PRESS RELEASE

CIRCA SIGNS AGREEMENT WITH GAZELENERGIE TO CREATE INDUSTRIAL-SCALE PLANT
PRODUCING RENEWABLE SOLVENT CYRENETM  


 
OSLO, NORWAY - 22 September 2021 - Biotechnology company Circa Group has signed
a new agreement with energy producer GazelEnergie to repurpose  a former
coal-fired power plant site as part of Flagship EU project ReSolute.

Circa is the recipient of an EU Horizon 2020 Flagship Grant, in part to fund the
design, commissioning and operation of the ReSolute plant. Circa also leads the
ReSolute project, which is focused on creating a new, sustainably-sourced, safer
alternative to traditional, fossil-based solvents.

GazelEnergie is the owner of the Emile Huchet coal-fired power station site,
adjacent to the Carling Saint-Avold platform and Total Chemesis Composite Park,
in north-eastern France. The company has plans for green reindustrialisation of
the site, with renewable heat production and a green hydrogen production
project, which attract partners like Circa.

Circa's FuracellTM process converts non-food biomass waste into advanced
bio-based chemicals, including renewable solvent CyreneTM which can replace
traditional, toxic, fossil-based solvents such as NMP, DMF, DCM and DMSO. The
ReSolute plant will manufacture CyreneTM at industrial scale and is scheduled to
be commissioned in the first half of 2023.

Jean-Michel Mazalerat, President of GazelEnergie, said: "The establishment of
the ReSolute plant on the site of the Emile Huchet coal-fired power station is a
strong signal for the energy transition and the decarbonisation of the region's
industry. It is a firm expression of our strategy to turn the page on coal by
redeveloping the site with green projects that will create jobs."

Tony Duncan, CEO and co-founder of Circa Group, said, "This milestone shows that
we are on track with our growth trajectory. The timetable for bringing the
ReSolute plant online is ambitious and the Carling site offers us the amenities
we need. The repurposing of a former coal-fired power plant site into green
chemistry is consistent with Circa's perception of a circular green economy with
safer and more sustainable products for the planet."


 



 
About Circa
Established in 2006, Circa Group converts waste, non-food biomass into advanced
bio-based chemicals with its proprietary FuracellTM process. Its developing
product portfolio includes flavours, biopolymers, and bio-solvents including
CyreneTM, an alternative to traditional polar aprotic solvents, which is produced
in one step from platform biomolecule Levoglucosenone. By creating novel and
replacement chemicals from renewable feedstocks, Circa is both extracting value
from non-food, waste biomass, and addressing growing market demands for
bio-based alternatives that are driving a more sustainable economy. In March
2021, Circa Group successfully listed on the Euronext Growth Market in Oslo,
stock symbol CIRCA.
https://circa-group.com/
 
About GazelEnergie
EPH is the sixth largest energy company in Europe. It is a Czech group
specialising in the production and distribution of electricity, gas and heat and
operates in eight European countries. In France, EPH acquired the Uniper France
group, now EP France, in July 2019. EP France owns GazelEnergie Generation.
GazelEnergie Generation operates coal-fired power generation facilities that are
due to be closed by 2022 at the latest and concerns its two sites of Emile
Huchet in Saint-Avold (57) and Provence in Gardanne (13). At the latter site,
GazelEnergie Generation also operates a 150MW biomass electricity production
facility. The group intends to reindustrialise these two sites and to turn them
resolutely towards the production of green energy. EP France also operates six
onshore wind farms and two photovoltaic plants.

Media Contact 
Bárbara Mendes-Jorge
Sustainability Consult
bmj@sustainabilityconsult.com
+32 485 92 05 81
www.sustainabilityconsult.com