Symphony Environmental Technologies (AIM:SYM ) has announced the completion of a €6m financing for the Eranova SAS ("Eranova") green algae project near Marseille in France.
The group, which develops and markets advanced biodegradable plastic products and environmental technologies, said the proceeds will be used to build the pre-industrial plant in Port St Louis in late November which is due to be completed by the end of April 2021.
The new plant is based on the existing pilot plant design which has already produced bio-sourced resins that have been tested successfully for transformation at industrial scale.
These new generations of bio-based resin do not use food resources and are approved for use with food contact, meaning they are therefore suitable for use as recyclable packaging.
The project is supported by ADEME, the French Environmental Agency and by Total Development Regional while the financing comprises loans are provided by HSBC, Banque Populaire and CIC and equity subscribed for by both new and existing investors including the Indorama Corporation, Altinat, Capelan Holdings and Euro-Capital LLC.
Symphony and Eranova agreed back in September that their collaboration agreement would be conditional upon Eranova successfully completing the financing. Symphony's fully diluted equity interest in the project is 1.6% with exclusive distribution rights for certain territories.
Shares in Symphony Environmental Technologies have traded within a tight range of 23p and 26p over the past two weeks to open at 24.5p following the announcement.
This includes exclusive distribution rights for the United Arab Emirates, and the whole of America south of the border between the USA and Mexico, the company noted.
The Company said the project represents a new generation of biobased polymer using a pollutant as a resource. Key benefits of the technology include, inter alia, a patented process in Europe and USA as well as a high carbon-capture production process and higher yields per hectare ‘due to the fast growing-rate of marine algae compared to food-crops.’
"We are delighted that the Eranova collaboration agreement has been finalised and funding now secured, as well as that the Indorama Corporation has joined us as an investor in this exciting opportunity,” said Symphony's Chief Executive, Michael Laurier.
“Euro-Capital brings another dimension into the Project through its strong packaging interest. The Project is an important step to create a European platform for a new source of biomass with low environmental impact,” added Philippe Michon, co-founder of Eranova.
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