Velocys PLC Velocys appoints Worley as engineering partner

TIDMVLS

Velocys PLC

03 February 2020

News Release

Velocys plc

("Velocys" or "the company")

03 February 2020

Velocys appoints Worley as engineering partner

Velocys plc (VLS.L), the sustainable fuels technology company, is pleased to announce the appointment of Worley (ASX: WOR) to manage the delivery of its fully integrated technology package.

Worley, a world-class engineering contractor, is the partner in the development of pre-feasibility, feasibility and FEED packages for all projects in the Velocys portfolio. This allows Velocys to leverage synergies across multiple projects and geographies. Worley's global reach allows an effective collaborative partnership to deliver projects worldwide.

The fully integrated technology package converts waste feedstocks into sustainable aviation and road transport fuels. Velocys has selected all the technology suppliers for its Bayou Fuels woody-biomass-to-fuels project in Natchez, Mississippi, USA. The same technology package will be used for the Altalto Immingham waste-to-fuels project in the UK.

The industry leading licensors were selected, after extensive due diligence and engineering assessment, to create an integrated technology solution consisting of five process steps (including Velocys' own technology), each of which has been demonstrated at commercial scale on similar feedstocks:

 
 Step   Process                           Licensor 
 1      Gasification                      TRI (ThermoChem Recovery International) 
       --------------------------------  ---------------------------------------- 
 2      Syngas partial oxidation          Arvos Schmidtsche-Schack (SCS), 
         and cooling                       with Linde's Hot Oxygen Burner 
                                           Technology 
       --------------------------------  ---------------------------------------- 
 3      Syngas clean-up & conditioning    Air Liquide Engineering & Construction 
       --------------------------------  ---------------------------------------- 
 4      Fisher Tropsch (FT) hydrocarbon   Velocys 
         synthesis 
       --------------------------------  ---------------------------------------- 
 5      Product upgrading                 Haldor Topsoe 
       --------------------------------  ---------------------------------------- 
 

The careful selection and combination of the above technologies provides a de-risked solution enabling the processing of different solid feedstocks (including both woody biomass and municipal solid waste), and sufficient flexibility to allow production of multiple products including Synthetic Paraffinic Kerosene (SPK) and diesel. A capture-ready carbon dioxide stream is also produced, enabling negative-emissions fuels wherever CO(2) usage or storage options are available, as is the case for the Bayou Fuels project.

Velocys has also successfully concluded an integrated piloting programme culminating in the production of SPK, diesel and naphtha from representative Fischer Tropsch liquids.

Aviation and heavy goods transport remain the hardest sectors to decarbonise. Passenger vehicles can be electrified but aeroplanes and trucks require much higher energy density, therefore a liquid fuel remains the more viable choice. The technology package provides a robust solution to help these industries to unlock a decarbonised future, through access to abundant, sustainable, but difficult-to-process feedstocks such as municipal solid waste and woody biomass residues. Critically, the fuels produced meet all required regulatory standards, and can be used without any modification to engines.

Paul Seaton, Worley President, E&C Services, Europe & Central Asia said:

"We are pleased to have been selected as the global engineering partner for these sustainable fuels projects. As a major player in the energy, chemicals and resources sectors, energy transition projects are already a fast-growing part of our business. Worley is determined to work with Velocys to find solutions for a lower carbon world."

Henrik Wareborn, Velocys CEO, said:

"We are delighted to have appointed Worley as our engineering contractor and to partner with our selected technology providers, who bring complementary skills and command excellent reputations. Our unique combination of proven technologies allows Velocys to offer a robust process solution that will be vital to the decarbonisation of challenging sectors and the achievement of net zero targets."

Licensor comments include:

Daniel A. Burciaga, TRI CEO, said:

"TRI is extremely pleased to be part of the world-class technical team that Velocys has assembled for these important and exciting projects. Having already worked closely with Velocys to integrate our system with their FT technology unit and demonstrated that over a long duration run at our process demonstration facility, we are very confident about the robust commercial applications of this powerful configuration."

Todd Skare, Linde Chief Technology Officer said:

"Linde is pleased to have been selected by Velocys to supply its proprietary Hot Oxygen Burner (HOB) Technology. Our commercially proven partial oxidation technology will be used to increase the quality and yield of syngas generation. Our HOB technology is widely recognised in the industry for its ability to handle a wide range of variation in both raw syngas and fuel compositions thus helping our customers ensure a reliable waste to fuels process."

