Energy firm defers waste-to-hydrogen venture as it reevaluates priorities

Powerhouse Energy Group has deferred its joint venture to develop a plastic waste-to-hydrogen plant in Longford, Ireland, with Hydrogen Utopia Ltd.

The Bingley-founded firm said it needed to prioritise among a number of potential projects in its pipeline and assess their impact on its cash resources, and the board had decided the capital costs for the Longford project were not in its best interests.

Hydrogen Utopia, in a separate announcement to the London Stock Exchange, said it would be able to afford the project on its own, without a fundraise, if it exercised an option to buy a stake in a high-revenue medical cannabis cultivator in Macedonia.

Tony Garner-Hillman, non-executive chairman of Powerhouse Energy, said, “We have had to take a difficult decision in the interests of the long-term position as we continue to build a robust company. Our ongoing review of the Longford Project since the Heads of Terms were signed in March, along with developments in other areas of our business, have all had to be taken into account.  This has taken us to the inescapable conclusion that, through today’s eyes, the best interests of PHE dictate that now is not the right time to commit to the Longford Project and to making significant capital contributions. We remain hopeful that position will change.”