TVI Pacific Inc. currently holds an approximate 2.95% equity stake in Integrated Green Energy Solutions Ltd. (“IGES”). 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”.
IGES is focused on converting to fuel waste plastic that is destined for landfill or discarded into the environment. Further to the IGES public disclosure documents, the patented plastic to fuels process of IGES is reported to result in a range of fuels and products, including EN590 (Road Ready Diesel), EN228 (Road Ready Petrol), Naphtha, Marine fuel and Marine Diesel Oil (MDO). The specific products IGES provides are determined by the territory requirements for each individual site location.
IGES was re-listed on the ASX on January 30, 2018 but its securities have since been suspended from quotation on the ASX on January 20, 2020, under Listing Rule 17.3 pending further enquiries by the ASX on issues of funding. ASX Listing Rule 17.3 indicates a suspension may be necessary to prevent a disorderly or uninformed market. IGES has reported that previously announced funding for its various projects has been delayed, most recently in part as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
IGES was re-listed in January 2018 following a trading halt requested by the company in July 2015 to allow the company to re-focus on resource recovery rather than resource extraction. This included the move to exploit opportunities related to three (3) key technologies (“IGE Technologies”) it acquired at that time in relation to:
- Plastics to Fuel
- Biomass to Fuel
- Biomass to energy / power
With the re-listing of IGES in January 2018 and their issue of shares to raise capital through that process, TVI Pacific’s equity interest in IGES was diluted initially to 5.22% and has since been reduced further by the issue of more shares by IGES to raise additional working capital and to fund business development as well as the sale by TVI Pacific of a share of its equity interest in IGES. The equity interest of TVI Pacific in IGES currently approximates 2.95% (at May 31, 2020).
Prior to considering the purchase of IGE Technologies, the business of IGES 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 (“Amazon Bay”) in PNG which was comprised of Exploration Licenses totaling 1,171 square km containing an iron, titanium and vanadium sand deposit. Both TVI Pacific and IGES have since fully written-down their interest in Amazon Bay and no longer hold an interest in this project.
Since changing their focus to resource recovery, IGES has established several joint ventures and business partnerships committed to the conversion of plastics to fuel, the most advanced of which is their Amsterdam project. Site work on the Amsterdam project commenced in March 2018 and IGES last reported on October 1, 2019 that high-volume Near InfraRed technology to sort and separate plastics during the final stages of the waste sorting process had been largely assembled and was being stored offsite. A second 50 tonnes per day (“TPD”) module arrived to site in July 2019 and was scheduled for installation at that time to allow ramp-up to full capacity by November 2019, at which time production of finished product had been scheduled in preparation for the first offtake sale in December 2019. Once completed, the 100 TPD processing capacity at the Amsterdam facility is expected to produce 35 million liters EN 590 standard fuel per annum.
Funding delays further hampered by the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic have reportedly stalled completion of the Amsterdam project and the global strategy previously announced by IGES to establish sites in key locations.
Other IGES sites, as summarized by IGES in their announcement of August 16, 2019, include:
Site No.
|
Country
|
City
|
Volume (TPD)
expected at start-up
|
Status
(as reported in August 2019)
|
1
|
Netherlands
|
Amsterdam
|
100
|
Currently under construction -- operations due to commence end of 2019.
|
2
|
Thailand
|
Prachinburi
|
200
|
Approval to operate facility received from Thai authorities. Design process underway.
|
3
|
UK
|
Northamption
|
200
|
Approval to operate facility received from UK authorities. Design process underway.
|
4
|
Hong Kong
|
EcoPark
|
200
|
Approval for site received from Hong Kong authorities. Design process underway.
|
5
|
UK
|
Grimsby
|
200
|
Deposit placed on site and expected to be settled in September 2019. Approvals and design process underway.
|
6
|
China
|
Shandong
|
200
|
JV entered into with publicly listed waste company, Beautiful China. Approval process underway.
|
7
|
USA
|
Camden
|
1500
|
JV entered into with GEP Fuel & Energy, Indiana, who will provide feedstock.
|
8
|
UK
|
Connah's Quay
|
200
|
Site selected and sale conditional on receiving approvals.
|
9
|
Spain
|
Murcia
|
200
|
Term sheet entered into with local partner.
|
10
|
Spain
|
Almeria
|
200
|
Term sheet entered into with local partner.
|
11
|
Indonesia
|
West Java
|
200
|
Term sheet entered into with local partner.
|
12
|
Philippines
|
Valenzuela
|
200
|
Term sheet entered into with local partner.
|
13
|
Belgium
|
Ghent
|
200
|
Discussions being held with local Port Authority and potential feedstock providers, in addition to the Government of Flanders through the Flanders Investment & Trade organization.
|
14
|
USA
|
Tri-State
|
200
|
Local partner and feedstock provider selected. Agreement to be executed shortly.
|
15
|
UK
|
Billangham
|
200
|
Local partner and feedstock provider selected. Agreement to be executed shortly.
|
16
|
India
|
Indore
|
200
|
Local partner and feedstock provider selected. Agreement to be executed shortly.
|
17
|
India
|
Bhopal
|
200
|
Local partner and feedstock provider selected. Agreement to be executed shortly.
|
18
|
Malaysia
|
Balok
|
200
|
Local partner and feedstock provider selected. Agreement to be executed shortly.
|
19
|
Germany
|
Thuringia
|
200
|
Local feedstock provider selected.
|
20
|
Germany
|
Bavaria
|
200
|
Local feedstock provider selected.
|
TVI Pacific’s approximate 2.95% equity interest in IGES (at May 31, 2020) includes 11,705,894 shares of IGES. Following the re-listing of IGES in January 2018, its shares traded at a high of A$0.670 and a low of A$0.095. The IGES share price closed at A$0.130 at the time its securities were suspended on January 20, 2020.
On June 19, 2020, IGES announced that Mac Wealth Holdings Pte Ltd (“MWH”), a foreign entity that had invested A$10 million into the IGES Amsterdam project, had received a consent judgement through the Supreme Court of NSW (Australia) on May 27, 2020 for A$12.5 million plus costs. MWH subsequently served a creditor’s statutory demand on IGES on June 4, 2020, for which the final date to settle is December 4, 2020. This follows an earlier announcement by IGES on April 6, 2020, that all matters had been resolved between the parties on mutually beneficial terms at mediation held on April 2, 2020 and detailed in a Deed of Settlement and Release. IGES has further announced in their press release of June 19, 2020 that they expect the amount payable through the creditor’s statutory demand will be covered by their loan funding arrangements, both in terms of timing and amount.
IGES has reported 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/.