Investor News

Update on fire incident at Bacchus Marsh High Volume Test Facility

Environmental Clean Technologies Limited (ASX: ECT) (ECT or Company) is pleased to provide the following update regarding the fire incident on Monday 21 October at its Coldry facility west of Melbourne.

The Company requested a Trading Halt (21 Oct 2019) and subsequent Voluntary Suspension (23 Oct 2019) following a fire at its Coldry facility in the early hours of Monday 21 October 2019.

Given the potential impact on the proposed upgrades and plant operations a suspension was requested to allow the Company to assess the full extent of the damage, the likely downtime, viability of and timeframes for the remediation and repair program, the likely cause of the fire, insurance coverage and financial impact due to loss of revenue and/or assets.

The Company can confirm that assessment by both the fire authority and insurance investigator has been largely completed. While investigations are not yet finalised, it appears that an electrical fault may be the cause.

The cost of repair and replacement of fire-damaged equipment is currently estimated at around AU$2 – $2.5 million. A detailed engineering assessment is currently underway as to the specific break down of costings and expected to be completed within coming weeks.

The Company is working closely with the insurer, and whilst the insurer’s final assessment is yet to be completed, the Company is confident that core components of the plant, associated product and remediation costs are comprehensively covered in the relevant policies.

Importantly, the damage appears to have been focused in the smaller of the two Coldry buildings leaving the Coldry Packed Bed Dryer and boiler system undamaged. No damage occurred to the Matmor, HydroMOR or COHgen equipment.

The fire has caused disruption to the production of Coldry pellets for the Company’s steam and boiler business. Replacement fuels have been sourced allowing continued operations for existing customer steam facilities and potential new customers have been advised that Coldry deliveries may be affected for approximately six months.

The Company looks forward to providing further updates following the completion of the engineering assessment and conclusion of the insurance claims process.

For further information, contact:

Glenn Fozard – Chairman           [email protected]