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HAZER GROUP LIMITED — Capital/Financing Update 2017
Jan 24, 2017
65086_rns_2017-01-24_e84bc4fa-e03d-4e66-b621-3df38ed32845.pdf
Capital/Financing Update
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Hazer Group Ltd Suite 7, 29 The Avenue, Nedlands, WA 6009 PO Box 1458, West Perth WA 6872
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PRE-PILOT PLANT & SCALE UP UPDATE
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ConstrucDon of Hazer’s pre-pilot plant facility begins as the company progresses into the next phase of commercialisaDon and scale-up
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First non-laboratory plant to show scalability and operaDon of the Hazer Process
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Designed for mulDple operaDng process methods, including full conDnuous operaDon with on-line catalyst (iron ore) ingress and graphite ejecDon.
PERTH, AUSTRALIA; 25[th] JANUARY 2017: Hazer Group Ltd (“Hazer” or “the Company”) (ASX:HZR, HZRO) is pleased to provide the market with an update on the construcGon of the company’s pre-pilot plant facility and the ongoing scale-up stages and Gmelines.
Hazer has now commenced the construcGon of its pre-pilot facility (as described in the company’s announcement to the ASX on 26[th] October 2016). This plant is a key stage in the development of the Hazer process, and is the first stage in Hazer’s transiGon from laboratory-based standard equipment to a custom-designed and constructed plant.
- CAD rendering of Hazer Groups pre-pilot plant
WWW.HAZERGROUP.COM.AU
Kemplant, Hazer’s strategic chemical engineering partner, is leading the design and fabricaGon of the prepilot plant and Metro Engineering, a key supplier of industrial gas equipment, has agreed to allow Hazer to construct the plant within their secure industrial locaGon based in St Mary’s, Sydney.
The pre-pilot plant is designed to be versaGle and to allow for mulGple operaGng process methods across the full range of temperature and pressure condiGons using an innovaGve modular design. In the final mode of operaGon the system will be able to feed in fresh catalyst as well as capture the graphite produced during operaGon, at capaciGes exceeding the current lab-scale units.
This pre-pilot plant is significantly more advanced than the laboratory based equipment, and the progressive operaGon of this system will provide key informaGon required to verify the final design of the next plant (small commercial pilot plant). The key improvements at full funcGon compared to the previous stage are:
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MulGple processing methods of operaGon and operaGonal flexibility
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High pressure, temperature and gas flow capability to allow for full system opGmizaGon
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Upgraded graphite capture system to allow for greater extracGon efficiency
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Capability to eject graphite during operaGon
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Capability to inject catalyst into the system during operaGon
WWW.HAZERGROUP.COM.AU
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*Work beginning on Hazer’s pre-pilot plant facility at St Mary’s Sydney
This facility has been fully funded from Hazer’s ongoing R&D budget and the total costs for the plant, including construcGon and commissioning costs will be finalised upon compleGon. Hazer is also in early stage discussions with a number of potenGal off-take partners and plans to send syntheGc graphite samples produced from this facility to these groups for independent tesGng and market validaGon.
WWW.HAZERGROUP.COM.AU
HAZER PROCESS – SCALE UP PROGRESSION
Prior to IPO, four key development stages were idenGfied necessary to develop the Hazer technology into fullscale commercial plants, where each stage incrementally increasing in size and complexity in manageable segments. Two of the four stages have now been completed; with the third stage (pre-pilot plant) currently under construcGon. An overview of the various scale up stages and Gmelines are illustrated below.
STAGE 1 - STATIC BED REACTOR (FULLY COMMISSIONED)
The first stage of Hazer’s scale up process was the commissioning of a StaGc Bed Reactor (SBR) to enable the rapid synthesis and tesGng of different graphite products; which can be altered significantly by changing the reacGon condiGons and catalyst properGes. The SBR sees methane (the main consGtuent of natural gas) pass over a staGc dish containing powdered catalyst (iron ore) within a horizontal tube reactor at elevated temperatures and pressures.
ReacGon condiGons were adjusted to assess the resulGng structures and purity of the graphite product, as well as generate preliminary data on the reacGon kineGcs under different condiGons. Through the iniGal SBR systems, Hazer increased graphite producGon capacity by some 50x compared to pre-IPO capacity.
