LONDON (Alliance News) - Renewable energy firm Active Energy Group PLC said Friday it is confident in the scale of commercial opportunities of its CoalSwitch and SuperFuel facilities following discussions with offtake partners.
Shares in Active Energy were down 11% Friday morning at 0.80 pence each.
Active Energy said the confidence from the "substantive" discussions with potential customers for its output has led it to acquire a site in Lumberton, North Carolina. The site in eastern US ensures the company has the scale of facilities to expand production in the next two years.
The renewable energy company has signed a letter of intent at the Lumberton site with Alamac Holdings LLC. The site, Active said, is connected to Georgia Renewable Power LLC's power plant, through an existing steam distribution pipeline.
Active Energy said its "immediate focus" will be on installing a five tonne per hour CoalSwitch plant, with the hope of generating revenue at the earliest opportunity.
Discussions with the Andritz Group have been progressing, according to Active. Andritz would support the initial installation at the plant and then provide engineering support - ensuring the Lumberton site's capacity remains at 400,000 tonnes of CoalSwitch a year.
"The Active Energy team has been working hard over recent weeks to implement the company's refocussed strategy and achieve revenue generation in as short a timeframe as possible. With this in mind, the installation of our first CoalSwitch plant at the Lumberton site is a priority and we have made important strides forward toward achieving this with the assistance of Georgia Renewable Power," said Chief Executive Officer Michael Rowan.
Active said it is still waiting for approval from the National Centre for Research & Development in Poland for the disbursement of EU grants to subsidise the development of its SuperFuel technology.
Active is expecting a decision relating to the joint venture with Cobant Sp Z OO to be made in the first quarter. Negotiations with potential offtake partners in Poland "continue".
The renewable energy firm said its memorandum of understanding with Young Living Farms relating to sales of its PeatSwitch product has not resulted in a "definitive contract".
PeatSwitch, a beneficiated, soil substrate product made from waste fibre, "contnues to represent an area of complimentary commercial opportunity" believes Active.
Rowan added: "The Active Energy team is focussed on generating value for our shareholders and although there can be no guarantees, I firmly believe that the quality of our intellectual capital, our partner and customer relationships and our long term strategic focus will be reflected in excellent returns for our shareholders.
"This is a strategy which I believe will dominate our corporate development during the first part of 2019 as we chart a course towards achieving critical commercial milestones, revenue generation and corporate growth."
Active Energy (AEG)