The work had not yet started: the company was 18 months behind schedule in implementing this industrial file called Resolute. But the public inquiry into the commissioning of a first unit, with a capacity of 1,200 tonnes per year of biosourced molecules, was completed on September 24.
In a press release, Circa explains that it has “notfailed to attract equity or other financing to continue operations» and believes that “markets have changed and bioproduction is much less in demand as an investment than at the time of listing“. The Norwegian needed to mobilize 73 million euros to build the factory capable of synthesizing the renewable solvent demanded by the pharmaceutical, cosmetics, agri-food and manufacturing industries.
Dormant shareholder
David-Alexandre Leduc, spokesperson for the French subsidiary Circa Sustainable Chemicals France (CSC France), however, sees the liquidation of the parent company as “an opportunity”. “The IPO of Circa in 2021 was detrimental to us, as was the composition of our shareholders, 26% of which was held by the Norwegian paper manufacturer Norske Skog, which made our company look like a large group.», he continues. The Norwegian papermaker who had helped build an industrial pilot in Tasmania (Australia) had also become, according to him, a “dormant shareholder».
While a budget of 40 million euros has already been consumed, CSC France hopes to mobilize 55 million euros by January 2025 in equity investments and bank loans, in order to initiate the start of the project and its operation until 2028. “The public investment bank Bpifrance would agree to support us on the debt provided that we find an investor who supports us with equity.», adds David-Alexandre Leduc. A multi-year commercial partnership recently established with the pharmaceutical group MSD could help secure this precious sesame. The refinanced French subsidiary would then take over the 20 employees of Circa (turnover of 1.7 million euros in 2023).
Numerous public aids released
Initiated in 2021, the Resolute project managed to mobilize 20.2 million euros in aid via the European “Bio-based industry” program, the Saint-Avold Synergie urban community (Casas), the Grand Est region, as well as by the State through the relocation component of the Recovery Plan and the Coal Fund. Thierry Zimny, industrial project manager at Casas, still wants to believe in the future of the project, insisting on the fact that “the situation of CSC France appears very different from that of the chemical recycling project for plastics». «Unlike the Parkes project, several key pieces of equipment such as the heart of the catalytic process or the hydrogenation tower have already been delivered and the operating authorization should be issued by the end of this month of November by state services».
Source: www.usinenouvelle.com
