REG - EQTEC PLC - France government award for potential RNG project

EQTECAnnouncement

23/03/2023 07:15

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RNS Number : 9341T  EQTEC PLC  23 March 2023

23 March 2023

 

EQTEC plc

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

 

France government award towards potential waste-to-RNG 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 is pleased to announce that
EQTEC France SAS ("EQTEC France") has been appointed by the French national
government via the Préfet de la Région Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur (the
"Prefecture") to lead a technical and commercial feasibility (the
"Feasibility") on the site of a decommissioned, coal-fired power station in
Meyreuil, Aix-en-Provence, Bouches-du-Rhône, France (the "Site").

 

The Feasibility is fully funded by national and regional governments under the
Pact for Ecological and Industrial Transition of Gardanne-Meyreuil with an
initial budget granted to EQTEC France of €1 million. The Feasibility will
consider one of four potential projects at the Site, where the Gardanne power
station ("Gardanne") formally operated.  The Feasibility is expected to
complete in the first half of 2023.

 

EQTEC France will lead the Feasibility, to review the Site's requirements and
the potential for EQTEC solutions, working with local development consultants
to assess the commercial viability and development requirements. EQTEC's
engineering team will take the lead in assessing design, engineering and other
technical considerations.

 

The intention of national and regional stakeholders is to revitalise the Site
by deploying new energy infrastructure that is clean, sustainable, and
commercially viable, and to employ local people, particularly workers from the
legacy plant. Through the Feasibility, the Prefecture and other stakeholders
intend to explore the technical and commercial viability of a potential
facility built around EQTEC technology, with particular interest in production
of renewable natural gas ("RNG") from a variety of wood waste types.

 

Following the Feasibility, the Company will have the opportunity for
additional design work, in partnership with France-based developers, to
formalise a project and advance it toward financial close. The Company will
provide further progress updates in due course.

 

Gardanne, also known as the Provence power station, was an 850 MWe coal-fired
power station owned by Gazel Energie France, the fourth largest provider of
electricity and gas in France and a wholly owned subsidiary of Czech
multinational energy infrastructure owner-operator Energetický a průmyslový
holding, a.s. ("Group EPH"). Following its July 2019 acquisition of Gardanne
and other assets previously owned by Uniper France, which coincided with the
French government's pledge to phase out coal power by 2022, Group EPH closed
the plant at the end of 2020 and in 2022 reopened part of the plant as a 150
MWe biomass incineration facility.

 

The Feasibility supports the Company's business strategy and is an important
next step for demonstrating EQTEC's capabilities in applying its versatile
synthesis gas ("syngas") technology to a variety of applications, including
RNG. It builds on the steam-oxygen capabilities installed by EQTEC in 2022 at
its R&D facility hosted by the Université de Lorraine in Épinal, France.
It also builds on the RNG trials targeted for investment by the Company from
the recent fundraise announced on 21 March 2023. Finally, because the
Feasibility is fully funded from the outset of the project lifecycle, the
payment structure realises the Company's intent to charge for engineering
services prior to financial close.

 

David Le Saint, EQTEC Market Lead for France, commented:

 

"Gardanne was a huge plant and a big part of life in Gardanne-Meyreuil. When
visiting the area, it is evident what an impact the plant made on the local
community and what its closure has meant to so many families there. The
opportunity to help revitalise the Site is extremely exciting for us and in
line with our approach to local-for-local, waste-to-value solutions. With this
initial Feasibility, we believe that the versatility of EQTEC technology will
provide technically and commercially interesting propositions for the Site and
for the community. It will also create another opportunity for EQTEC to
deliver RNG in what is shaping up to be a very active market for it. I look
forward to growing EQTEC France's partner network and local capabilities to
support this exciting growth market for Gardanne-Meyreuil and for France more
generally."

 

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 20 3883 7009

 David Palumbo / Nauman Babar

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

 James Harris / Richard Johnson

 Panmure Gordon - Broker                                +44 20 7886 2500

 John Prior / Hugh Rich

 Instinctif - Media & investor relations enquiries      EQTEC@instinctif.com (mailto:EQTEC@instinctif.com)

 Guy Scarborough / Tim Field                            +44 791 717 8920 / +44 788 788 4794

 

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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