EQTEC announces sale of France Market Development Centre to Idex

• EQTEC has sold 95% of Grande-Combe SAS, it’s French development site to infrastructure owner and utility company Idex
• Under the sale agreement, EQTEC will continue to provide engineering services, equipment, commissioning services and receive licensing fees for the plant
• EQTEC will continue to use the site as a Market Development Centre, showcasing its world-leading technology for prospective partners and investors
• The 6.5 Mwe plant, once operational, will transform up to 45,000 tonnes of mixed waste wood and refuse-derived fuel to export clean electricity to the French national grid.

EQTEC, a global technology innovator powering distributed, decarbonised, new energy infrastructure through its waste-to-value solutions for hydrogen, biofuels and energy generation has announced the sale of 95% of the Company’s France Market Development Centre to French infrastructure owner and utility company Idex. Once operational, the 6.5 MWe plant will convert up to 45,000 tonnes of mixed waste wood and refuse-derived fuel to export clean electricity to the French national grid.

Idex’s acquisition of Grande-Combe through a share-purchase agreement and a shareholders’ agreement marks an important part of EQTEC’s strategy and further strengths confidence in amongst top-tier industrial partners. The project company sold to Idex will construct and commission the plant for EQTEC’s advanced gasification technology and allow it to continue to be used as a Market Development Centre. Under the terms of the sale agreement, EQTEC will be the integrator and licensor of core technology and have the right to utilise the plant as its France Market Development Centre (MDC).

EQTEC will continue to provide engineering services, equipment, commissioning services and receive licensing fees as a supplier to Grande-Combe, throughout the period Q4 2023 – Q1 2025, estimated to amount in total €15 million.

The Agreement follows the announcement in March that EQTEC and Idex had been awarded a project by the Limoges Métropole in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France through which they intend to commission a plant able to convert up to 45,000 tonnes per year of mixed waste, including contaminated wood waste, into up to nine million normal cubic metres of renewable natural gas per year. Idex will also develop, own and operate that plant too, with EQTEC providing the technology.

The sale continues EQTEC’s business strategy of working with top-tier partners able to support the development, construction, commissioning and operations of plants running EQTEC technology, so that the Company may focus on executing its core capabilities of technology development and engineering.

David Palumbo, EQTEC CEO, commented:

 “We believe this Agreement cements our commitment to the rapid development, commissioning and live operation of the France MDC whilst evidencing the growing profile our technology is experiencing among well-established utilities and operators of energy infrastructure. Our third market development centre and second project in partnership with Idex, demonstrates the growing demand from innovative blue-chip partners and funders to build and operate new energy infrastructure powered by EQTEC’s technology to futureproof their operations.

“In addition to positioning itself as an innovative, vertically integrated, decarbonising energy company, Idex has been a constructive and valuable partner to the Company and represents a strong, future route to market for EQTEC technology as well as a collaborator in deploying our Utility solutions and a well-known name with the capability to develop, own and operate a portfolio of plants with EQTEC technology.”

Benjamin Fremaux, Idex CEO, commented:

“Idex has a strong track record deploying waste-to-energy infrastructure in France that contributes to French baseload energy requirements.

Idex is willing to grow its footprint in this domain and has selected EQTEC technology to do so. We are delighted to cooperate with EQTEC at both Limoges and now Grande-Combe, where EQTEC technology enables Idex to propose attractive commercial terms, paving the way for future developments to grow.

Idex is today the only vertically integrated market operator across the entire energy value chain.  We engage in energy production from local and carbon-free energy resources, energy distribution through heating and cooling networks and up to energy optimisation of its final use in industrial, residential and tertiary buildings.”

ENQUIRIES

About the project

 The project will see the replacement of core technology and relevant ancillary equipment at an existing plant originally developed by Group Bonnefoy at its stone quarry site located at Villers-sous-Montrond, Doubs, France, near the Franco-Swiss border. The existing gasification plant was designed using non-EQTEC technologies but was never fully commissioned, as the previous technology did not successfully complete performance and endurance tests. As a result, the previous project company, SPV Synnov Déchets SAS, entered bankruptcy in November 2021, after which the Company was approached as a potential buyer.

The Company on 14 March 2021 announced its intention to acquire, upgrade and recommission the 6.5 MWe plant, replacing the failed gasification technology with EQTEC technology. On 07 September 2022, the acquisition was approved and finalised by France’s Ministère de l’Économie, des Finances et de l’Industrie (MINEFI). It is the Company’s intention that the France MDC process diverse feedstock, with a combination of wood, contaminated wood and RDF and is expected to be France’s largest ever gasification project for combined heat and power.

About Idex

 Founded in France in 1963, Idex develops, designs, finances, builds and operates local energy and carbon-free infrastructure, which provides renewable heat and local electricity supply to buildings, cities & industry. 

With 5,700 employees and a turnover of €2 billion in 2022, Idex is currently the only vertically integrated market operator delivering the complete value chain for local energy provision. The Group is involved in the production of thermal or electrical energy from local and low-carbon energy resources (geothermal, solar, biomass, waste), the distribution of this energy through district heating and cooling networks, to its final use in industrial, residential and tertiary buildings and other applications.

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.