REG - EQTEC PLC - Project update

EQTECAnnouncement

26/09/2023 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:20230926:nRSZ5913Na&default-theme=true

RNS Number : 5913N  EQTEC PLC  26 September 2023

26 September 2023

 

EQTEC plc

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

 

Project update:

Successful completion of feasibility work at Biogaz Gardanne

 

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") and its partners have successfully completed
a technical and commercial feasibility (the "Feasibility") toward deployment
of EQTEC solutions at the site of the former Gardanne power station (the
"Project"). Completion of the Feasibility represents a critical step toward
commencement of development and design work on what is expected to be a
waste-to-renewable natural gas ("RNG") facility enabled by EQTEC's advanced
syngas technology.

 

Through the Feasibility, awarded to and announced by the Company in March
2023, the Group and its partners reviewed feedstock and offtake markets and
evaluated four potential technology and engineering solutions. Together with
French development consultants S3D Ingénierie SAS ("S3D"), the Group
concluded that a facility processing c. 80,000 tonnes per year of industrial
waste wood Grade B would be optimal for sustainable production of RNG and
generate a healthy return on investment. The Project is targeting deployment
of an integrated solution applying EQTEC's syngas technology with global
engineering leader and EQTEC partner Wood's VESTA methanation technology.

 

The Group expects initial front-end engineering design work (the "pre-FEED")
for the Project to commence in the coming weeks, for which it expects to bill
c. €250,000 for engineering services. Subject to completion of that work,
the Company anticipates that it would lead full, front-end engineering design
("FEED") work, estimated by the Company to be worth at least €750,000 in
fees, with the majority to be invoiced over the first half of 2024.

 

On 20 September 2023, EQTEC France and S3D presented their findings and
recommendations to members of the French government and central
administration, including the Cabinet of the Energy Transition Minister and
the General Secretariat for Investment, which is overseen by the Prime
Minister (the "Officials"). The Group received reassurance from the Officials
that the Project enjoys a strong place on the French government's energy
transition agenda for the Provence Alpes Côte d'Azur ("PACA") region and that
the Group will have opportunities for further support from the French
government at national and regional levels as it seeks to secure further
funding for the Project company ("Biogaz Gardanne").

 

Practically, the Officials encouraged the Group to prepare its application to
secure one of a limited number of feed-in tariffs for RNG injection into the
gas network operated by GRTgaz SA ("GRTgaz"), the French natural gas
transmission system operator. Additionally, the Officials supported the
Group's intent to pursue grant funding under the Synthetic Biomethane funding
programme, due for launch in the coming months.

 

The Group has filed a formal request for Biogaz Gardanne to be registered into
the national grid capacity register, an act that would establish the Project's
legal access to the GRTgaz network. In parallel, and toward securing
additional funding for subsequent phases of the Project, the Group has
approached a number of utility companies in France to gauge their interest in
the Project.

 

On 16 October 2023, EQTEC France is scheduled to meet with local stakeholders
at the PACA prefectural authority to present the outcomes of the Feasibility
and the Group's perspectives on the Project.

 

The Company continues to work closely with Wood on engineering work for an
integrated syngas-methanation solution for the Project.

 

David Le Saint, EQTEC France Managing Director, commented:

 

"With successful completion of the Feasibility, momentum is growing for the
Project in terms of solution development, political support and investment
attractiveness. Whilst we have already enjoyed support from all levels of
French government, we are gaining traction also with private-sector investors
looking to invest in new energy infrastructure that is clean and fits well
with the direction of French policy. With the RNG tariffs for France due to be
announced and with the healthy pace of work on this Project, I am confident we
will secure a tariff, along with critical permits that move us closer to
making Biogaz Gardanne a reality."

 

Jeff Vander Linden, EQTEC Group COO, commented:

 

"France has emerged as a reliable and enthusiastic supporter of technologies
for the future of clean energy, including EQTEC's, and the Biogaz Gardanne
project is clear evidence of that. France's rejection of coal-based energy
generation, supported by policy and funding toward alternatives, give this
project the motivation it needs to succeed. More than that, it indicates that
with the right sponsorship and partners, EQTEC can make steady progress toward
deploying its proven, patented technology in more places, more often."

 

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 the project

 

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 Group was appointed in March 2023 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 on the site of a decommissioned,
coal-fired power station in Meyreuil, Aix-en-Provence, Bouches-du-Rhône,
France (the "Site").

 

The Feasibility was 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. EQTEC France SAS led
the work, which explored the technical and commercial viability of a potential
facility built around EQTEC technology, with particular interest in production
of renewable natural gas  from a variety of wood waste types.

 

In July 2023, the Company confirmed it had successfully completed steam-oxygen
gasification tests in partnership with the Energy from Biomass and Wastes
("ERBE") team, part of the Laboratoire d'Etudes et de Recherche sur le
Matériau Bois ("LERMAB") at Université de Lorraine ("UL") in Epinal, France,
as part of the Feasibility. The Tests confirmed that similar results to those
achieved with EQTEC steam-oxygen gasification technology at the LERMAB
facility can be directly applied at commercial scale, for the Project and
other plants seeking to produce advanced biofuels.

 

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/) .

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  UPDSEFFWIEDSELU