Michael Schoetz, Head of Sales & Tendering at Arvos Schmidtsche Schack Düsseldorf said:

"We are excited to get the opportunity to apply our 50 years of experience from Gasification in the emerging renewable field. SCS will apply our knowledge to reduce risk and increase availability in the first process block, the complete Gasification Island."

Dominique Rouge, Vice President, Sales & Technology at Air Liquide Engineering & Construction said:

"Air Liquide Engineering & Construction is pleased to bring its extensive experience and world renowned and referenced Lurgi(TM) capture-ready syngas conditioning technology to the project, supporting the new generation of sustainable fuels and the transition to clean energies."

Johan Mogensen, Vice President, Haldor Topsoe, said:

"We are very proud to be part of this project together with Velocys. Haldor Topsoe is determined to be a driving force in the global push towards renewable fuels. This project is a notable addition to our extensive portfolio in the area."

--Ends---

For further information, please contact:

 
 Velocys 
  Henrik Wareborn, CEO 
  Andrew Morris, CFO 
  Lak Siriwardene, Head of Communications & 
  Sustainability                               [phone] 
 Numis Securities (Nomad and joint broker) 
  Stuart Skinner 
  Tom Ballard                                  [phone] 
 Canaccord Genuity (Joint broker) 
  Henry Fitzgerald-O'Connor 
  James Asensio                                [phone] 
 Radnor Capital (Investor relations) 
  Joshua Cryer 
  Iain Daly                                    [phone] 
 Field Consulting (PR)                          [phone] 
  Robert Jeffery                                 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.

www.velocys.com

Worley globally delivers projects, provides expertise in engineering, procurement and construction and offers a wide range of consulting and advisory services. Headquartered in Sydney Australia, the company covers the full lifecycle, from creating new assets to sustaining and enhancing operating assets, in the hydrocarbons, mining, mineral, metals, chemicals, power and infrastructure sectors. www.worleyparsons.com

ThermoChem Recovery International (TRI) was founded in 1996 in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. TRI has developed two stage steam reforming gasification technology which enables the conversion of a diverse range of feedstocks, including municipal solid waste and woody biomass feedstocks, into syngas. TRI's gasifier has been successfully constructed, commissioned and operated at commercial scale in a plant in Trenton, Ontario, Canada. Velocys and TRI have carried out over 2,000 hours of integrated gasifier and FT testing at TRI's process demonstration facility in Durham, North Carolina, USA. www.tri-inc.net

Linde is a leading industrial gases and engineering company with 2018 pro forma sales of USD 28 billion (EUR 24 billion). The company employs approximately 80,000 people globally and serves customers in more than 100 countries worldwide. Linde delivers innovative and sustainable solutions to its customers and creates long-term value for all stakeholders. The company is making our world more productive by providing products, technologies and services that help customers improve their economic and environmental performance in a connected world. www.linde.com

ARVOS Group has been supplying specialist heat transfer equipment in power, petrochemical chemical and metallurgical industries for over 100 years. The Partial Oxidation unit will be supplied from the Schmidtsche Schack's Düsseldorf division, integrating the TRI supply into the Gasification Island. SCS is headquartered in Kassel, Germany and has manufacturing locations in Germany, and Offices in USA, Japan and China and India. The partial oxidation system with burner and syngas cooling have tens of thousands of operating hours in similar applications worldwide. www.arvos-group.com

Air Liquide Engineering & Construction builds Air Liquide Group production units (mainly air gas separation and hydrogen production units) and provides external customers with efficient, sustainable, customized technology and process solutions. Air Liquide Engineering & Construction's core expertise in industrial gases, energy conversion and gas purification, enables customers to optimize natural resources. As a technology partner, customers benefit from our research and development to contribute to energy transition. www.airliquide.com

Haldor Topsoe is a globally recognised catalyst and technology company headquartered in Lyngby, Denmark, suppling high-performance catalysts, proprietary technologies, process design, engineering, and services for use in the chemical and oil & gas industries. It has more than 200 licensed units in hydroprocessing technology. www.topsoe.com

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February 03, 2020 02:01 ET (07:01 GMT)