Velocys CEO, Henrik Wareborn, was present at two parliamentary events this week in support of British Airways on 2nd of March and the Renewables Transport Fuels Association (RTFA) on the 3rd of March. Robert Courts, the Aviation Minister, was present at both events showing his support, and Trudy Harrison, Green Transport Minister, was present at the RTFA event.
British Airways’ reception presented its BA Better World sustainability programme and the RTFA event showcased companies at the forefront of developing SAF. Both events gave Velocys an opportunity to discuss the importance of SAF and how Velocys’ technology solution can enable the production of sustainable synthetic fuels and help to support the decarbonisation of the aviation sector.
At this event, Robert Courts, Minister for Aviation, said: “We all know that there are various technological possibilities for achieving net zero, or Jet Zero flight as we have termed it in the Jet Zero Council work we have spoken about, but it is sustainable aviation fuel that is going to be in the shorter and medium term the real way forward.”
Trudy Harrison, Minister for Green Transport, was equally supportive and said: “Sustainable aviation fuels will be vital as we look to reduce emissions from flights and transition to a net zero world. We’ve recently committed £180 million to further support the development of UK SAF plants and I look forward to working with the innovative minds within the industry to build a world-leading advanced fuels sector.”
Velocys is pleased to announce the appointment of Andy Bensley in the role of Global Head of Business Development and Technology Delivery, based in Oxford.
Andy was formerly advisor to the CEO for SK Engineering, an East Asian construction and development firm. In his role, Andy introduced a new operations management system and created a solutions consulting business dedicated to project advisory, forecasting and risk management.
With 35 years of international industry experience, Andy brings to Velocys seniority in corporate, functional leadership and project delivery in both international oil companies and EPC contractor organisations. Andy also held senior project management roles at Bechtel, Shell and Eni. Andy has worked in South Korea, Qatar, Kuwait, Australia, Italy and the USA for extensive periods.
As part of the senior leadership team at Velocys, Andy will help to accelerate the commercialisation of the Velocys technology and cultivate our global client pipeline. Andy’s expertise in business development and project management will help position Velocys as the technology partner of choice in our market segment.
Henrik Wareborn, CEO, said:
“I am pleased to welcome Andy to the team at Velocys. Andy’s many years of international industry experience will be invaluable as we take advantage of the opportunities presented by the need to decarbonise globally. Andy will help position Velocys as the ideal technology partner for companies, governments and countries who are looking to immediately reduce the carbon intensity of transportation using sustainable synthetic fuels, which are also associated with air quality benefits.”
Velocys plc (VLS. L), the sustainable fuels technology company, announces the following changes to its management team.
Management Team
Andy Bensley has joined Velocys as the Global Head of Business Development and Technology delivery. He comes with 35 years of international experience in senior corporate, functional leadership and project delivery roles in both major IOC’s and EPC contractor organisations, including positions at Bechtel, Shell, SK E&C and Eni.
Heinz Robota, VP Technology, will be retiring from his role after 10 years at Velocys and will be replaced by Dawid Duvenhage who joined the Company in November 2021 with the responsibility for Velocys’ catalysis division. Heinz has led the catalysis efforts from R&D into commercial demonstrated status of Velocys’ super active FT catalyst. Following an initial career as a chemist and chief scientist, Dawid has over 30 years’ experience in catalyst development, scale-up and commercialisation.
Heinz has agreed to continue to support Velocys as a member of our Senior Scientific Advisory Board.
Directorate Change
Andrew Morris, CFO, has advised the Board of his intention to leave Velocys in order to pursue other career opportunities. The intention is for Andrew to step down as CFO and Board Director during Q2 2022. Further updates will be made in due course.
Andrew has been with Velocys since 2017 when he joined the board as a Non-Executive Director and Chairman of the Company’s Audit and Risk Committee. As part of an Executive management change in 2018, Andrew stepped in as CFO of the Company that year. He has played a key role in strengthening and consolidating the finance function of the Company. The Board is grateful for Andrew’s service and his commitment, and he will leave with Velocys’ very best wishes for his future endeavours.
Phil Holland, Chairman of Velocys, said:
“The Board would like to convey its gratitude to Andrew for his role in establishing a strong finance function within Velocys, and for his ongoing support over the coming months. We wish Andrew the very best in his pursuit of new opportunities and the next chapter of his professional career.
“I, along with Henrik Wareborn and the Board, welcome the appointment of Andy Bensley, who will accelerate the commercialisation of the Velocys technology with a focus on strengthening the global client pipeline.
