Velocys plc (VLS.L), the sustainable fuels technology company, is pleased to announce the approval of a $709,000 loan from the Pay-check Protection Program awarded by the Small Business Administration (SBA), a US Federal Agency.
The SBA program is part of the Federal stimulus package known as the CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security) Act to offer help to small businesses in the USA during the Covid-19 crisis.
This unsecured loan has been awarded to support Velocys’ US payroll costs in the short-term. It is an unsecured loan with a 2-year maturity and 0.98% interest. No interest or principal payments are due in the first six months. The loan is however eligible for “forgiveness”, becoming non-repayable upon application by Velocys after 60 days from receipt if used for retaining US employees and maintaining US payroll costs of at least this amount in the period until the end of June 2020. Velocys is confident that it will meet the criteria for this “forgiveness”.
Velocys expects to draw down on the loan shortly.
For further information, please contact:
Velocys
Henrik Wareborn, CEO
Andrew Morris, CFO
Lak Siriwardene, Head of Communications & Sustainability
+44 1865 800821
Numis Securities (Nomad and joint broker)
Stuart Skinner
Emily Morris
Alamgir Ahmed
+44 20 7260 1000
Canaccord Genuity (Joint broker)
Henry Fitzgerald-O’Connor
James Asensio
+44 20 7523 8000
Radnor Capital (Investor relations)
Joshua Cryer
Iain Daly
+44 20 3897 1830
Field Consulting (PR)
Robert Jeffery
+44 20 7096 7730
Notes to Editors
Velocys is an international UK-based sustainable fuels technology company. Velocys designed, developed and now licences proprietary Fischer-Tropsch technology for the generation of clean, low carbon, synthetic drop-in aviation and transport fuel from municipal solid waste and waste woody biomass.
Velocys is currently developing projects in Natchez, Mississippi, USA (incorporating Carbon Capture Use and Storage) and Immingham, UK to produce fuels that significantly reduce both greenhouse gas emissions and key exhaust pollutants for aviation and road transport. Originally a spin-out from Oxford University, in 2008 the company acquired a US company based on complementary technology developed at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Velocys is headquartered in Oxford in the United Kingdom.
Velocys continues to progress the planning application on behalf of Altalto Immingham Limited to develop the first commercial scale sustainable aviation fuel facility in the UK.
We have been working closely throughout with North East Lincolnshire Council (NELC) and with all statutory consultees as part of the usual planning process.
As part of this process, an Addendum to the Environmental Statement has now been submitted, providing additional information and technical clarifications to assist in the consideration of the application by consultees. The further information presented in the Addendum will now be subject to the usual 30-day consultation period. Alongside the existing Environmental Statement, it will form part of the formal planning application to NELC and can be viewed on the NELC website here.
Through our positive dialogue with all consultees and the Environmental Statement Addendum we are confident that we have provided all necessary additional information at this stage, and we look forward to completing the planning process.
Velocys recently met with the Altalto project’s local MPs to discuss progress in the development of the sustainable aviation fuel facility in Immingham, North East Lincolnshire. The planned facility will sit in the constituency of Martin Vickers, Member of Parliament for Cleethorpes; and neighbour the constituency of Great Grimsby, represented by Lia Nici.
Following the meeting, Martin Vickers MP and Lia Nici MP said:
“We had a really encouraging e-meeting with representatives from Velocys last week to discuss their plans for developing Europe’s first waste-to-jet fuel facility in Immingham. The Humber Estuary is already home to several world leading businesses using industrial processes to develop innovative green technologies. We look forward to working with Velocys and their project partners Shell and British Airways to ensure they become the latest addition to the Humber’s green industrial hub.”
The Financial Times highlighted Velocys’ UK project to make sustainable aviation fuel from household waste in an article ‘Greener biofuels battle for take-off to cut aviation emissions’ (30-Mar-2020).
The article can be read on the FT website:
Responding to the Government’s publication of the policy paper ‘Decarbonising transport: setting the challenge’ in which the Government commits to publishing a consultation on net zero aviation later this year, Henrik Wareborn, CEO at Velocys, commented:
“We warmly welcome the Government’s commitment to publish a net zero aviation consultation as part of its ambitious plans to tackle emissions in the transport sector announced yesterday. Aviation is the most challenging transport sector to decarbonise because the energy density and performance of battery technologies cannot come close to matching liquid hydrocarbon fuel, particularly over longer distances. Sustainable aviation fuel will therefore play an essential role if we are to continue flying and cut emissions. Our proposed waste-to-fuels facility on the Humber Estuary will be the first of its kind in Europe and, with Government support, could be producing cleaner burning jet fuel in just four years’ time.”
Velocys plc (VLS.L), the sustainable fuels technology company, is today providing an update on the measures it is taking to manage the risk presented by the Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19).
