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Trump 2.0 will not reverse Biden's critical minerals push: Andy Home
Donald Trump has explained the Inflation Decrease Act (IRA) as a green rip-off and pledged to repeal it after he returns to the White Home in January. This is bad news for sectors such as electrical automobiles (EV). and wind power, which have been major recipients of the Biden. administration's signature $369 billion energy transition. legislation. But a few of the brand-new green offer money has likewise been channeled. to the U.S. industrial base, such as the $75 million allocated. for an upgrade of Constellium's aluminium rolling mill. in West Virginia. Will this too be clawed back? It seems not likely because when. it pertains to restoring U.S. commercial capacity and cutting the. nation's vital minerals reliance on China, there is. exceptional cross-party consensus. Indeed, it was then-President Trump who in 2020 declared the. country's unnecessary reliance on foreign foes for vital. minerals a nationwide emergency. Trump in his 2nd presidency is not likely to reverse the. drive to metallic self-sufficiency. He may even prove to be an. accelerator. PURCHASING AMERICA Both the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Department of. Defense (DOD) have actually pumped billions of dollars into restoring. U.S. metals capability. The DOE has largely channeled funds to EV battery inputs. such as lithium, manganese and graphite. The DOD has actually sprinkled the money far more widely, targeting a. spectrum of mystical components varying from antimony to. zirconium, consisting of an unknown vital product. incongruously described as vital both for the defense of. human lives and ammo product packaging. The Biden administration boasts that thanks to government. largesse business have revealed $120 billion in investment in. domestic battery and critical minerals capability. Yet the majority of that financial investment has been concentrated on the. downstream part of the supply chain. Seventeen new U.S. battery plants have been announced since. the individual retirement account entered impact in July 2022, increasing pipeline. capability by 68% through 2030, according to research house. Criteria Mineral Intelligence. When it comes to purchasing the metals required to provide. those gigafactories, the majority of the projects receiving federal. funds are those aiming to enhance existing recycling capability. New primary smelting projects stay noticeable by their. lack. Century Aluminum has been awarded a potential. $ 500 million to build a new aluminium smelter however there has been. no update given that the original statement in March. Even the DOD's high-priority unusual earths processing venture. with Australia's Lynas Rare Earths has actually encountered. trouble. Earthworks at the Seadrift website in Texas have actually been put. on hold due to problems getting a wastewater license, Lynas said. in its newest quarterly report. STUCK IN THE GROUND New smelting capacity needs new mines to provide it and. that's where the U.S. minerals investment boom is still. having a hard time to construct momentum. The majority of the funds committed to the mining sector have actually been. directed at lithium, both for new mines such as Lithium. Americas' Thacker Pass and numerous tasks. experimenting with direct extraction technology. South32's Hermosa zinc-manganese project in Arizona is. a non-lithium stand-out, receiving both DOD and DOE funds. and the very first mine to receive the Fast-41 accelerated. allowing procedure. Many others, nevertheless, stay bogged down in the nation's tortuous. permitting procedure. The Biden administration has actually struggled to reconcile its. desire to produce the metals required for the green energy. transition with its ecological qualifications. Big copper projects such as the Pebble mine in Alaska and. the Twin Metals task in Minnesota have been exterminated. Trump has already guaranteed to reverse Biden's 20-year restriction on. mining in the Superior National Park in Minnesota in about 10. to 15 minutes of taking office. That in itself won't be a thumbs-up for the Twin Metals. job, which would still need to get state allowing. sign-off, however it's an indication that the Trump administration will not be. hobbled by the green-on-green cabinet conflict that. characterised the last four years. CONCENTRATE ON CHINA A new Trump administration is also likely to take a much. tougher line on crucial metal imports from entities connected to. China. Talon Metals has actually been allocated funds by both the. DOD and DOE to advance its Tamarack nickel project in Minnesota. and explore for more resource in the state. It's a difficult time to be in the nickel business, however, as a. mining boom in Indonesia has crushed prices and required many. existing operators out of service. Most of Indonesia's nickel capacity is managed either. straight or indirectly by Chinese entities, which has not. stopped U.S. carmakers such as Ford from signing up with the. Indonesian nickel rush. Price has actually surpassed politics when it pertains to protecting a key. metal for EV batteries. Depending upon the structure of the joint endeavor between. Ford, Vale and China's Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt, the nickel from. the brand-new plant in Indonesia might even count as IRA-compliant and. receive federal EV subsidies. Such sourcing ambiguity seems unlikely to make it through the Make. America Great Again focus of a new Republican administration. Undoubtedly, every indication so far is that Trump 2.0 will double down. on the U.S. minerals self-sufficiency drive, even if it suggests. accepting that not all of the IRA funds are a green fraud. The viewpoints expressed here are those of the author, a. writer .
