TVI Pacific Inc. currently holds an approximate 4% equity stake in Integrated Green Energy Solutions Ltd. (“IGES”, formerly FOY Group Limited). IGES is a public company that was incorporated in New South Wales, Australia on 16 December 1988 and has been listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (“ASX”) since November 1989. IGES trades under the symbol “IGE” (previously “FOY”).
IGES is focused on converting waste plastic that is destined for landfill or discarded into the environment, into valuable road ready fuels. IGES has a patented waste plastic to fuels process that results in output that meets the EN590 standard.
On 29 July 2015 IGES requested a Trading Halt from the ASX while its shareholders considered a plan from the directorship to restructure the business. It was announced to the market that due to the decline in the mining industry, IGES would purchase IGE Technologies and change the focus of the company from resource extraction to resource recovery by exploiting the opportunities from three (3) key technologies acquired from IGE, including:
- Plastics to Fuel
- Biomass to Fuel
- Biomass to energy / power
The Trading Halt suspended status was lifted and IGES re-listed on the ASX on January 30, 2018, with its shares actively trading since that time.
The re-listing of IGES on the ASX resulted in the dilution of TVI Pacific’s interest in IGES to 5.22% as a result of a A$6.447 million capital raise completed by IGES and the issue of 32,235,000 shares to participants in the prospectus, and the issue of 209,700,000 shares to the IGE shareholder’s nominees as consideration for the business assets defined in their Business Sale Agreement. The issue of a further 26,817,265 shares by IGES through to September 30, 2018 to raise additional working capital and to fund business development has diluted TVI’s interest further to 4.43% at September 30, 2018, as a result also of the further sale of IGES shares by TVI Pacific. The ASX has advised that all shares and unlisted options held by TVI Pacific are not subject to any ASX restrictions.
Prior to considering the purchase of IGE Technologies, IGES’ business had historically been the exploration of mineral sands in Papua New Guinea (“PNG”). Pursuant to a Heads of Agreement signed between TVI Pacific and IGES on August 28, 2012, TVI Pacific and IGES established a Joint Venture Agreement relating to the Amazon Bay Iron Sands Project in PNG which is comprised of Exploration Licenses totaling 1,171 square km containing an iron, titanium and vanadium sand deposit. As confirmed by the PNG Mineral Resources Authority on July 25, 2014, TVI Pacific holds a 10% interest in the Amazon Bay tenement while IGES continues to hold the remaining 90%.
At an Extraordinary General Meeting held on November 15, 2016, IGES received shareholder approval of the IGE transaction and to acquire the IGE Technologies, including:
- exclusive licenses to commercialize three technologies in Australia, New Zealand, China, India, North America, South East Asia, Papua New Guinea and Fiji;
- non-exclusive licenses in each of Western Europe, Eastern Europe, South America, Japan and Africa;
- a completed and operating commercial facility which re-refines co-mingled road fuels back into saleable diesel and petrol at Berkeley Vale, NSW, Australia. This facility is capable of converting waste plastics to fuel at a rate of 50 feedstock tonnes per day;
- plans to design and construct a plant capable of processing 1,500 feedstock tonnes per day in the continental United States for GEP Fuel & Energy LLC. For this purpose, IGES announced on November 29, 2016, the formation of a new US company, Integrated Green Partners, LLC (“IGP”);
- the transfer to IGES of executed contracts for waste feedstock supply; and,
- the transfer to IGES of an experienced management team capable of operating a waste plastics-to-fuel commercial facility.
On January 30, 2018, IGES also announced the purchase of an Amsterdam based entity that comes with a site in Amsterdam that has a fully approved and sanctioned Environmental Approval Permit to operate a waste plastic to road ready fuel facility. Site work commenced on the project on March 8th, 2018 and the initial site will be built with the capacity of 100 tonnes per day (“TPD”) to produce 35 million liters per annum of road ready fuel with plans to ramp-up plant capacity to 400 TPD to produce 140 million liters of road ready fuel per annum within two years of initial operations. Significant progress has been made and includes the contracting of suppliers of feedstock processing equipment and finalization of construction of the IGES modules which house the patented technology allowing the conversion of plastics into road ready fuels. These modules are expected to be delivered in mid-December 2018 for installation and commissioning. A feedstock supply agreement has also been negotiated through which IGES will be paid up to 20 Euros per tonne of plastics to be used in the process. Operations are expected to commence in the first quarter of 2019.
On April 18, 2018, IGES announced the formation of a Joint Venture with Crown World Holdings Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Beautiful China Holdings Company Limited, a Hong Kong-based investment holding company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and principally engaged in ecology and environmental protection businesses. IGES is to hold 51% of the shares and the Joint Venture is expected to construct a waste plastics to fuel facility with an initial capacity of 200 tonnes per day. Plant construction is expected to be completed and commissioned in the fourth quarter of 2019.
On June 18, 2018, IGES announced it had entered into a contract to acquire a site in Grimsby, United Kingdom. IGES reports that the project is well progressed but that planning and environmental approvals are yet required. The initial capacity of the site is planned to be 200 TPD to produce 70 million liters of road ready fuel per annum, with the opportunity to increase capacity to 600 TPD.
On July 2, 2018, IGES announced that it had executed a joint venture agreement with Hong Kong Telford Envirotech Group Limited to construct and operate a 200 TPD plastics to road ready fuel facility in Hong Kong to produce 70 million liters per annum. IGES is expected to hold a 70% stake in the JV, trading as IGE Hong Kong. A site, located in Hong Kong’s Eco Park, has already been selected, with the Environmental Protection Department of Hong Kong having approved a lease for the chosen location.
On August 20, 2018, IGES provided an update with respect to construction of a recycling plant in Camden, Indiana, United States through its entity, Integrated Green Partners, LLC (“IGP”). This recycling center is expected to process automobile shredder residue in which IGES reports that the plastics component is a very good match with the specifications of the plastics required in the IGES waste plastics to fuel feedstock and that this plastic will therefore be used to supply the plastic feedstock requirements of the IGP waste plastics to fuel facility to be constructed adjacent to the recycling center in Camden, Indiana. The initial waste plastics to fuel facility is expected to process 1,500 tonnes per day of waste plastics and is projected to produce over 500 million liters of road ready diesel and petrol. Construction is anticipated to commence in the second quarter of 2019.
IGES reports that its patented technology has been independently verified as producing fuels that reduce the carbon footprint by 31% and 38% respectively over conventional petrol and diesel.
For more information on FOY, please visit
http://www.igesolutions.org/.