The construction of the PDO/BA plant of METEX NØØVISTA in France moves forward
Type of post: NEWS IN BRIEF.
METabolic EXplorer (METEX) has just announced the
closing of the agreement to finance the construction and operation of its
PDO/BA (1,3-propanediol / butyric acid) production plant. See the posts below for more details about the plant.
Press release: “Green
light for the construction of the METEX NØØVISTA production unit at Carling
Saint-Avold”, 19/12/2018.
Related posts:
- “METEX
plans to build a PDO/BA production facility”, 22/5/2017.
- “METEX
and financial partner to create JV for the construction and operation of its
PDO/BA plant”, 21/2/2018.
Last February, METEX reported that had signed a
letter of intent with a French financial partner to create a joint venture for
the construction and operation of the plant. The name was not disclosed at that
time, but in July, we knew that financial partner was Bpifrance-managed Société
de Projets Industriels (SPI, investment fund underwritten by the Programme d’Investissements d’Avenir and
the European Investment Bank). The name of the joint venture is METEX NØØVISTA.
Figure 1. Logo of METEX NØØVISTA
After obtaining the order from the
environmental authorisation for the plant’s operation on 10 December 2018 and
signing various agreements with the platform’s stakeholders, all conditions
precedent were lifted, allowing the financing agreements to enter into force. METEX
and SPI will invest, respectively, 17.15 M€ and 19.75 M€ in cash in three
instalments over a two-year period to cover the 37 M€ required for the
project’s first phase. The financing needed to adapt the site for the first
industrial biochemical unit (building, utilities, studies) will be provided by
the project stakeholders (the Total group, the French state, the Greater East
region and the Communauté d’Agglomération
de Saint-Avold Synergie). In addition to its cash investment, METEX is
granting an exclusive worldwide license as well as sub-licensing rights for the
PDO/BA technology to METEX NØØVISTA (7 M€).