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Couche-Tard chairman states no hostile takeover quote for Seven & i, Nikkei reports
Alimentation CoucheTard is ruling out a hostile takeover quote for Japan's. 7 & & i, the Nikkei company daily quoted the. Canadian suitor's chairman and cofounder, Alain Bouchard, as. stating. In an interview with Japanese media carried out in Canada on. Thursday, Bouchard stated a hostile bid was not amongst aspects. being thought about, indicating the company's objective to secure. a friendly acquisition deal, the Nikkei reported. Couche-Tard, which competes with Seven & & i in the North. American filling station market, in August made an initial quote to. take control of the Japanese retail giant. It later on raised its deal. to $47 billion, in what would be the largest-ever foreign. takeover of a Japanese company. 7 & & i, which operates more than 80,000 7-Eleven. convenience stores worldwide, is caught in a three-way. tug-of-war in between Couche-Tard, Seven & & i's starting household,. which is proposing a management buyout, and business management. who say their development strategy can improve worth. Asked whether Couche-Tard could raise its bidding price. even more, CEO Alex Miller, who also participated in the interview, said:. The current proposed cost is appealing for all stakeholders..
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Northvolt goes from Europe battery promise to crisis
Sweden's Northvolt said on Thursday it will look for U.S. Chapter 11 insolvency security as the cashstrapped battery start-up seeks to figure out its finances. The company went in a matter of months this year from being Europe's finest contended a home-grown electric-vehicle battery champion to racing to survive, hobbled by production problems and as moneying ran out. Northvolt, whose motto is make oil history, has actually received more than $10 billion in equity, debt and public financing, and counts Volkswagen, with a 21% stake, and Goldman Sachs, with a. 19% holding, as its most significant owners. Here is a timeline of major occasions. 2016-2018. Company established in 2016 as SGF Energy by 2 former Tesla. executives and endeavor company Vargas Holding. It becomes Northvolt in 2017, getting equity financing of $12. million that year and an additional $120 million in 2018. The group in 2017 announces prepares to construct $4 billion. lithium-ion battery gigafactory Northvolt Ett and research. facility Northvolt Labs. It partners with BMW and truck maker. Scania. It says in October 2018 it is establishing a battery systems. factory in Poland. 2019. Volkswagen, BMW and Goldman Sachs are amongst financiers in a $1. billion equity capital raise. Volkswagen takes a stake of about. 20%, becoming the biggest owner, with battery production for the. automaker prepared for late 2023 or early 2024. 2020. Northvolt raises $600 million in equity and $1.6 billion in. debt. BMW indications a 2 billion euro ($ 2.16 billion) contract for. battery cells to be produced from 2024. 2021. Volkswagen puts a 10-year, $14 billion battery cell order with. the company, Northvolt states in March. In the same month it announces the acquisition of. California-based lithium-metal battery start-up Cuberg. Later on that year the group raises $2.75 billion in equity to. fund an expansion of Northvolt Ett, aiming for the plant to. have yearly capability of 60 gigawatt hours, enough for some one. million cars. It likewise establishes the Novo joint venture with Volvo Cars, with. prepare for a 50 GWh factory, and in December announces that it. has actually formed the Aurora lithium joint venture with Portugal's. Galp. The company says in December it has actually put together the very first. lithium-ion battery cell at Northvolt Ett. 2022. Sweden is developing into a battery-making superpower, the. then-industry minister informs news company TT. Northvolt reveals in February prepare for gigafactory Northvolt. Fem in Sweden. This is very first meant to be a battery cell factory,. then an active cathode product plant. It is cancelled in 2024. The group also in 2022 provides the very first battery cells to. clients. It says in July it has raised $1.7 billion in convertible financial obligation. for factory rollouts. 2023. Sources tell Reuters in February that Northvolt prepares to work with. banks for a going public that might take place. within 12 months and value the business at more than $20 billion. The IPO is later delayed. The group says in August it has raised $1.9 billion in. convertible financial obligation to fund expansion in Europe, North America. Northvolt announces plans in September for the $5 billion. Northvolt Six battery plant in the Montreal area of Quebec,. Canada. It touts a $50 billion order book and practically 6,000 staff members. 