HUI and PHE collaborate on Irish waste plastic-to-hydrogen facility

Ireland – A deal has been reached between Hydrogen Utopia International (HUI) and Powerhouse Energy (PHE) about the price and other aspects of their joint development of the Longford Project.

Hydrogen Utopia has been offered the option to acquire a 25-year lease on a greenfield site at Fisherstown Energy Park in County Longford, Ireland, in order to build a waste plastic to hydrogen plant.

The HoTs state that HUI and PHE have agreed to use a joint venture entity for the Longford Project that will be founded in Ireland, be owned equally by both businesses, and split development costs fifty-fifty.

Payment

PHE has agreed to provide a non-refundable payment of up to £400,000 in cash to HUI in recognition of its assistance in discovering the Longford Project, acquiring the Option, and developing the project. This cash payment will be made in two installments: a first payment of £100,000 will be made upon execution of the HoTs, and the second payment of £100,000 will be made upon the conclusion of the project documentation between HUI and PHE, which is expected to happen within the next three months and will primarily consist of a development agreement and a shareholder agreement. Upon receiving planning approval for the Longford Project on the Longford Site, PHE has agreed to pay HUI an additional £200,000 cash payment.

Irish Midlands

Longford, a county in the Irish Midlands, is anticipated to be one of Ireland’s primary recipients of the EU Fair Transition Fund. On November 29, 2022, the Irish Government approved the Territorial Fair Transition Plan for Ireland and its related program, which will invest €169 million in the Irish Midlands from 2022 to 2027. On December 15, 2022, the European Commission approved the Irish Government’s proposal.

Using on-site facilities

Fisherstown Energy Park, which has its own electrical grid connection, an electrical substation, and the potential to do so, contains on-site waste water treatment facilities that were originally used by a very large denim manufacturing plant. These facilities may be utilised by the Longford Project. Fisherstown Energy Park is close by and a manageable drive from the M4 and M6 highways, which allow access to Dublin and Galway.

Under the Option, HUI’s fully owned Irish subsidiary has the chance to pay up to three years’ worth of rent for a 25-year lease on the Longford Site. HUI paid an option premium to the freeholder over the first twelve months of the option; the rest of the option period was covered by additional quarterly payments.