Quadrise and Licella sharpen bioMSAR marine fuel testing plan

What has Quadrise announced?

Quadrise PLC has amended its Joint Development Agreement with Australian technology company Licella Holdings.

A Joint Development Agreement, or JDA, sets out how two companies will work together to develop and test a technology. The original agreement was announced in March 2025, with the companies investigating whether Licella's bio-oil could provide a cost-effective feedstock for Quadrise's bioMSAR and bioMSAR Zero fuels.

The amended JDA remains non-binding, but it introduces a more specific development focus and an updated testing timetable. That gives investors a clearer idea of what needs to happen before the partnership can progress towards commercial vessel trials.

The immediate objective is to complete final laboratory tests on refined Licella bio-oils during the second half of 2026. If those tests are successful, the partners plan to move into initial marine diesel engine pilot testing.

The updated development pathway

Development stage	Current position or timing
Laboratory testing in Australia and the UK	Undertaken under the original JDA
Final laboratory tests on refined HTL bio-oils	Planned for H2 2026
Initial marine diesel engine pilot tests	Planned after successful final lab tests
Larger-scale third-party engine testing	To follow successful pilot testing
Commercial vessel testing	Potential later stage

The announcement does not provide exact dates for the engine trials or commercial vessel tests. It also does not disclose the expected cost of the programme, how those costs will be shared or any potential commercial terms.

That lack of financial detail matters. The announcement is a technical development update rather than a supply agreement, customer contract or revenue-generating deal.

Investors can read the original company announcement for the full wording.

Why Licella's technology could matter

Licella has developed Cat-HTR, a hydrothermal liquefaction technology. Hydrothermal liquefaction, usually shortened to HTL, uses heat and pressure to convert biomass residues and biowaste into bio-oil.

Potential feedstocks include wood waste and agricultural waste. Licella's resulting bio-oil can then be blended or refined into lower-carbon liquid fuels.

Quadrise believes this could complement its own emulsion fuel technology. Licella would provide the HTL bio-oil production expertise, while Quadrise would contribute its fuel experience and access to the maritime market.

The attraction is principally about scale and cost. Shipping requires large volumes of fuel, while the price and availability of suitable biological feedstocks can affect the competitiveness of lower-carbon alternatives.

Quadrise chief executive Peter Borup said combining the two technologies offered an increasingly promising route to scaling bioMSAR for the maritime sector. He also highlighted the potential to mitigate price pressures affecting other bio-feedstocks.

This does not mean the cost advantage has been proven commercially. The amended agreement is designed to advance the testing needed to establish whether the technical and economic proposition works at progressively larger scales.

What has changed since the original JDA?

The companies have already carried out laboratory work in Australia and the UK. According to Quadrise, that work has helped both sides develop a deeper understanding of the technological advances required to supply sustainable HTL-derived bio-oils to shipping.

The amended agreement appears to turn that learning into a more defined testing sequence.

This is useful progress because it moves the collaboration beyond a broad research objective. There is now a stated near-term milestone in H2 2026 and a clearer route from laboratory testing to pilot engines, third-party engine trials and, potentially, commercial vessels.

However, the pathway remains conditional. Each stage depends on the previous tests being completed successfully, and the JDA itself is non-binding.

How the project fits Quadrise's strategy

Quadrise manufactures replacement fuels and biofuels for shipping and heavy industry. Its two principal products are MSAR and bioMSAR.

MSAR is a lower-cost alternative to conventional fuel oil, while bioMSAR combines Quadrise's emulsion technology with biological components to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The company says bioMSAR has already been successfully tested on diesel engines and can be used within existing fuel systems without significant capital investment.

The Licella collaboration is intended to widen the potential feedstock base for bioMSAR and bioMSAR Zero. If HTL-derived bio-oils can be produced economically and consistently at scale, that could strengthen Quadrise's proposition to maritime customers seeking lower-carbon fuels without replacing existing engines and infrastructure.

This latest announcement also follows the broader project and commercial progress discussed in Quadrise's FY2025 final results.

Quadrise says it is targeting a US$147 billion global fuel oil market. That figure illustrates the size of the opportunity, but it should not be confused with contracted revenue or an estimate of the company's obtainable market share.

The positives for investors

The clearest positive is that the collaboration is continuing after the initial laboratory programme. Quadrise and Licella have not walked away after the early technical work. Instead, they have agreed a more specific development focus.

There are several other encouraging points:

• Final laboratory testing has a stated H2 2026 timeframe.
• The partners have mapped out the steps towards commercial vessel testing.
• Licella's technology uses biomass residues and biowastes, potentially expanding the range of available feedstocks.
• The two companies bring complementary capabilities in bio-oil production, fuel formulation and maritime market access.
• The project is aimed at sectors where reducing emissions can be technically difficult.

The possibility of using abundant waste-derived feedstocks is particularly relevant. If proven, it could help address both scalability and feedstock cost pressures.

The risks and unanswered questions

This remains an early-stage development project. The main risks are technical execution, timing and commercial viability.

Final laboratory testing has not yet been completed. Marine diesel engine pilot tests have not yet taken place, and larger-scale third-party testing would still be required before commercial vessel trials.

The amended JDA is also non-binding. That means it should not be treated as a firm commercial commitment between the parties.

Other important details are not disclosed, including:

• Development costs and funding responsibilities.
• Target production volumes.
• Expected fuel pricing or margins.
• Potential customers or vessel operators.
• Dates for third-party engine and commercial vessel testing.
• Commercial licensing, supply or revenue-sharing terms.

Investors therefore have a clearer technical roadmap, but not yet a commercial model or quantified financial opportunity.

What investors should watch next

The next stated milestone is the completion of final laboratory testing on refined Licella HTL bio-oils during H2 2026.

Successful results would allow the partnership to progress to initial marine diesel engine pilot testing. After that, attention would turn to larger-scale independent engine tests and whether the companies can secure a route to commercial vessel trials.

For now, the amended JDA is a constructive step rather than a commercial breakthrough. It narrows the development plan, sets out the next testing stages and keeps alive the prospect of a scalable waste-derived feedstock for Quadrise's marine biofuels. The key question is whether the encouraging laboratory work can translate into reliable engine performance and, eventually, an economically competitive fuel at commercial scale.