2024. January - Northvolt inks a $5 billion loan plan to pay for. the second stage of Northvolt Ett, a tripling of capacity. Sweden concerns credit assurances for $1.5 billion of the bundle,. however the money is not paid as construction is stopped. March - In the existence of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz,. Northvolt starts construction of Northvolt Drei in Germany, with. prepared annual production capacity of 60 GWh. The plant wins 900. million euro in subsidies. June - BMW cancels a 2 billion euro battery order signed in. 2020. Sources tell Reuters the factor is that Northvolt can not. provide on time. July - Northvolt introduces a tactical review of its organization,. with the CEO saying the company used up too strongly. August - The group shuts Cuberg in California, concentrating R&D. in Sweden. Sept. 9 - Northvolt says it will focus on battery cell. production. It stops cathode active material production,. effectively shelving plans to end up being end-to-end self-dependent. in the battery-making worth chain. The group says planned battery plants in Canada and Germany may. be delayed. Sept. 16 - Sweden's prime minister says the government will not. take a stake in Northvolt. Sept. 23 - The company reveals layoffs of 1,600 workers in. Sweden and cancels the Northvolt Ett growth, including it will. focus on raising production at the existing plant. Sept. 24 - Northvolt says Northvolt Ett produced a record 60,000. battery cells in one week, a small portion of the plant's. capacity, according to analysts, as production issues continue. Oct. 8 - The Northvolt subsidiary in charge of expanding the. plant in Sweden declare personal bankruptcy with billions of crowns in. unpaid debt. Oct. 9 - The head of Northvolt Ett steps down after 15 months in. the job. Oct. 10 - The company seeks to offer its stockpile of surplus. battery-making materials, sources inform Reuters. Oct. 11 - The group remains in talks with financiers and lending institutions to. safe about 200 million euros in financing, sources tell Reuters,. far less than the $1.4 billion that Swedish media reported. earlier in the year that Northvolt hoped to raise. Oct. 21 - Northvolt says it is making substantial development on. financing. A source tells Reuters the company aims to raise more. than $300 million, which might offer it funds until next year. Oct. 31 - Volvo Cars states it is looking for to take complete control over Swedish battery-making joint endeavor NOVO, as. Northvolt is no longer contributing funds. Nov. 11 - Northvolt says the head of investments at. Volkswagen is leaving the group's board . Nov. 15 - Northvolt has actually thought about seeking U.S. Chapter 11 personal bankruptcy security as one of. a number of possible survival choices, 2 sources acquainted with. the matter informed Reuters. Nov. 18 - Northvolt has missed out on some in-house production targets and has actually cut. production at its plant in northern Sweden, according to. internal company files examined and business. sources.
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Mexico's proposed greater mining royalties might block $7 bln in financial investments, chamber states
A proposed increase in mining royalties in Mexico could block more than $6.9 billion in investments over the next two years, the market's local chamber said on Thursday. As part of its budget proposal published last week, the Mexican government proposed raising mining royalties under the argument that metal rates have actually risen in the last few years. The government prepares to bump up two separate royalties from 7.5% to 8.5% and 0.5% to 1.0%, respectively. The measure ... would have an effect on a sector that has currently seen its contributions and financial investments reduced due to paralyzation (of the sector), the chamber stated in a. declaration reacting to concerns sent . The proposed walking follows Congress last year. shortened concessions from 50 years to 30 years and tightened up. water-extraction authorizations. Another reform focused on banning. open-pit mining remains in the legislature. The royalty boost, paired with the lack of licenses. and expedition constraints over the last few years, might inhibit more. than $6.9 billion that the mining sector might purchase new. tasks in the next two years, the chamber told Reuters. Mexico is the world's leading silver producer and a top. producer of copper and gold. The market contributes around. 2.5% to the nation's gross domestic product (GDP). But an extra tax burden might make Mexico less. appealing compared to other significant manufacturers such as Chile, Peru. and Canada, the chamber said. The group represents a few of the nation's biggest. miners, such as Grupo Mexico, Minera Autlan. , Industrias Penoles and Newmont's. Penasquito mine.