“Our sincere appreciation goes to Heinz who will be retiring next month. He has held an integral and leading role in catalysis technology development, and Dawid Duvenhage has picked up the reins to continue Velocys’ critical technology work.
“Velocys is well positioned to deliver substantial growth by providing our clients with our sustainable synthetic fuels technology enabling commercial scale production of high energy density fuels with negative carbon intensity.”
Certain information contained in this announcement would have constituted inside information (as defined by Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014) prior to its release as part of this announcement.
For further information, please contact:
Velocys
Henrik Wareborn, CEO
Andrew Morris, CFO
Lak Siriwardene, Director of Communications & Sustainability
+44 1865 800821
Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited (Nomad and Joint Broker)
Hugh Rich (Corporate Broking)
Emma Earl (Corporate Finance)
John Prior (Corporate Finance)
+44 20 7886 2500
Shore Capital Stockbrokers Limited (Joint Broker)
Henry Willcocks (Corporate Broking)
Toby Gibbs (Corporate Advisory)
James Thomas (Corporate Advisory)
Liam Zabludowicz (Corporate Advisory)
+44 20 7408 4090
Buchanan (Financial PR)
Helen Tarbet
Simon Compton
+44 20 7466 5000
Radnor Capital (Investor Relations)
Joshua Cryer
Iain Daly
+44 20 3897 1830
Notes to Editors
Velocys is an LSE-listed, international sustainable fuels technology company, traded on the AIM, providing clients with a technology solution to enable the production of negative carbon intensity synthetic, drop-in fuels such as SAF, from a variety of waste materials. SAF (‘Sustainable Aviation Fuel’) is the only commercially available alternative to fossil aviation fuels.
Velocys’ proprietary catalyst and reactor technologies are IP-protected in all major jurisdictions.
Two reference projects in the US and UK (Bayou Fuels and Altalto) are designed to accelerate the adoption and standardise the Velocys proprietary Fischer Tropsch (FT) technology with an integrated end to end solution, including renewable power and carbon sequestration.
In addition, Velocys technology is enabling the next generation of low carbon sustainable fuels with significant additional positive air quality impacts.
Dr Neville Hargreaves, Velocys VP Waste to Fuels, was invited to give evidence to the UK Parliament’s Transport Select Committee inquiry on ‘Fuelling the Future: motive power and connectivity’. Dr Hargreaves gave evidence alongside other industry experts and discussed Velocys’ technology as an enabler of sustainable fuels in the UK, the industrial opportunity for commercialising SAF in the UK, and the policy required to support a UK SAF industry.
The Transport Select Committee is a group of Members of Parliament nominated by the House of Commons to scrutinise the Department for Transport. Its formal remit is to hold Ministers and the Department for Transport to account, and to investigate matters of public concern where there is a need for accountability to the public through Parliament.
Velocys has joined Zero Carbon Humber (ZCH), a partnership to build the world’s first net zero industrial cluster and decarbonise the North of England. ZCH will establish critical infrastucture to capture CO2 emissions and supply negative carbon power across the Humber.
The Altalto project in Immingham, in collaboration with British Airways, is located on the Humber estuary. It is expected to be Europe’s first commercial waste-to-jet-fuel facility processing household and commercial waste destined for landfill or incineration to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Carbon capture and storage can enable the production of fuels with net negative carbon intensity. Velocys has the technology solution to enable the production of SAF to help decarbonise aviation and help meet net zero targets.
Dr Neville Hargreaves, Velocys VP Waste to Fuels, said:
“Velocys is delighted to be joining the impressive group of companies that make up Zero Carbon Humber. The Altalto project, in collaboration with British Airways, can deliver zero carbon flight this decade and is an example of the new industries enabled by carbon capture and storage, bringing skilled green jobs to the region.”
Notes to editors:
The Zero Carbon Humber (ZCH) Partnership aims to decarbonise the UK’s largest and most carbon-intensive industrial cluster, supporting the UK net zero target. With its first project aiming to start up in 2026, ZCH will establish critical infrastructure to capture at least 17 million tonnes of CO2 emissions per year and supply up to 10 gigawatts of hydrogen in industry and power projects across the Humber by the mid-2030s. ZCH will contribute significantly to UK ambitions for 10 million tonnes of CO2 capture and 5GW of low carbon hydrogen production by 2030, and provide carbon negative power from biomass with carbon capture technology (BECCS).
