LONDON, UK: Hydrogen Utopia International PLC (AQSE:HUI) has entered into an settlement with Fisherstown Property Holdings Limited (FPH) in relation to the proposed lease of a 2.5 acre greenfield site inside the 78-acre Logeco Logistics & Energy Park at Fisherstown in County Longford, Ireland which it now anticipates will result in its first operational full scale waste plastic to hydrogen facility in Europe.
Longford is a county inside the Irish Midlands and is anticipated to be one of many prime beneficiaries of the EU Just Transition Fund in Ireland.
Under the agreement, HUI and FPH, the freehold proprietor of the site, have every agreed to make use of all reasonable endeavours to finalise the grant of an option (the “Option”) inside the subsequent three months for HUI or a particular purpose vehicle established by it for the aim (“SPV”) to purchase a lengthy lease of a 2.5 acre greenfield site (the “HUI Site”) on the seventy eight acre freehold industrial site owned by FPH (the “Longford Site”).
Under the Agreement, HUI has made a €50,000 payment to FPH for the unique proper to barter the Option, which will be offset against the choice premium payable on grant of the Option. The Option would give HUI the proper for a interval of as much as two years, topic to, inter alia, the receipt of any planning and environmental permissions essential to construct an HUI facility on the site, to purchase a 25 year lease of the HUI Site.
The Longford Site has its personal electrical grid connection and an electrical substation and the potential for HUI to utilise the existing waste water treatment facilities on site, which beforehand serviced a really large denim manufacturing business. FPH additionally has planning permission to construct a photo voltaic farm, which could potentially present energy for an HUI facility. FPH anticipates that the Longford Site will become an energy park, together with different energy facilities such as a proposed electrical battery farm. The Longford Site has good road entry and is inside easy attain of the M4 and M6 motorways, which present entry to Dublin and Galway.
European Commission approval of Ireland’s Territorial Just Transition Plan and accompanying Programme setting out the actions the fund will support is anticipated towards the finish of 2022.
The proposed HUI Site at Longford offers HUI a site with a greater grid connection, potential waste water treatment facilities and good transport connections in an space that’s anticipated to obtain extra EU funding than the proposed Tipperary site HUI was beforehand discussing with Trifol Resources Limited (“TRL”). Whilst HUI stays fully supportive of TRL and its funding in TRL, it doesn’t now anticipate progressing the development of an HUI facility on the Tipperary site nor offering TRL with any additional fairness or debt funding as initially anticipated in its announcement on 26 April 2022. As a consequence of HUI’s decision to focus on the Longford project in Ireland, HUI’s working capital place will be considerably higher than beforehand anticipated.
Guy Peters, Executive Chairman of HUI, commented: “Earlier this year we recognized Ireland as a really attractive EU nation in which to pioneer a European waste plastic to hydrogen plant. The Longford deal has very significant attractions which have led us to the conclusion that we ought to focus on the Fisherstown site in Longford to ship our first plant in Ireland.”
Aleksandra Binkowska, CEO of HUI, commented: “I have a imaginative and prescient of a pipeline of HUI waste plastic to energy facilities in Europe and throughout the world. The task of discovering an appropriate location can be difficult and demanding at times. As pathfinders we’re moving aggressively in our pursuit of rolling out as many systems as possible throughout the globe and turning HUI proper into a multibillion company. I believe the brand new location in Longford is one other milestone in achieving our vision.”