PowerHouse extends Peel agreements as it mulls options

PowerHouse Energy announced the extension of its agreements with Peel on Monday, as it mulled purchasing the entirety of the special-purpose vehicle, rather than the previously-announced 50% holding.

The AIM-traded firm said it had extended the validity of its collaboration agreement with Peel NRE, the Peel exclusivity agreement option, and the loan facility agreement between PHE and Protos Plastics to the Hydrogen No 1 special-purpose vehicle (SPV), to 29 April.

Those agreements were previously extended to 31 March, with the further extension set to allow the decision-making process and documentation to be finalised.

The company said it had also extended the long-stop date for the subscription and warrant Agreement, initially announced on 9 September 2020, between Peel Holdings IOM and PowerHouse Energy.

The agreement was extended to 31 March, and had now been further extended to 29 April as well.

As per the previous announcement made on 5 September, PowerHouse said it had been discussing potentially acquiring a 50% shareholding in the SPV for the plastics-to-hydrogen project at Protos, near Ellesmere Port.

However, consideration was now being given to the company potentially acquiring the whole shareholding of the SPV, the board confirmed.

“Formation of the joint venture with Peel has taken longer than anticipated,” said PowerHouse’s acting chief executive officer Keith Riley.

“As the project has developed, both parties have been carefully considering the best outcome for the project.”

Riley said PowerHouse had “significantly” increased its capacity in engineering, project management and operations, adding that the project structure that seemed optimal four or five years ago was not necessarily still the case.

“Both parties continue to evaluate the situation and more time is needed to ensure the best conclusion is reached.”

At 1218 BST, shares in PowerHouse Energy Group were up 5% at 1.05p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.