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Message from Keith Riley, Interim Chairman and Acting Chief Executive Officer
2023 will be a year of transition for PHE. Over the past four years or so the company has been working on bringing the concept of DMG™ Technology to a working design that can be incorporated in the first Plastics to hydrogen facility being developed by Peel on the Protos Plastic Park near Ellesmere Port. During this period there had many very well intended, but optimistic predictions of when the plant would go into construction.
When I joined the Board of Powerhouse in October 2021, it was clear to me that there was still quite a bit to do. It is one thing piecing together a design, and another getting that design into a condition where the components can be procured, installed, the plant constructed, and put to work. No conditions of contract or warranties were in place; the supply chain was not properly identified; and Peel was carrying the full risk of the construction, performance, and operation, which it was not prepared to do. On top of this there was a big question over the cost of the development.
It seemed to me that a whole new approach was required. This would require specifications to be revised, contract drafts to be drawn up and enquiries issued that encompassed the supply, the construction and the commissioning and start-up. It would also require the company to become more involved in the project management than had been the case previously and take on some project risk for at least the first few installations. The business concept of the Company had been to sell licences for the technology, the assumption being that this was arms-length, low cost, low risk strategy. Indeed, this would have been the case for Protos, but experience told me that it would have been the only licence we would have sold for years to come – and as to when that would happen was out of our hands.
During the latter part of 2022, having assumed the chairmanship and then taken over the CEO role, I was able to change the PHE business strategy. On any new strategic project, we will now require to have some level ownership in it. Our preference will be to work with partners, and we have already announced the intention to take a 50% shareholding in the Protos project with Peel, and at Konin in Poland with Hydrogen Utopia International. We also look forward to working with HUI in Ireland. If, however, working with a partner is not possible, PHE will consider developing the project itself.
PHE will also expand and develop its engineering services. We have already announced the forthcoming Technology Innovation Centre and the new testing facility that will be installed there. This will allow us to carry out more extensive R&D than has been possible with the Demonstration Unit currently at Thornton. The intent is to develop a centre of excellence in material conversion, delivering a service to the recycling and materials recovery industries and completing what is currently a gap in the circular economy. Plastics to Hydrogen will remain a key part of what we do, but DMG™ Technology has many more applications and the intent is to make use of that.
So, 2023 standS to be an important year for PHE and we have started the year by announcing new directors for the Board, including the appointment of a new Non-Executive Chairman. I will now stand down from my interim chairmanship, which will allow me to focus on my executive role and drive forward this transition.
We have also appointed two new non-executive directors. All three have been selected for their ability to advise and assist the Company to grow into this new role. Developing projects incorporating our DMG™ Technology will require skills in engineering, project management, law and finance, whilst maintaining the high level of governance that the AIM market listing requires. I think we now have that mix on the Board and look forward to working with them, the existing directors and all the team in PHE and Engsolve (our engineering associates) to make it happen.
Keith Riley
Interim Chairman and Acting Chief Executive Officer