Diversified clean technology firm Wasabi Energy (LON: WAS, ASX: WAS) said this morning its 50 percent-owned subsidiary Aqua Guardian Group had agreed to purchase 10 million shares in Australian environmental business Clean TeQ Holdings.
Aqua Guardian, which is itself listed on the Australian Securities Exchange under the ticker AGG, will hold approximately 18.9 percent of Clean TeQ as a result of its share purchase.
Clean TeQ is focused on providing smart environmental solutions for air and water purification and the recovery of mineral resources. Its licensed and proprietary technologies are aimed at providing customers with focused, fit-for-purpose solutions specifically targeted at overcoming environmental issues.
The firm’s work has been recognised through the Australian National Infrastructure Awards, where Clean TeQ won the 2011 Smart Infrastructure Project Award for its work in providing a solution to treat elevated nitrate levels in groundwater used by aboriginal communities in remote Western Australia.
The purchase of Clean TeQ by Aqua Guardian is in line with its strategy of becoming a major water company with a diverse portfolio of technologies to tackle the various issues surrounding water quality and availability. At the moment, Aqua Guardian’s key product is AquaArmour – which the company claims reduces water evaporation by up to 88 percent and provides control of algal growth as well as improving overall water quality.
“AGG is pleased to be supporting Clean TeQ as it grows its business and increases activities in the water sector,” said Ian Woodfield, Aqua Guardian’s executive director. “The technology of Clean TeQ to provide clean, useable water from otherwise difficult to treat sources is important for the ongoing challenge of providing enough water to serve both community and industry needs. When used in conjunction with our AquaArmour product, the potential is increased significantly to provide solutions to the ongoing issue of water security and conservation and has widespread application.”
Wasabi joined London’s Alternative Investment Market in December last year. One technology it is currently commercialising is the Kalina Cycle engine, which the firm believes has substantial advantages over conventional thermal power engines.
Wasabi claims that Kalina Cycle can produce up to 50 percent more power generation from the same heat input (working particularly well at temperatures below 200 degrees centigrade), making it an ideal solution for generating useful energy from waste heat.
At 8:16am the firm’s shares were down 1.5 percent at just below two pence each.