Plastics-into-clean-hydrogen innovator Powerhouse Energy has negotiated full control of its Cheshire manufacturing venture from landlord and partner Peel NRE.
The technology firm told investors this morning it has exercised its option to buy the industrial estates operator out of their shared shell joint venture, formed two years ago to ease a Powerhouse factory into production on Peel’s Protos Park near Ellesmere Port.
Protos Park is designated by its landlord as Britain’s leading industrial estate dedicated to making low carbon energy for high-volume industrial consumers.
Powerhouse develops its proprietary method, dubbed Distributed Modular Generation (DMG), to convert end-of-life plastics and rubber into the carbon-free gas.
Powerhouse has paid a nominal £1 to buy Peel NRE out of their shared special purpose vehicle company. The purchase brings to an end the possibility of PHE taking a 50% shareholding in the SPV. A twelve-months extension to the SPV’s loan to Powerhouse forms part of today’s deal.
Powerhouse’s acting CEO Keith Riley commented: “This is a significant and exciting development for (us) as we will now be solely responsible for the development of the project at Protos.
“Having spent some time considering the best option for the Protos project, we have agreed with Peel that PHE will assume full control of the project and its further development.
“The next step will be to seek commercial agreements for the offtakes, whether this be electricity, heat, hydrogen or other products, prior to seeking to raise finance for the construction”.
Last year’s review called into question the manufacturer’s intention announced in 2021 to open its second plant in Glasgow’s Rothesay Dock, followed by up to 70 more.