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Los Alamos National Laboratory chief engineer signs up with nuclear blend start-up Fuse
The chief engineer for nuclear weapons at the Los Alamos National Laboratory is joining nuclear fusion startup Fuse, the business said Thursday. James Owen spent over 28 years at Los Alamos National Laboratory, concentrated on weapons engineering. The New Mexico-based laboratory, set up in 1943 as the top-secret facility for the Manhattan Project to establish the atomic bomb, keeps the nation's largest nuclear weapons arsenal, and supervises the security and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile. At San Francisco Bay Area-based Fuse, Owen will be leading the business's efforts to sell to U.S. governmental agencies, in locations including radiation services, a critical component of nuclear combination energy. Fuse is one of a variety of start-ups, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman-backed Helion, that is racing to advertise nuclear blend innovation as a source of clean energy, however some professionals have stated its industrial viability is still decades away. If I believed it was well beyond my career horizon, I 'd. be less interested in attempting to resolve this issue, Owen told. Reuters. Some argue it's within a decade, others argue it's. beyond that, however recent improvements offer me hope. Combination, which fuels the sun and stars, remains in the. experimental stage in the world, however might one day generate enormous. amounts of energy that gives off practically no greenhouse gas and. without creating large quantities of lasting radioactive. waste. Fusion is of particular significance to the synthetic. intelligence market, which has actually been hamstrung by not having. enough power to fuel the ever-growing computing clusters it. requirements to train smarter AI systems. Altman has said that an. energy breakthrough such as nuclear blend is essential to the. future of expert system.
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EXCERPTS-IAEA Board of Governors resolution versus Iran
Below are crucial passages from a. resolution on Iran that diplomats said the International Atomic. Energy Firm's 35nation Board of Governors passed at a. quarterly meeting on Thursday night. The Board of Governors ... ( d) Noting the Director General's deep concern that. undeclared nuclear material had actually been present at several. undeclared areas in Iran which its present place( s). are not known to the Company, and his evaluation that nuclear. product used in Iran was not stated as needed under Iran's. NPT Safeguards Contract, ... ( g) Recalling the Board of Governors' resolutions of 19 June. 2020 ..., of 8 June 2022 ..., and of 17 November 2022 ... which. called upon Iran to completely cooperate with the Firm and decided. that it is essential and immediate in order to ensure confirmation. of the non-diversion of nuclear product that Iran act to fulfil. its legal commitments and, with a view to clarifying all. impressive problems, take all defined actions without hold-up, ( h) Remembering the most current Board of Governors' resolution. of 5 June 2024 ... which thought about that a continued failure by. Iran to provide the required, complete and unambiguous co-operation. with the Company to fix all impressive safeguards concerns,. may require the production, by the Director General, of a. comprehensive and upgraded assessment on the possible presence or. use of undeclared nuclear product in connection with past and. present exceptional problems regarding Iran's nuclear program, ( i) Deeply being sorry for that in spite of the above resolutions by. the Board and numerous opportunities supplied by the Director. General over 5 years, Iran has actually neither offered the Agency. with technically credible explanations for the presence of. uranium particles of anthropogenic origin at numerous undeclared. areas in Iran nor informed the Company of the present. area( s) of nuclear material and/or of contaminated. equipment, and that rather stated it has actually declared all of the. nuclear material and activities needed under its Safeguards. Agreement, which is irregular with the Company's findings, ( j) Keeping in mind that, notwithstanding Iran's statements, the. Company has not altered its assessment of the undeclared. nuclear-related activities that took place at 4 undeclared. areas in Iran, nor of the origin of the uranium particles of. anthropogenic origin, ... ( l) Keeping in mind with major concern the Director General's. conclusion that these issues come from Iran's obligations under. its NPT Safeguards Contract and require to be dealt with for the. Firm to be in a position to offer assurance that Iran's. nuclear programme is specifically peaceful, ... 2. Repeats its profound concern that Iran has still not. supplied needed, complete and unambiguous cooperation with the. Firm and has not taken the necessary and immediate actions as. chosen by the Board in its June 2024 resolution, with the. repercussion that safeguards issues remain outstanding in spite of. various interactions with the Company because 2019, with serious. ramifications for the Company's capability to guarantee verification of. the non-diversion of nuclear product required to be secured. under Iran's NPT Safeguards Arrangement to nuclear weapons or. other nuclear explosive gadgets; ... 