Kibo Energy unbowed by funding constraints

Ireland-based Kibo Energy says it is pressing ahead with various alternative energy projects even though its “development approach” has been limited “given constraints around funding”.

In an update published on Tuesday the firm said that despite these challenges it has made progress in delivering “low- or zero-carbon energy-generation solutions across Southern Africa, the UK and Ireland”.

“A number of these clean energy opportunities are in various stages of development and others still in the opportunity screening phase,” it said, adding that it had received conditional preliminary approval for development funding for a waste-to-energy project in SA.

The company was also “formulating a joint development agreement” with a multinational food and beverage producer for a pilot plant that will produce “bio-coal”, enabling the unidentified firm to transition from using “fossil coal to bio-coal” in its boiler fleet.

One of Kibo Energy’s schemes in SA is the development of the Sustineri Energy plastic waste-to-synthetic oil project in Gauteng in partnership with Industrial Energy Solutions. The first phase, comprising 2.7MW plastic-to-syngas production, is at an “advanced project development stage”.

The firm was in “advanced discussions with a development banking institution for development funding” for the project.

The second phase of the project, targeting 20MW waste-to-synfuel production, is still in the concept stage, Kibo Energy said.

Last year the company reported an after-tax loss of £10.5m for the year to end-December 2022, and an interim loss of £1.8m for the period to end-June 2023.

Kibo said in its interim results statement last year that losses incurred in the current and previous periods, coupled with group’s the net liability position at end-June 2023, indicated that “a material uncertainty exists which may cast significant doubt on the group’s ability to continue as a going concern”.

“This is largely attributable to the short-term liquidity position the group finds itself in as a result of the significant capital required to develop projects that exceeds cash contributed to the group by the capital contributors,” it added.

To remain a going concern, Kibo said it was dependent on the successful implementation or conclusion of “funding initiatives of the group in order to continue development of the underlying projects”, and the successful completion of a joint venture agreement between its subsidiary Mast Energy Developments (MED) and Proventure Holdings.

The joint venture agreement has faced several delays since then. Most recently, on January 8, Kibo issued a statement that Proventure still hadn’t made the first £1m payment.

“[MED] now understands [the payment] was delayed due to a lack of co-ordination and administrative difficulties on the side of Proventure over the festive period.”

Kibo Energy said Proventure CEO Srinivas Kona would travel to London to work with MED to expedite the delivery of the overdue payments, as well as to finalise the outstanding administration to complete the transaction.

“MED is furthermore in discussions with respect to an alternative source of short-term funding to ensure that any further delays regarding the [joint venture] will not unduly impact MED's operations,” it added.

erasmusd@businesslive.co.za