Altech Chemicals (ASX:ATC) considers Saxony, Germany for second HPA plant

• Altech Chemicals (ATC) has entered an option agreement to purchase a 10-hectare industrial site within the Schwarze Pumpe Industrial Park in Saxony, Germany
• Last year, the State Government of Saxony invited Altech to consider building its next high purity alumina (HPA) plant in Saxony
• Not only would it cost less to buy, but a HPA plant in Saxony would also meet the growing demand for HPA and clean energy in Europe
• Altech will have 12 months to exercise its purchase option but can extend this by a further 12 months via mutual consent
• Company shares are up 2.5 per cent and are trading for 4.1 cents each

Altech Chemicals (ATC) has entered an option agreement to purchase a 10-hectare industrial site within the Schwarze Pumpe Industrial Park in Saxony, Germany.

This follows an invitation received from the State Government of Saxony last year for Altech to consider building its next high purity alumina (HPA) plant in Saxony.

Altech will have 12 months to exercise its purchase option but can extend this by a further 12 months via mutual consent.

At this stage, the site’s purchase price is confidential but the company has hinted that on a per-hectare basis, the price is less than similar brown-fields industrial sites in Malaysia or Western Australia.

The Schwarze Pumpe Industrial Park is well-serviced by existing infrastructure including reticulated electricity and natural gas, rail and roads.

The region is considered a leading engineering training ground with top-quality research facilities like the Fraunhofer Institute for Electronic Nano-systems which are focused on ceramic nanotechnology in energy storage.

“While we have been focussed on completion of finance and the continuation of construction of Altech’s first HPA plant in Malaysia, the increased fiscal support for the EV and renewable energy sectors recently announced by the EU and Germany, combined with the forecast HPA supply deficit in coming years, has prompted us to move and secure this excellent HPA plant site in Germany,” Managing Director Iggy Tan said.

The HPA company is investigating the site as a preferred location for its second HPA plant to meet the forecast demand for HPA in Europe.

European Commission’s COVID-19 Green Recovery Plan

The European Commission recently released its COVID-19 recovery plan. This initiative is focused on reviving and supporting the European Green Deal “Next Generation EU”.

The initial priority is to repair the economic and social damage caused by COVID-19. The recovery plan and targeted reinforcements of the EU’s long-term budget is set to increase to a total of €1.85 trillion (roughly A$3.02 trillion).

In particular, the funds are expected to accelerate Europe’s green and digital transition with a focus on investing in clean technologies such as renewables and energy storage.

The plan will support the financing of one million new charging points for electric vehicles across Europe as well as the implementation of a critical raw materials action plan covering e-mobility batteries and renewable energy.

Altech believes high purity alumina will fall under the EU action plan as HPA is a critical component to manufacturing lithium-ion batteries and LED lights.

Company shares are up 2.5 per cent and are trading for 4.1 cents each at 10:55 am AEST.