4. Declares its choice that it is vital and immediate in. order to ensure confirmation of the non-diversion of nuclear. product that Iran act to satisfy its legal commitments and, with. a view to clarifying all outstanding safeguards concerns, take the. following actions without delay:. i. Offer technically reliable explanations for the presence. of uranium particles of anthropogenic origin in 2 undeclared. places in Iran,. ii. Notify the Firm of the current area( s) of the nuclear. material and/or of the infected equipment,. iii. Provide all details, paperwork and answers the. Company requires for that purpose,. iv. Offer access to locations and material the Agency. requires for that function, in addition to for the taking of samples. as deemed appropriate by the Firm. ... 6. Demands the Director General to produce a detailed. and updated assessment on the possible existence or use of. undeclared nuclear product in connection with past and present. impressive concerns relating to Iran's nuclear program, consisting of. a full account of Iran's cooperation with the IAEA on these. concerns, dealing with the Agency's ability to verify Iran's. application of its safeguards commitments consisting of the. non-diversion of nuclear material, based upon all details. available, for consideration by the March 2025 Board of. Governors or at the most recent by spring 2025;.
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Exxon moves forward with $200-mln expansion of Texas plants
Exxon Mobil Corp, which is facing a California claim over its alleged function in global plastic waste contamination, is going forward with plans to broaden plastics recycling to replace fossil fuels with disposed of plastic waste, the business said on Thursday. The relocation by among the world's biggest polymer manufacturers comes in the middle of growing concerns about slow-to-disintegrate plastics filling garbage dumps, seeping into ground water and developing potential health dangers. Exxon, which is promoting pyrolysis strategies that convert waste into brand-new plastic, will spend $200 million in Texas to expand so-called circularity operations in a global effort to develop the capacity to procedure 1 billion pounds (454 million kg) of waste annually by 2027. The business calls its recycling technology Exxtend. California filed a lawsuit against Exxon in September, declaring the company was deliberately misguiding the general public about the constraints of recycling. Exxon turns down accusations that it misleads the general public about the restrictions of plastics recycling, or about environment change. The business's Baytown, Texas, complex this year will process 80 million pounds of plastic waste. The growth will allow it and a nearby Beaumont, Texas, plant the capability to process up to 500 million pounds in 2026. The items will be sold with a certificate explaining their origin, described Karen McKee, president of ExxonMobil Product Solutions. We sell virgin-quality product and a subset of our consumers are buying a 'accredited circular certificate' to demonstrate that for each lot that they buy with this certificate, a ton of post-use plastic was fed into our center, McKee said. LyondellBasell, a competitor to Exxon in chemicals, also is setting up a plant in a German factory utilizing a comparable recycling innovation called MoReTec that also breaks down waste plastic. Lyondell prepares to set up a big MoReTec unit in Houston later on in this decade after it permanently shuts a Houston refinery next year.
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Automakers advise Trump to preserve EV tax credits, boost self-driving automobiles
A group representing major automakers including General Motors, Toyota Motor Corp, and Volkswagen prompted Presidentelect Donald Trump to retain crucial tax credits for electrical automobile purchases and take steps to speed release of selfdriving vehicles. The Alliance for Automotive Innovation in a formerly unreported Nov. 12 letter to Trump also raised issues about vehicle emissions guidelines citing federal and state emissions policies (particularly in California and associated states). that are out-of-step with present automobile market realities and. increase expenses for customers. The car manufacturers did not specify how they want the rules. modified however stated they support reasonable and attainable. emissions regulations. The Trump shift team did not. right away comment. The letter, signed by the group's CEO John Bozzella, said. car manufacturers face unfair competitors from greatly subsidized. electric automobiles and innovations exported from China and also. kept in mind that China was executing a regulative structure to. support implementation of self-driving lorries. The group also asked Trump to reconsider rules completed in April requiring almost all new cars and trucks by 2029 to have. advanced automated emergency situation braking systems. The group earlier. stated the rules are practically impossible with readily available. innovations. Last week, Reuters reported that Trump's shift group. wishes to eliminate the $7,500 customer tax credit for. electric-vehicle purchases - a move that would likely slow an. already stalling U.S. EV shift. This week, Reuters reported Trump transition team prepares to. target federal guidelines promoted by President Joe Biden. that objective to make cars more fuel-efficient and incentivize. a shift towards EVs. The relocation appears targeted at pleasing a Trump campaign. promise to end the EV mandate, and would mirror a similar relocation. throughout the first Trump administration to rollback Obama-era. vehicle-efficiency guidelines. Although no such EV mandate exists, the Biden. administration policies would efficiently require car manufacturers. to shift at least 35% of production to EVs in order to fulfill 2032. requirements, and encourage a steady phase-out of the. production of vehicles that run on nonrenewable fuel sources.