The health and safety of Velocys’ employees, and those of our customers, partners and suppliers, is the Board’s top priority. The Company is regularly reviewing working practices in the light of the latest information and safeguarding recommendations as the COVID-19 situation evolves.
The Company has the necessary technology platforms to support efficient working among teams over a wide geographical spread, which are well adapted to the present circumstances. All our employees are now able to efficiently work from home and we have a dedicated COVID-19 response team in place.
The Board remains attentive towards its business operations during these unprecedented times.
For further information, please contact:
Velocys
Henrik Wareborn, CEO
Andrew Morris, CFO
Lak Siriwardene, Head of Communications & Sustainability
+44 1865 800821
Numis Securities (Nomad and joint broker)
Stuart Skinner
Emily Morris
Alamgir Ahmed
+44 20 7260 1000
Canaccord Genuity (Joint broker)
Henry Fitzgerald-O’Connor
James Asensio
+44 20 7523 8000
Radnor Capital (Investor relations)
Joshua Cryer
Iain Daly
+44 20 3897 1830
Field Consulting (PR)
Robert Jeffery
+44 20 7096 7730
Notes to Editors
Velocys is an international UK-based sustainable fuels technology company. Velocys designed, developed and now licences proprietary Fischer-Tropsch technology for the generation of clean, low carbon, synthetic drop-in aviation and transport fuel from municipal solid waste and waste woody biomass.
Velocys is currently developing projects in Natchez, Mississippi, USA (incorporating Carbon Capture Use and Storage) and Immingham, UK to produce fuels that significantly reduce both greenhouse gas emissions and key exhaust pollutants for aviation and road transport. Originally a spin-out from Oxford University, in 2008 the company acquired a US company based on complementary technology developed at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Velocys is headquartered in Oxford in the United Kingdom.
Velocys attended the Energy from Waste 2020 conference in London to discuss lessons learnt from ACT (Advanced Conversion Technology) development thus far. Velocys’ Martin Hopkins, who also chaired the session, discussed with representatives from business, industry and local government the challenges of, and what’s to be gained from, repurposing waste to energy.
During the discussions, Martin outlined Velocys’ integrated end to end process, which will take household and commercial waste otherwise destined for landfill and turn it into Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). The process starts with the gasification of waste into syngas, composed of hydrogen and carbon monoxide, which is then used to synthesise liquid hydrocarbons using Velocys’ proprietary, demonstrated Fischer Tropsch reactor and catalyst. These hydrocarbons are then upgraded into SPK, which is approved worldwide for commercial aviation; and naphtha, a constituent of petrol.
By combining Velocys’ technology with gasification, purification and hydrocracking technologies (all of which have also been demonstrated at commercial scale), we can provide an integrated end-to-end process, from waste to wing. Taking what society does not want, Velocys technologies are able to create a product we cannot do without.
Velocys Vice President of Waste to Fuels, Dr Neville Hargreaves, has discussed the significant growth prospects for Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) as part of a newly published interview with Argus Media.
Dr Hargreaves outlined the substantial case for increased use of SAF in the aviation industry, referencing industry coalition Sustainable Aviation’s research which estimates that 32% of the UK demand for kerosene could be met by domestically produced SAF by 2050.
With a growing global demand for SAF, he went on to discuss how projects such as Velocys present an investment opportunity which is “an excellent fit with many funds’ sustainability mandates,” to make fuel for a sector that is very hard to decarbonise, from a waste feedstock that would otherwise go to landfill or incineration.
You can read the interview in full here.
Velocys sustainable fuels technology and the Altalto project were discussed during a royal visit at British Airways’ largest engineering base in Cardiff.
HRH The Prince of Wales toured the site and spoke with British Airways on the changes, large and small, which the airline is making as it works towards more sustainable flying, including discussing British Airways’ collaboration with Velocys on the Altalto project in Immingham.
The Altalto project reflects the engagement and commitment to address the need for sustainable aviation fuel. For the airline industry to reach their net zero targets alongside the UK’s goal, a robust process solution is needed. Velocys has the technology to help achieve this result.
Further information on HRH The Prince of Wales’ visit to the British Airways engineering base.
Sustainable Aviation has published a Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) roadmap
Earlier this month industry coalition Sustainable Aviation published a Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) Roadmap that forecasts the role these new fuels could play in the future of the aviation industry.
The in depth report shows how SAF could reduce aviation emissions by almost a third, and similarly make up nearly a third of aviation fuel demand by 2050, in turn playing a key role in supporting UK jobs and exports.
Key findings from the report include:
To read the Sustainable Aviation Fuels Roadmap in full, please click here. You can also read Velocys’ CEO Henrik Wareborn’s comments on the Roadmap here.