "Group")

 

Bank loan term sheet and eligibility for National Recovery and Resilience
Plan

for Livadia, Greece project

 

EQTEC plc (AIM: EQT), a world-leading technology innovation company enabling
the Net Zero Future through advanced solutions for hydrogen, biofuels, SNG and
other energy production, is pleased to announce receipt and acceptance of
non-binding Heads of Terms ("HoTs") with Optima Bank S.A. ("Optima") for a
debt facility (the "Facility") to support construction of a 1MWe
waste-to-energy project at Livadia, in Boeotia, Greece (the "Project").

 

Heads of terms

 

The Facility proposed in the HoTs would provide senior debt up to 75% LTV of
the total capital required for the Project.

 

The HoTs were agreed between Optima and EQTEC Synergy Projects Limited
("Synergy Projects"), the Company's joint venture ("JV") with ewerGy GmbH
("ewerGy") and ECO Hellas M IKE ("ECO Hellas"), subject to Optima final credit
approval. The balance of capital on the Project is currently held as equity by
Synergy Projects, but the JV partners are in discussions with institutional
funds focused on energy transition infrastructure, for the sale of project
equity on Livadia and other projects in the broader portfolio they are jointly
pursuing under the JV.

 

The Project, originally announced by the Company in September 2021, will
result in construction of a waste-to-energy gasification plant in Livadia,
Boeotia, Greece (the "Plant") that, once operational, is expected to produce a
minimum of 1MW green electricity from c. 7,500 tonnes of mixed agricultural
waste from local farms.

 

Toward full contract of the loan, Optima has selected TÜV HELLAS, a
subsidiary of TÜV NORD ("TÜV"), to certify the Project and act as
independent engineer.  In its role, TÜV will assess the viability of the
Project based on the site and plan, the development strategy, the technology
and delivery risks. The work required for the execution of the loan is
expected to be completed at the end of Q3 2022.

 

Additional funding support

 

Synergy Projects has appointed Grant Thornton Greece ("Grant Thornton") to
help the Company and its partners with the implementation of the proposed
investment plan of the Project to be financed through the Recovery and
Resilience Facility ("RRF") for Greece.  Grant Thornton will carry out the
analysis of the investment strategy and the consistency with the objectives
set by the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism, the analysis of key eligibility
parameters of the RRF, support development of business plans, prepare
requisite documentation, submit the investment file and monitor the
application process.

 

The RRF is part of a National Recovery and Resilience Plan, launched in Greece
and other parts of Europe to mitigate the economic and social impacts of the
coronavirus pandemic and make the economy and society more sustainable,
resilient and better prepared for the challenges and opportunities of the
green and digital transitions.  Greece is aiming the RRF in part at
increasing the share of renewables in the energy mix while reducing
its traditional reliance on solid fossil fuels.

 

Synergy Projects anticipates that all projects currently in its pipeline for
Greece will qualify for funding under the RRF, making available low-cost
subsidised debt for the projects. Optima has indicated interest in financing
further projects developed by the JV under the RRF.

 

David Palumbo, CEO of EQTEC, commented:

"We are pleased and impressed with the persistent dedication of the Greek
private and public sectors in supporting technology innovation for Net Zero
energy solutions. Particularly as economies and societies struggle in the
aftermath of the Covid pandemic, we are encouraged by this sort of support in
favour of innovation that will transition communities away from fossil fuels
by providing local, baseload energy from local waste.  We see this business
model gaining traction in so many of our target markets and look forward to
accelerating its implementation across Greece and beyond."

 

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                                                     +44 203 883 7009
 David Palumbo / Nauman Babar

 Strand Hanson - Nomad & Financial Adviser                     +44 20 7409 3494
 James Harris / James Dance

 Arden Partners - Joint Broker                                 +44 20 7614 5900
 Ruari McGirr (Corporate) / Simon Johnson (Sales)

 Canaccord Genuity - Joint Broker                              +44 20 7523 8000
 Henry Fitzgerald-O'Connor / James Asensio / Patrick Dolaghan

 Alma PR - Financial Media & Investor Relations                +44 20 3405 0205
 Josh Royston / Sam Modlin / Matthew Young                     EQTEC@almapr.co.uk (mailto:EQTEC@almapr.co.uk)

 Instinctif - General Media Enquiries                          +44 (0) 20 7457 2381 / +44 (0) 7887 884794
 Chris Speight / Tim Field                                     EQTEC@instinctif.com (mailto:EQTEC@instinctif.com)

 

About EQTEC plc

As one of the world's most experienced gasification technology and engineering
companies, with a growing track record of delivering operational and
commercial success for transforming waste-to-energy through best-in-class
technology innovation, engineering and project development, EQTEC brings
together design innovation, project delivery discipline and solid commercial
experience to add momentum to the global energy transition. 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, supplies and builds advanced gasification facilities in the UK,
EU and US, with highly efficient equipment that is modular and scalable from
1MW to 30MW. EQTEC's versatile solutions process over 50 varieties of
feedstock, including forestry wood waste, vegetation and other agricultural
waste from farmers, industrial waste and sludge from factories 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 synthetic 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 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/) .

 

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