Agreement in principle with Regional Municipal Waste Management operator in the City of Ostrów Wielkopolski, Greater Poland to develop a waste to hydrogen system
Hydrogen Utopia International PLC (“HUI”) a company pioneering non-recyclable waste plastics to hydrogen technology, is delighted to announce that its wholly owned Polish subsidiary, Hydropolis United sp z.o.o., has signed a letter of intent (“LOI”) with RZZO (Regionalny Zaklad Zagospodarowania Odpadów) sp z.o.o. (“RZZO”), the regional municipal waste management company operating in Ostrów Wielkopolski, Greater Poland. RZZO works closely with the local government and the LOI was signed in the presence of and with the full support of the Mayor of Ostrów Wielkopolski, Beata Klimek, and the Deputy Mayor, Mikołaj Kostka. HUI applauds the ambition and forward thinking shown by this modestly sized city of circa 70,000 inhabitants, by RZZO, and by the Mayor, a person of vision and action, who has shown great confidence in HUI’s technology. The agreement was made at the imposing City Hall, giving it due gravitas and highlighting a pivotal moment for both Ostrów and HUI.
HUI’s waste plastic to hydrogen process, incorporating Powerhouse Energy Group Plc (PHE) DMG® technology, is an efficient, robust, scientifically well-established and environmentally friendly technology, that converts end of life plastics into a source of energy. The systems are scalable and adaptable to site specifics and characteristics. A plant can be constructed on as little as 1.5 hectares and bolted on to existing waste remediation facilities with ease. HUI has acquired exclusive rights to market PHE DMG® technology in Hungary, Poland and Greece and non-exclusive rights for the rest of the world. It has forged strong alliances with leading players in their fields such as Linde (the leading global industrial gases group), Sweco (one of Europe’s leading engineering, environmental technology and architecture consultancies) and Electron Thermal Processing (a Dutch specialist heat treatment system provider) in order to ensure a successful rollout of its systems.
RZZO was established in connection with the changes introduced in waste management in Poland and new legal regulations in this area, with a view to improving existing facilities and processes. It has a long-term contract for the management of municipal waste with the city of Ostrów Wielkopolski and it has built a number of modern waste management facilities in the region. Under the LOI, RZZO has agreed, subject to final contract, that it will provide a plot of land at one of its facilities with the necessary utilities to operate a HUI waste plastic to hydrogen plant, it will provide all necessary assistance with the permitting of the site, it will provide the waste plastic feedstock necessary to operate the system. The installation planned at RZZO will have the capacity to process up to 40 tonnes of plastic waste per day and produce up to 2-3 tonnes of hydrogen per day as well as electricity and heat. RZZO has undertaken to use its best endeavours to assist in procuring funding for the plant from EU, national or local grants and/or private funding. RZZO has also offered its full assistance in finding off-take partners for the hydrogen and energy produced by the plant. It is likely that the heat energy produced by a plant would be fed into a district heating system.
In general, HUI is targeting areas where there is a significant private sector interest or potential financial backing is accessible and/or where substantial EU and/or government funded sources of grants and loans are available, such as the EU’s ‘Just Transition Fund” which was set up to help fossil fuel dependent communities transition towards climate neutrality. HUI’s flagship project is set to be in Konin, Poland. Following the signing of an agreement between HUI and the City of Konin in February 2021, an EIA has already been submitted by prestigious engineering firm Sweco, close to the city's existing waste remediation facilities, and the scheme is likely to be passed in the next year. The establishing of a facility based on a similar model, at Ostrów is an exciting prospect and the two plants could potentially demonstrate in unison the advantages of solving the dual environmental threats of plastic overload and burning fossil fuels, as Poland pulls out all the stops to decarbonise its economy on a background of fossil fuel dependency spanning generations.
Aleksandra Binkowska, CEO of HUI, commented:
“RZZO’s ambition as a company, working closely with the city of Ostrów Wielkopolski’s local government, clearly demonstrates that together they have an ambition to be ahead of the game. Their entrepreneurial spirit and forward-thinking is tangible. The drive to implement future technologies in the region is electrifying. My experience with RZZO and the City Officials has been highly positive, and I am sure that they will each do everything to help roll out a HUI plastic waste to hydrogen system in the region”
Marzena Wodzińska, President of RZZO, commented:
"We believe that only future technologies can provide Ostrów Wielkopolski the prosperity and standing it deserves. We pride ourselves on delivering our customers with the best we possibly can and I believe that an HUI waste plastic to hydrogen plant has the potential to solve the global plastic problem and provide us with the valuable energy that we need."
For further information please contact:
Hydrogen Utopia International PLC
Guy Peters/Aleksandra Binkowska
+44 20 3811 8770
Press enquiries to: Kate Templeman
+447312530958
kate.templeman@hydrogenutopia.eu
About Hydrogen Utopia International PLC
HUI aims to become one of the leading new European companies specialising in turning non-recyclable mixed waste plastic into carbon-free fuels, new materials or distributed renewable heat.
A HUI facility uses non-recyclable mixed waste plastic as feedstock and turns it into syngas from which new products and energy can be produced. HUI anticipates that its revenues will be derived from a variety of sources, dependent upon location and configuration of the HUI facilities, including the sale of syngas, hydrogen and other gases, electricity and heat sales, and the payment to it of fees for a given quantity of non-recyclable mixed waste plastic received at a HUI facility.
HUI will target areas where there is significant private sector interest or potential, financial backing is accessible and or where substantial EU and/or government funded sources of grants and loans are or may be available, such as but not limited to the EU’s “Just Transition Fund” which was set up to help fossil fuel dependent communities transition towards climate neutrality. The global increase in fossil fuel-based energy prices reinforces the need for alternative, price competitive energy sources, which HUI’s business model can provide.
HUI’s initial strategic focus is to work closely with Powerhouse Energy Group plc to create a project pipeline of HUI facilities. HUI will concentrate its marketing and promotion of HUI facilities on the European Continent in order to unlock significant value for current and future HUI shareholders. HUI also intends to explore opportunities across several industry verticals and, in due course, other non-European jurisdictions (excluding the UK).
The pressing need to deal with growing amounts of waste plastic combined with a real momentum in the use of hydrogen from renewable sources may pave the way for a rapid deployment of and investment in HUI facilities.