Verbio says volatile market environment impacts Q3 2023/24 earnings
VERBIO SE:
* Q3 2023/24: VOLATILE MARKET ENVIRONMENT AFFECTS PROFITS
* EXPECTS SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN EARNINGS IN Q4 2023/24
* Q3 2023/24 EBITDA LOWER THAN IN COMPARABLE PRIOR-YEAR PERIOD AND PREVIOUS QUARTER
* WEB FINANCIAL OBLIGATION AT MARCH 31, 2024 TOTALLED EUR 55.0 MILLION ( JUNE 30, 2023: NET FINANCIAL ASSETS OF EUR 57.4 MILLION)
* EQUITY RATIO WAS 68.4 PERCENT (JUNE 30, 2023: 70.3 PERCENT)
* SAYS AS EXPECTED, IT WAS NOT YET POSSIBLE TO REVERSE DOWN TREND SEEN IN Q2 OF 2023/24 (EBITDA Q2 2023/24: EUR 26.1 MILLION)
* STATES LOWER INCOME TRENDS IN BIODIESEL SECTION IN Q3 OF CURRENT FISCAL YEAR 2023/24 (EUR 217.8 MILLION) COMPARED TO Q3 OF 2022/23 (EUR 308.2 MILLION) WERE PRIMARILY DRIVEN BY SHARP FALL IN BIODIESEL AND GHG QUOTA SALES RATES IN EUROPE, WHILE SALES VOLUMES STAYED STEADY
* FOR EXISTING FISCAL YEAR 2023/24, VERBIO EXPECTS AN EBITDA IN RANGE OF EUR 120 MILLION TO EUR 150 MILLION, AND NET DEBT IN VARIETY OF EUR 145 MILLION TO EUR 175 MILLION
* SAYS FORECAST REFLECTS CONTINUED PRESSURE ON ETHANOL AND GHG QUOTA PRICES
* SAYS REGARDLESS OF SUBSTANTIAL FALL IN IMPORTS FROM CHINA, OIL COMPANIES ARE SITTING ON A GHG QUOTA RESERVE OF APPROXIMATELY 6 MILLION TONNES OF CO2, WHICH HAS ACTUALLY BEEN GENERATED MOSTLY UTILIZING INCORRECTLY DECLARED BIODIESEL IMPORTS FROM CHINA
* WITH PUBLICATION OF OUTCOMES FOR FIRST NINE MONTHS OF FINANCIAL YEAR MANAGEMENT BOARD HAS INDICATED THAT EBITDA IS LIKELY TO BE AT LOWER END OF RANGE INDICATED
* STATES COMPARED TO Q3 2023/24, THIS IMPLIES A CONSIDERABLE INCREASE IN EBITDA IN Q4 2023/24 AS An OUTCOME OF IMPROVED ITEM MARGINS AND GREATER CAPACITY UTILISATION AT SOUTH BEND PLANT IN USA
* STATES IN SOUTH BEND, INDIANA, IN CURRENT MONTHS VERBIO SUCCEEDED IN SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASING OUTPUT OF ETHANOL PLANT FROM FEBRUARY 2024 BY APPROXIMATELY 30%
* STATES VERBIO IS READY TO BEGIN GROWTH TO ALLOW COMBINED BIOETHANOL-BIOMETHANE PRODUCTION IN SOUTH BEND PLANT Source text for Eikon: Additional business protection:
(source: Reuters)