EQTEC PLC (LON:EQTEC) said it has signed a call option and exclusivity agreement relating to the purchase of land for the Billingham waste gasification and power plant project.
The deadline for signing the agreement has previously been delayed three times as EQTEC and its development partner, Scott Bros Enterprises, did their due diligence.
Under the terms of the option agreement, the purchase price for the project site will be £8.6mln, less the consideration of £260,000 for the grant of the option. The option may be taken up any time up to February 28, 2021.
READ EQTEC making progress on Billingham development plans as exclusivity period is extended
Conversations with potential engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) companies are in progress and the documentation required for tendering the EPC contract for the first phase of the project is currently being produced, the cleantech company revealed.
Once full commercial EPC offers are reviewed and negotiated to contract, a final decision will be reached on the funding structure for the project.
"We estimate that, with the application of EQTEC's advanced gasification technology, the project would convert 200,000 tonnes per year of non-recyclable everyday household and commercial waste otherwise destined for landfill or incineration,” said David Palumbo, the chief executive officer of EQTEC in a statement.
“In this way, EQTEC expects to be able to significantly improve both the economics and the environmental impact of this plant and many traditional waste-to-energy facilities, bringing employment to the local area and economic and environmental benefits to both the local community and large industrial energy users, whilst delivering attractive returns to our shareholders,” Palumbo added.