Energy Tech on the Cusp of Commercialisation?

Following successful ocean testing, Stonehenge Metals Ltd (ASX:SHE) has now exercised the option to acquire 100% of the potentially revolutionary ProteanTM Wave Energy Converter (WEC) technology.

Unique from most other wave energy technologies, the company is positioning itself to rapidly move to the next stage in commercialisation of this technology and enter a wave energy market predicted to be worth up to $50 billion by 2050.

Work has begun on a pre-commercialisation demonstration pilot wave farm, designed to verify the features and benefits of the technology for would be customers and partners to evaluate.

Initially, SHE is targeting niche markets of remote coastal communities and islands, plus industrial clients such as ports, mining and offshore oil rigs who could be the first adopters of this potentially revolutionary energy production device.

Whilst there is significant potential, given the technology is still in the pre-commercial phase, it remains a speculative stock.

Catalyst Hunter has been following this story since 2014

Since we first published the article Acquisition of Breakthrough Wave Energy Technology – shares in SHE have risen as high as 900%:

The past performance of this product is not and should not be taken as an indication of future performance. Caution should be exercised in assessing past performance. This product, like all other financial products, is subject to market forces and unpredictable events that may adversely affect future performance.

This technology has been 10 years in the making, and given the prospect of commercialisation, we could see another rapid share price movement over the coming period. However this is no guarantee – anything could happen.

By SHE exercising the option over Protean Energy Australia Pty Ltd (the current holder of the technology IP), the company intends fully transforming into Protean Wave Energy Limited, and the company will need to re-comply under Chapter 11 of the ASX listing rules. This process of re-compliance is not expected to require a consolidation of the company’s share capital.

Shareholders will meet to approve the acquisition, and SHE securities are expected to be suspended from trading on or about 23 ^rd September 2015. The Company estimates that by 30 ^th October they will re-list as Protean Wave Energy Limited, and by then, it is possible that the company may have secured their first customer.

SHE is once again at the right time to be the exact kind of stock that catalysthunter.com looks for:

“ CatalystHunter.com provides alerts when an ASX stock is close to a share price catalyst that could potentially initiate a share price movement. “

Read on for more information on SHE.

Protean Wave Energy – Reduced Barriers to Adoption Could Lead to Widespread Adoption

Renewable energy is a worldwide sector that could be worth over $600BN globally by 2015. ProteanTM is tapping in to this – it can generate power and desalinated fresh water from ocean waves using tethered floating buoys that harness all six degrees of wave motion.

The Protean WEC Buoy converts relative movement between the static ocean floor and the floating buoy into energy[

SHE has completed a functional testing programme , which showed that a ProteanTM WEC device is responsive to wave movement even in low wave height conditions – a crucial performance parameter.

SHE is now moving quickly to acquire 100% control of the ProteanTM system’s Intellectual Property and to accelerate the technology’s commercialisation.

With initial functional testing of a single device now complete, the next step is delivering a pilot wave farm project to support the drive to commercialisation.

Preparations have commenced to build 30 ProteanTM WEC buoys for a pre-commercial demonstration wave farm and the company has successfully raised $800,000 from sophisticated investors to support the company’s next steps.

SHE to Transform into Protean Wave Energy Limited in Coming Weeks

SHE signed an option agreement to acquire Protean Energy Australia Pty Ltd (PEA), the 100% holder of the ProteanTM WEC technology rights. SHE has now exercised the option after conducting a successful ocean test of a single WEC device and a swift timetable for the completion of the deal has been set out.

Here are the key points:

• SHE recently raised $800,000 in two tranches;
  • An oversubscribed capital raising to sophisticated investors raised $500,000
  • A convertible loan facility worth $300,000 from a small number of sophisticated investors including SHE Director Bevan Tarratt – demonstrating significant skin in the game for the Executive team;
• SHE has entered into a Share Sale and Purchase Agreement to acquire 100% of PEA’s (holder of the IP) issued capital;
• SHE will also seek approval from shareholders to change its name to Protean Wave Energy Limited;
• A shareholder meeting to approve the acquisition is scheduled for the 28 ^th of September 2015 and readmission to official quotation is expected by the 30 ^th of October 2015.

The key dates for SHE’s acquisition of PEL are set out in this indicative timetable:

Push to commercialise the ProteanTM technology begins

With 100% control of the ProteanTM system’s IP, SHE can roll out a fast moving plan to push the technology into commercial sales.

Sean Moore, the Protean WEC inventor, will continue as Chief Technology Officer WEC to spearhead the Pilot Project, which is already underway after successful initial ocean testing. This testing was recently reported in The Australian , highlighting the attention this technology is starting to attract:

Source: The Australian

Details of the most recent testing are as follows:

• A single commercially applicable ProteanTM WEC buoy was set in 2.5m of water off Coogee Beach in Perth, Western Australia;
• Beach launching, mooring, counterweights, buoy and energy conversion mechanism were all successfully tested;
• The trial showed the ProteanTM WEC functioned as expected and converted wave energy even in low wave height conditions.

That successful ocean trial is the trigger for SHE’s acquisition of Protean Energy Australia Pty Ltd, which is now underway. As this process is completed, the company is already gearing up to advance the commercialisation of the technology:

• The first step is to build a pre-commercial demonstration or pilot plant of 30 buoys that will show off the technology;
• Preparation to fabricate each of the 30 buoys has begun with work expected to be completed toward the end of 2015;
• This A$500k turnkey project will test the power generation of a 45kW array of 30 x ProteanTM WEC buoys (each buoy generates 1.5kWH);
• Test the transmission setup in preparation for full commercial trials; and,
• Commission an independent report.

Once the pilot project is completed, SHE plans to deploy a larger scale pilot array. Both efforts are designed to attract the interest of small and medium scale customers, initially targeting installation in Western Australia and then looking beyond for international strategic alliances.

Given the difficulties in bringing energy technologies to market, the company remains a speculative stock, and potential investors should do their own research before investing.

How the ProteanTM wave energy tech works

The recent testing of the ProteanTM WEC technology by SHE demonstrated that it functions as expected. The upcoming launch of demonstration array of 30 buoys is designed to verify that it is scalable and could be deployed for a relatively low cost.

The ProteanTM buoys are designed to be smaller, lighter, cheaper, easier to deploy and maintain and capable of generating power effectively:

• The ProteanTM WEC system uses buoys that float on the ocean surface and are tethered, usually by a simple clump weight, securely to the sea floor;
• Wave energy causes the buoys to move through six degrees of motion – up-down, back-forth, side-side, yaw, pitch and roll – the six degrees of movement is unique to this technology and sets the Protean apart from the rest;
• The movements caused by the waves make a counterweight move and a pulley rotate which produces direct drive power through an energy conversion mechanism;
• Each buoy in the pilot project array is designed to produce up to 1.5kWH and buoys can be deployed in small or large groups off any coast in a variety of depths and surface conditions;
• The Protean Technology is designed to work at a variety of depths.

The ProteanTM system’s key advantage is that it uses surface units that can generate power even in light sea conditions.

Weeks away from wave technology acquisition

SHE is now just a couple of months away from acquiring 100% control of the potentially revolutionary ProteanTM Wave Energy Converter technology and accelerating its push to commercialisation.

The acquisition should be approved by shareholders at a meeting scheduled for the 28 ^th of September, so there are a handful of weeks remaining before this major catalyst.

Once the deal is sealed, SHE will crack on with accelerating commercialisation of the system, building and deploying a 30 buoy pilot array, and showing off its scalability to potential customers.

This is just the sort of chain of events we look for at catalysthunter.com – and we’ll be following SHE’s rapid progress closely.