The ZCH Partnership now includes Associated British Ports, British Steel, Centrica Storage Ltd, Drax Group, Equinor, INEOS Acetyls, Mitsubishi Power, National Grid Ventures, px Group, SSE Thermal, Saltend Cogeneration Company Limited, Uniper, the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC), and Velocys. To learn more, please visit www.zerocarbonhumber.co.uk
Velocys plc (AIM: VLS), the sustainable fuels technology company, today announces that further to the announcement of 25 November 2021 and following completion of the fundraising, Altalto Immingham Ltd (“Altalto”) (a subsidiary of Velocys) has exercised an option agreement to acquire Rula Developments (Immingham) Limited (“RDIL”) with an initial part-payment of £2.5 million. RDIL owns the site of the proposed Altalto project, near Immingham in North East Lincolnshire, which is being jointly developed by British Airways PLC (“BA”) and Velocys.
Pursuant to the agreement, the total consideration to acquire the site is being satisfied by a £2.5 million part-payment, funded through an inter-company loan from Velocys to Altalto. A further deferred consideration amount of up to £8.5 million is payable by 30 September 2022. As previously announced, Velocys is discussing the onward purchase of RDIL (and subsequent grant back to Altalto of a future option to purchase RDIL within 3 years) with a third party with the intention that the purchase price for RDIL paid by the third party will cover the remaining consideration payable by Altalto in 2022.
Detailed engineering for the Altalto project is expected to commence in 2023. Financial close is expected in 2024, with construction of the plant being targeted to commence in 2024 and to be completed by mid-2026, following which commissioning and start-up will commence, with full scale commercial operation expected in 2027.
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the UK version of Regulation 596/2014/EU (MAR).
Enquiries:
Velocys
Henrik Wareborn, CEO
Andrew Morris, CFO
Lak Siriwardene, Director of Communications & Sustainability
+44 1865 800821
Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited (Nomad and Joint Broker)
Emma Earl (Corporate Finance)
John Prior (Corporate Finance)
Hugh Rich (Corporate Broking)
+44 20 7886 2500
Shore Capital Stockbrokers Limited (Joint Broker)
Henry Willcocks (Corporate Broking)
Toby Gibbs (Corporate Advisory)
James Thomas (Corporate Advisory)
Liam Zabludowicz (Corporate Advisory)
+44 20 7408 4090
Buchanan (Financial PR)
Helen Tarbet
Simon Compton
+44 20 7466 5000
Radnor Capital (Investor Relations)
Joshua Cryer
Iain Daly
+44 20 3897 1830
Notes to Editors
Velocys is an LSE-listed, international sustainable fuels technology company, traded on the AIM, providing clients with a technology solution to enable the production of negative Carbon Intensity synthetic, drop-in fuels from a variety of waste materials. SAF (‘Sustainable Aviation Fuel’) is the only commercially available, permanent alternative to fossil aviation fuels.
The technology is IP-protected in all major jurisdictions.
Two reference projects in the US and UK (Bayou Fuels and Altalto) are designed to accelerate the adoption and standardise the Velocys proprietary Fischer Tropsch (FT) technology with an integrated end to end solution, including renewable power and carbon sequestration. Velocys is enabling commercial scale SAF production in response to the clean energy transition.
Velocys technology pathway is enabling the next generation of low carbon sustainable fuels with significant additional positive air quality impacts.
Result-of-GM-and-Open-Offer-15-Dec-2021
Results of Placing 26 November 2021
Proposed Placing and Open Offer announcement 25-Nov-2021
Velocys has joined the SME Climate Hub, a global initiative launched to help small and medium-sized companies to adopt sustainable measures as part of their activities to achieve the most ambitious target set in the Paris Agreement: net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
The SME Climate Hub is founded by the We Mean Business Coalition, Exponential Roadmap Initiative, the International Chamber of Commerce and the United Nations – through the ‘Race to Zero’ campaign – in collaboration with the University of Oxford and Normative. The Campaign is a global UN sponsored initiative that mobilises and urges businesses, cities, regions, investors and civil society to adopt crucial measures to significantly impact global emissions by 2030, as a first step to achieve carbon neutrality in the future.
Velocys views its commitment as a natural extension of its own suite of technology offerings and services which enable the production of sustainable fuels to decarbonise the aviation sector. This decarbonisation has a significant and urgent role to play in reaching net zero targets agreed by world leaders at COP26. In becoming part of the SME Climate Hub, Velocys is seeking to strengthen this network of companies adopting and espousing sustainable measures in order to hasten the collective path to net zero.