Pensana PLC (LSE:PRE) has moved higher after a deal to make it the first in the world to use offshore wind to produce ultra-low carbon magnet metal.
It has signed a letter of intent securing a private wire connection to battery storage operated by Yorkshire Energy Park under which it will have access to 4 MW rising to 10 MW of low carbon electricity for 10 years.
Pensana will use the electricity to power its Saltend separation facility and then later to power the conversion of NdPr Oxide into magnet metal.
Pensana chairman Paul Atherley said: “Through the private wire connection to Yorkshire Energy Park, our aim is to become the world’s lowest carbon magnet metal producer, with Pensana becoming the first company globally to use offshore wind to produce ultra-low carbon magnet metal.
"In our off-take discussions with the major automotive original equipment manufacturers there is increasing importance being placed on the security of supply and low-embedded carbon. The production of an ultra-low carbon magnet metal further enhances Saltend in its rapidly growing importance in the European and US magnet metal supply chains.”
Pensana shares have added 7.81% to 62.1p.
2.36pm: Sovereign Metals lifted by deal with Japan's Mitsui
Sovereign Metals Ltd (ASX:SVM, AIM:SVML) has moved higher after it signed a memorandum of understanding with Japanese trading company Mitsui & Co Ltd.
The deal involves a marketing alliance and offtake for 30,000 tonnes of natural rutile per annum from the company's Kasiya Rutile project in Malawi.
The two will jointly market Sovereign's rutile across Asia and other markets.
Sovereign's managing director Dr Julian Stephens said: "The Asia region is a key natural rutile market with all major end-use sectors well established and further strong growth forecast. We expect expanding technology developments and increasing environmental awareness to drive greater demand for natural rutile.
"This marketing alliance with a very high-calibre partner in Mitsui will assist Sovereign to penetrate these ever-growing markets."
Sovereign's shares are up 11% to 27.75p.
12.30pm: Kenmare boosted by Berenberg
Kenmare Resources plc (LSE:KMR) is climbing after an upbeat broker note.
The company, which operates the Moma Titanium Minerals mine in Mozambique, is up 4.13% at 429p after Berenberg issued a buy note and raised its price target from 670p to 750p.
The bank said it was upbeat on the mineral sands sector, and believed the meaningful free cash flow that Kenmare would generate in the medium term would help its valuation.
12.16pm: Adams falls into the red after investment losses
Adams PLC (AIM:ADA) is under pressure after the investment group fell into the red.
It reported a full year loss after tax of £1.73mln 2 compared to a profit of £3.09mln in the previous yea
It said the fall reflected difficult financial market conditions and was mainly due to investment return losses of £1.57mln compared to investment return gains of £3.24mln previously.
Chairman Michael Bretherton said: "World economies are currently facing many uncertainties associated with the Russia-Ukraine conflict as well as soaring energy prices and rising inflation. In addition, whilst the arrival of a number of COVID-19 vaccines and the associated roll-out of global vaccination programs has allowed for a full reopening of society in many countries during the first quarter of 2022, the full economic fallout from this two-year pandemic remains uncertain and the financial support measures taken during the period have left governments heavily indebted."
"In view of these uncertainties and economic threats, your board will continue to maintain a rigorous and highly selective investment approach which is committed to delivering additional value for shareholders going forward. We remain confident in the underlying fundamentals, technologies and long-term potential for growth at the companies within our investment portfolio."
Its current investments include C4X Discovery Holdings, Circassia Pharmaceuticals, Access Intelligence, Seeing Machines and Griffin Mining.
Its shares are down 16.33% at 5.02p.
11.16am: Novacyt SA slumps as COVID-19 related business drops more than expected
Novacyt SA (AIM:NCYT, OTC:NVYTF, EPA:ALNOV) has been hit hard by a fall in COVID-19 related business.
The clinical diagnostics specialist said first half revenue was £16.5mln, of which £13mln was linked to COVID-19 - a 73% decline in pandemic related sales compared to the same time last year.
This is a faster fall than the company expected.
It said: "If the rate of COVID-19 sales decline experienced in the second quarter of 2022 continues for the remainder of 2022, the board expects full year revenues of circa £25.0mln (previously expected full year revenues of circa £35.0mln to £45.0mln) based on the expansion of non-COVID-19 revenue in the second half of 2022 versus the second half of 2021..
"This would deliver an EBITDA loss for 2022 of circa £11.0m, or £4.5m loss for the underlying business when the impact of [an] additional £6.5m stock provision is excluded."
The company plans to discontinue its Lab21 Healthcare and Microgen Bioproducts businesses and following a further review based on the faster than expected decline in COVID-19 revenue, the company is taking steps to further rationalise its cost base.
Novacyt is down 22.56% at 115.15p.
9.57am: SIMEC Atlantis Energy surges after government contract for tidal project
SIMEC Atlantis Energy Ltd (AIM:SAE, OTC:SMAYF) is soaring after securing a deal for its MeyGen tidal project in Scotland in the latest government renewable energy auction.
The contract for difference is for 15 years and guarantees £178.54 (£/MWh), allowing SIMEC to deliver 28MW of clean, home-sourced, predictable power .
The company will work to achieve financial close for this next phase of the project by 2024 with the operation starting in 2027.
Chief executive Graham Reid said: "The significance of today's announcement cannot be downplayed. We are going to be delivering the world's first commercial scale tidal array and we now have a clear runaway, with future CfD rounds, to deliver the full c400MW of tidal power generation at MeyGen...Our absolute focus will be on the delivery of this project."
SIMEC has jumped 43.3% to 1.8p.
8.51am: ZOO in demand after strong trading
ZOO Digital (AIM:ZOO) has published its full year results a day late but investors may think they were worth the wait.
The cloud based media services group said revenues rose 78% to US$70.4mln with adjusted earnings up from US$4.5mln to US$8.3mln.
Since the year end, first quarter trading has seen strong growth compared to both the final three months of the 2021 financial year and the same period last year
Chief executive Stuart Green said: "ZOO is taking market share in a growing market, benefitting from our cloud-based platforms, extensive freelancer network and embedded client relationships. With our global scale and end-to-end offering, we are one of the few vendors capable of meeting the requirements of major media companies to take their content to international audiences.
"The streaming market continues to evolve as media companies invest billions of dollars in content to capture and entertain international audiences. We are scaling ZOO's operations to match continuing growing demand. During the year, we introduced new services such as mastering and expanded our presence in some of the fastest-growing regions for our customers, particularly across Asia. These are strategic investments that strengthen our operations in some of the most exciting territories for content expansion and will support our ambitious growth plans."
Its shares are up 6.64% at 112.5p.
Elsewhere ImmuPharma PLC (AIM:IMM, OTC:IMMPF) is up 11.32% at 5.9p after positive news from the US on its Lupus treatment.
Its US partner for Lupuzor, Avion Pharmaceuticals has received Type C meeting confirmation from the Food and Drug Administration , which has also agreed that a face to face meeting is not required.
Tim McCarthy, Chief Executive Officer, said: "We applaud the quick turnaround from the FDA in respect to Avion's request for this Type C Meeting and pleased to note the FDA's confirmation that only a written response is required and no face to face meeting is needed."