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Stage 1 - StaGc Bed Reactor System
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- Hazer’s StaAc Bed Reactor
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SBR produces 10s of grams of graphite
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WWW.HAZERGROUP.COM.AU
STAGE 2 - FLUIDIZED BED REACTOR (FULLY COMMISSIONED)
A Fluidized Bed Reactor (FBR) is a reactor system that is used extensively in large scale industries to perform a variety of mulGphase chemical reacGons, where a fluid (gas or liquid) is passed through solid parGcles (ogen catalyst), making them behave as though they were a fluid (or “fluidizaGon”).
The FBR uGlized by Hazer in Stage 2 operates at elevated temperatures and atmospheric pressure in semi conGnuous fashion. The upward flow of methane gas fluidizes the catalyst parGcles, enabling the reacGon to proceed more effecGvely than in the previous staGc bed reactor systems.
Hazer commissioned its FBR system in early 2016 and has enabled fluidizaGon studies to be conducted to assist in the design of the subsequent scale up stages. This system was successful at producing graphite at reacGon rate up to 1.5kg per day, represenGng a 5000x increase in pre-IPO capacity.
Stage 2 - Fluidized Bed Reactor System
- Hazer’s Fluidized Bed Reactor
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Top down view when in operaAon
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*1KG of graphite produced per day
STAGE 3 - PRE-PILOT PLANT (Q1 2017)
The current phase in the on-going scale up process is the pre-pilot plant (menGoned on page 1-3), which will enable the final verificaGon of the design for the larger commercial scale pilot plant.
WWW.HAZERGROUP.COM.AU
STAGE 4 - SMALL COMMERCIAL PROTOTYPE PLANT (2018)
Following commissioning and operaGon of the pre-pilot plant, Hazer intends to construct a prototype small scale commercial hydrogen and graphite plant, which will include all upstream and downstream gas processing necessary for commercial hydrogen applicaGons, such as in fuel cell vehicles. The intended scale of this stage represents funcGonal commercial scale for the Hazer process, and Hazer is in discussions with a number of parGes for off-take agreements for this iniGal prototype commercial unit, and is also invesGgaGng partnerships and other funding opGons to provide the construcGon capital that would be required for this scale operaGon.
This proposed commercial prototype plant would be a larger version of the pre-pilot plant, inclusive of all the common gas processing stages available in common industrial hydrogen producGon plants, such as steam methane reforming (SMR). The capacity of this plant is expected to be in the order of hundreds of kilograms per day of combined hydrogen and graphiGc products; discussions with a range of hydrogen market users and other groups have idenGfied this scale as ideal for many hydrogen-to-energy projects including distributed vehicle refuelling systems, and successful development of this prototype commercial plant would then enable widespread commercial deployment of this scale producGon plants.
This small commercial prototype plant would also funcGon as a pilot plant for increased scale producGon plants which would be potenGally capable of producing hundreds of tonnes of products per day, as currently undertaken by tradiGonal natural gas to hydrogen plants.
Geoff Pocock, Hazer’s Managing Director, commented:
“We are delighted by the rapid progress that Hazer has made over the past 12 months, and to be building our first non-laboratory producAon plant so rapidly aQer IPO is a sign of the simplicity and robustness of the underling Hazer technology. This plant will enable Hazer to more effecAvely engage with commercial partners and demonstrate the core Hazer value proposiAon.“
Dr Andrew Cornejo - Hazer’s Chief Technical Officer also commented;
“Hazer is progressing rapidly on the commercial up-scaling of the Hazer process, through use of known and tested approaches, such as fluidized bed reactors. The design and construcAon of the pre-pilot plant is a major milestone that we believe will show the scalability and versaAlity of the Hazer process to deliver valuable products to both the global graphite and hydrogen markets”
*SchemaAc of a potenAal Hazer Pilot Plat capable of producing hundreds of kg’s of combined hydrogen and graphite per day
WWW.HAZERGROUP.COM.AU
[ENDS]
ABOUT HAZER GROUP LTD
Hazer Group Limited (“Hazer” or “The Company”) is am ASX-listed technology development company undertaking the commercialisaGon of the Hazer Process, a low-emission hydrogen and graphite producGon process. The Hazer Process enables the effecGve conversion of natural gas and similar feedstocks, into hydrogen and high quality graphite, using iron ore as a process catalyst.
For further informaGon, investor or media enquiries, please contact:
Michael Wills – Hazer Group
Email: [email protected] Phone: 0468 385 208
Hazer Group Limited - Social Media Policy
Hazer Group Limited is commiied to communicaGng with the investment community through all available channels. Whilst ASX remains the prime channel for market sensiGve news, investors and other interested parGes are encouraged to follow Hazer on Twiier (@hazergroupltd), LinkedIn, Google+ and Youtube.
WWW.HAZERGROUP.COM.AU