EQTEC plc announced that it hasset up a new joint venture company (the ?JV?) with CompactGTL Limited. The JV will pursue implementation of an integrated, waste-to-liquid fuel solution based on EQTEC syngas technology and CompactGTL gas-to-liquid conversion technology (the ?Solution?). The JV is owned in equal shares of 50% by the Company and CompactGTL.

The Partners intend that the JV become an innovator and licensor of technology for liquid fuels produced from waste, including transport fuels such as sustainable aviation fuel (?SAF?). The JV's immediate objective is formation of a consortium of investors to fund a commercial-scale, first-of-a-kind reference plant that proves the viability of the Solution (the ?Reference Plant?). The Solution would enable new lines of business for both Partners.

Establishment of the JV represents a next step following work undertaken by the Partners under the collaboration framework agreement announced by the Company on 7 July 2022 (the ?CFA?). Under the CFA, the Partners agreed to collaborate for the design, development, construction and operation of waste-to-fuel projects and other synthetic fuel and energy infrastructure projects, with an initial focus on small-scale, modular, waste-to-fuel plants. Since execution of the CFA, the Company and CompactGTL have together pursued funding, identified project opportunities and undertaken joint design and costing to build gas-to-liquids R&D capabilities at EQTEC's syngas pilot plant at the Université de Lorraine's Laboratoire d'Études et de Recherche sur le Matériau Bois (?LERMAB?) facility in Épinal, France.

The Partners have also completed feasibility work toward the Reference Plant, through which they confirmed that the modular and scale capabilities of both EQTEC and CompactGTL technologies allow for construction of the Reference Plant and subsequent plants at lower cost and shorter timescales than has been possible by other waste-to-liquid configurations. The Reference Plant is expected to process 150 tonnes per day of refuse-derived fuel from municipal waste (?RDF?) to produce 160 barrels per day of synthetic crude (?syncrude?) at 90% annual operational efficiency. If processed, the syncrude would be further refined to produce c. 11,700 litres per day of SAF, c. 8,650 litres per day of diesel and c. 5,000 litres per day of naphtha.

The total Capex for building the Reference Plant estimated through the feasibility work is c. £60 million, with roughly a third of that for purchase of EQTEC technology and another third for purchase of CompactGTL technology. As the Partners intend to go to market through the JV with an integrated, waste-to-liquid fuel solution proven through the Reference Plant, the Solution is expected to significantly de-risk projects seeking reliable, SAF or other liquid fuel capabilities. The Partners intend to apply the Solution in support of the ground transport, airline and other industries.

The Partners have already identified a number of potential investors for both the R&D integration at LERMAB and for the Reference Plant and through the JV will pursue closure of funding, at project level, and development of the Reference Plant. The Company will make additional announcements in due course about work at LERMAB and work on the Reference Plant.