EQTEC Reports Improved Margins and Strategic Advances in H1 2025 Interim Results

Italy – Italia MDC dilution but path to completion

EQTEC advanced c. €320,000 in shareholder loans to Italia MDC in H1 but stopped unilateral support in July. Quainstone has stepped in with capital, securing majority control (c. 67%) and senior creditor status. EQTEC’s stake will reduce from c. 49% to c. 27%, and it has impaired its equity by a further €320,000, keeping the carrying value at €2.0 million (as at 31 December 2024).

On the positive side, the Gallina plant remains strategically important as an EU reference site. On the negative, EQTEC’s economic share is smaller and its loans are subordinated, so near-term cash returns from this asset look more remote.

France – partner exit at Grand Combe, but new work streams with GRDF

Idex has indicated it will not proceed with Grand Combe. EQTEC is now working directly with the landlord and GRDF on a redevelopment as waste-to-fuel, with preliminary comfort on a potential gas pipeline connection. Separately, GRDF has awarded €175,000 to fund two pre-FEED studies, including the 5 tonne/day Green Gas Provence project in Istres, and another 4 tonne/day facility.

EQTEC also expects acceptance of an updated proposal for a France waste-to-liquid project in 2025, targeting c. €300,000 of revenue this year. This aligns with rising French and EU demand linked to ReFuelEU aviation and maritime targets.

USA – BMEC financing momentum; NFCP near COD; Hawaii pipeline building

• BMEC: USDA confirmed as financial sponsor, with c. USD 39 million debt “in principle” and a community raise for the final USD 1.2 million equity. Financial close must occur in 2025 to retain BioMAT eligibility. EQTEC has a signed tech-supply contract and awaits notice to proceed post-close.
• NFCP: The project exited Chapter 11. Commissioning is targeted for year-end, but timing is outside EQTEC’s control. One legacy claim continues; EQTEC considers it without merit.
• Hawaii: Collaboration with Simonpietri continues, with FEL-3 on the Aloha Carbon RNG Kapolei project likely to commence in Q1 2026, subject to grant funding (c. €1.0 million revenue to EQTEC).

Croatia – Belišće reconfigured; offtake intact, feedstock to be sourced

DS Smith will close its Paper Mill but invest €15 million to expand packaging at Belišće. That removes the planned waste-plastic feedstock but maintains an industrial offtaker for energy. EQTEC’s investment here is already fully impaired; progress now hinges on securing alternative feedstock.

Synthetic fuels: CompactGTL partnership validates syncrude production

This is a bright spot. EQTEC and CompactGTL’s containerised pilot produced high-quality light synthetic crude in August, validating the syngas-to-liquids pathway. EQTEC owns 10% of the pilot unit and plans extended trials at LERMAB in France across multiple feedstocks.

In parallel, the partners are in discussions with UAE investors about a fully integrated demonstration plant and are moving toward a full FEED package for a larger reference facility. With Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) mandates rising and feedstock constraints biting, this modular approach could become a differentiator.

My take: strategic logic vs. near-term strain

• Positives: 82% gross margin shows the pivot to high-margin IP and services is real. Finance costs are down. The AgriGas and syncrude milestones help credibility. BMEC’s USDA-backed structure is encouraging, and France is warming with GRDF funding and a potential waste-to-liquids mandate play.
• Negatives: Revenue is light, cash is thin, and there’s a material going concern uncertainty. Project slippage, counterparty changes, and dilution at Italia MDC dent near-term value. Execution in the USA remains time-sensitive, especially around BioMAT deadlines.

Net-net, the long-term opportunity in advanced fuels remains intact, but the next few quarters will likely be about cash discipline, option funding from CWTL, and converting one or two flagship projects to contracts and cash.

What to watch next

• AgriGas moving to full operations in Q4 2025 and the ramp of maintenance revenues.
• Finalising France pre-FEED scopes, and confirmation of the c. €300,000 waste-to-liquid proposal in 2025.
• BMEC financial close in 2025 to preserve BioMAT eligibility, and EQTEC’s notice to proceed.
• NFCP commissioning progress toward year-end COD.
• UAE backing for a synthetic fuels demonstration plant and data from LERMAB pilot runs.
• Further exercises of the £1.5 million CWTL option and ongoing cost reductions, including the c.60% payroll cut in Spain.

Jargon buster

• Syngas: a fuel gas mix made from waste biomass or refuse-derived fuels, used to generate power or as a feedstock for fuels and chemicals.
• EBITDA: earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation – a proxy for operational cash generation.
• COD: commercial operations date – when a plant enters revenue-generating service.
• Pre-FEED/FEED: early-stage and detailed engineering design phases that define a project’s scope, cost and risk.
• FEL-3: front-end loading phase 3, a detailed scoping step before full engineering.
• BioMAT: a California programme supporting small renewable energy projects under set tariffs.
• SAF: Sustainable Aviation Fuel, mandated in increasing volumes in the EU and targeted globally.
• RFNBOs: Renewable Fuels of Non-Biological Origin, such as fuels made from recycled CO₂ and green hydrogen.

Bottom line: EQTEC’s margin story and synthetic fuels validation are real positives. To unlock value for shareholders, the company now needs a couple of near-term wins on financing and commissioning to ease the going concern pressure and prove the model scales.