Melbourne technology commercialisation company Environmental Clean Technologies (ASX: ESI) is set to sign an historic license agreement with Vietnamese company Thang Luong Investment and Joint Stock Company (TinCom). The deal follows the release of a detailed term sheet on May 6 2010. The license agreement will be formally acknowledged by both parties at a ceremony on Friday 25 June 2010, and will fast track commercialisation of ECT’s revolutionary brown coal dewatering technology known as COLDRY.
This licence agreement is binding and sets in motion the staged rollout of our unique Coldry technology on a commercial scale that leverages the value of Victoria’s world-class lignite assets. The project will commence with the funding of the special purpose vehicle (SPV), Victoria Coldry Pty Ltd, which was established earlier this year and will enable the detailed, site specific design and feasibility study to be undertaken by our engineers, Arup. This in turn is expected to result in the tendering, procurement and construction of Stage 1 of the flagship Coldry plant at Loy Yang power station by late 2013 at an estimated cost of around US$400M (to be confirmed during detailed design).
ECT Chief Executive Mr Kos Galtos said the signing of the license agreement is an important and historic milestone for the Company as it fast tracked commercialisation of its Coldry technology. “It is an important achievement for ECT, as it creates substantial value for our shareholders and delivers a whole new industry for the state Victoria”, Mr Galtos said. “We are heralding a new era in brown coal technology as we establish innovative export technologies that will not only capitalise on the world’s vast lignite resources, but also give impetus to our home State to expand its existing port and rail infrastructure to meet this new export demand.
“Vietnam has defied the global financial crisis, growing at impressive rates. This rate of growth is projected to continue for decades to come. Faced with fierce competition for black coal, TinCom has recognised the value of applying the Coldry technology to lignite to create a black coal equivalent feedstock to enhance its energy security while mitigating the impact of brown coal on the environment.”


