It has been a roller coaster three months for EnergyPathways PLC (AIM:EPP), but the Aim-listed group ended the period reminding investors (both current and prospective) of the progress it has made since the start of the year.
The latest update appears to have lifted sentiment, with the company stressing its ongoing engagement with the North Sea Transition Authority over its gas storage licence.
EnergyPathways said it was reviewing a number of options, including amending and resubmitting its application, and added: “We remain optimistic that MESH will obtain the natural gas and hydrogen storage licences in due course and our optimism is underpinned by continued supportive engagement with the various authorities at NSTA and the Department for Energy and Net Zero.”
That confidence helped propel the shares 127% higher after the announcement, as investors warmed to the progress on its flagship Marram Energy Storage Hub in the Irish Sea.
Marram is pitched as a project of national significance: a compressed-air energy storage facility that can also produce and store hydrogen, designed to help balance Britain’s grid as it adapts to more intermittent renewable power.
To that end, EnergyPathways has brought in heavyweight partners. Siemens will lead the feasibility study, Costain will look at onshore infrastructure, Zenith Energy will provide well engineering and a memorandum of understanding with Hazer, an Australian hydrogen technology group, could allow a low-cost clean hydrogen unit to be added.
Ben Clube, chief executive, said: “We have made strong operational progress on MESH in the year to date, having signed strategic agreements with a number of world-class contractors to support EnergyPathways through the FEED phase and move the project towards FID status.”
The group is also seeking a Section 35 direction under the Planning Act 2008, which would classify Marram as nationally significant infrastructure and allow a streamlined consent process.
Finances remain tight. Results for the first half to June showed a pre-tax loss of £607,201, up from £550,159 a year earlier, with cash on hand at £695,335. Fundraisings in April (£744,000) and August (£400,000), both supported by directors, have kept work moving.
Clube admitted the environment for clean energy financing had become harder as oil majors scale back their ambitions and borrowing costs climb.
Yet he insisted that reinforced the case for integrated storage. “Our optimism is underpinned by an unwavering belief that the socioeconomic and environmental benefits of MESH are too valuable for the UK to be overlooked,” he said.
Plenty still rests on final investment decision, but the outlines are taking shape. For investors, the recent share price surge reflects renewed confidence that EnergyPathways may have steadied itself on the long climb from speculative concept to nationally significant asset.