Quadrise Fuels International plc (LON:QFI) will provide the following update by way of a presentation of its business development activities via Investor Meet Company at approximately 12.30pm today, following the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting of the Company, which commences at 12.00 noon.
Investors who wish to view the presentation can sign up to Investor Meet Company for free and add Quadrise Fuels International plc at:
https://www.investormeetcompany.com/quadrise-fuels-international-plc/register-investor
Investors who have already registered to meet Quadrise will be invited automatically.
2021 Overview and Update
Business Development
Despite the continuing global impact of Covid-19 and associated travel restrictions throughout 2021, Quadrise has continued to engage with our clients to progress key projects, advance new prospective opportunities and continue the testing and development of our new low-carbon fuel, bioMSAR™.
Whilst the timetable of some activities has been impacted, the team has worked remotely with clients to ensure that programmes remain on-track where possible, using our network of agents and partners who have enabled progress through their in-country presence.
Key developments include:
· bioMSAR™. During 2021, bioMSAR™ was successfully tested on 4-stroke engines at Aquafuel and at the VTT facility in Finland. These tests demonstrated a 26% average reduction in CO2 emissions compared to marine diesel and over 20% lower NOx emissions, but also, importantly, higher engine efficiency. The next stage of bioMSAR™ testing will involve commercial 2-stroke and 4-stroke engine testing at OEM testing facilities, as well as testing on combustion applications. Discussions with crude glycerine suppliers are ongoing, and Quadrise are conducting joint research on the production of glycerine from algae with the University of Greenwich and Algae UK.
· MSC. Quadrise continues to work with MSC Shipmanagement to finalise the preparatory work to enable the LONO (‘Letter Of No Objection’) fuel trials on board their commercial container vessels. Our joint focus is now on scheduling bioMSAR™ testing on MSC’s modern 2-stroke engines with the OEMs, whose resources are currently limited due to competing future fuel test demands. Alongside this, Quadrise have been progressing plans for the necessary vessel modifications to enable the commercial-scale 4,000-hour LONO trials expected to commence in H2 2022.
· Morocco. During November 2021, the equipment for the MSAR® combustion trial at the client site (‘Site B’) was shipped to a third-party site in Morocco, and preparations to commence production of 60mt of MSAR® fuel were completed. Quadrise is now awaiting client approval to proceed with fuel production and the Site B trial, which is expected imminently but has been temporarily delayed due to an internal management reorganisation at the client. Quadrise also expects to finalise a further extension to the Material Transfer and Cooperation Agreement, following the mutual 12 month extension of the original agreement on 28 November 2020. Timely client approval will allow the Site B trial to take place early in Q1 2022. The trial results and the final feasibility study for MSAR® use at a second client site (‘Site A’) are expected to be delivered to the client in Q1 2022. A subsequent commercial trial can then take place at Site A using the trial equipment from Site B. Assuming the successful conclusion of these trials, the intention is to conclude a commercial supply agreement covering one or more of the client’s sites in Morocco in Q2 2022.
· Utah. Samples from the Greenfield Energy LLC (“Greenfield”) Petroteq Oil Sands Plant (‘POSP’) site in Utah were successfully converted into MSAR® and bioMSAR™ in September 2021. As a result of these positive results, Quadrise and Greenfield agreed that an on-site MSAR® trial would no longer be required, and instead the parties would jointly work together to secure customers for MSAR® and bioMSAR™, with a view to initial commercial supply in 2022. Greenfield have recently secured funding from Valkor Oil & Gas LLC to acquire 10% (with an option for the remaining 90%) of ‘Tar Sands Holdings II’ which offers additional opportunities for the deployment of Quadrise’s technology to produce MSAR® and bioMSAR™ for a number of applications. Quadrise is also engaging in discussions regarding MSAR® and bioMSAR™ production at other upstream facilities in Utah and elsewhere in the USA.
· Americas. In Panama, discussions with regard to MSAR® trials with a power plant operator are being progressed via our local agents. Discussions are also progressing in Mexico regarding MSAR® use at national oil company refineries and at power plants, via our agents Redliner, with a draft study prepared which outlines the economic benefits of MSAR® use across three national oil Company refineries. Quadrise also continue to progress other opportunities in Central America and in Ecuador.
· Other. A meeting is to be held with the Ministry of Energy in KSA to promote joint sustainable energy solutions. At this time there are no material updates with regard to the opportunities in Kuwait, or with JGC, Merlin Energy Resources, Bitumina, API Poly GCL – though work is continuing as appropriate.
No additional new material information will be disclosed at the presentation and a copy of the presentation will be available on the QFI website immediately prior to the webinar commencing.
Commenting on the update, Jason Miles, Quadrise Fuels Chief Executive Officer, said:
“We are very pleased to be able to provide a comprehensive update to our shareholders. This has been a challenging period for many businesses throughout the world, so we are pleased that we have been able to continue making progress on all fronts following our successful fundraise earlier in the year. bioMSAR™ continues to exceed expectations in diesel engine testing, and our RDI team are fully engaged in delivering our net-zero energy solutions in advance of 2030. Both MSAR® and bioMSAR™ offer compelling solutions today to support the transition to a low carbon-economy in the short term. Our focus for 2022 is to transition our projects in various sectors from trials to commercial revenue generators.”
