Investments

Piombino (Italy), 1^st September 2020 – Creon Capital has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with JSW Steel Italy Piombino S.p.a., Piombino Logistics S.p.a. and G.S.I. Lucchini S.p.a. aiming for the development of a sustainable energy industry in Italy.

Together with local partners, the fund management proposed to start working on an investment plan that should upscale the Tuscan region of Piombino into a cluster for hydrogen, renewable energy, LNG, and logistics. Accordingly, the MoU has been signed by Dr. Fares Kilzie as Chairman of the Board of Directors (Creon Capital) and Marco Carrai, Executive Vice President of JSW Steel Italy Piombino S.p.a., Piombino Logistics S.p.a. and G.S.I. Lucchini S.p.a.

Subject of the development plan will be the area in the municipality of Piombino, located on Tuscan Coast, 90 kilometers south of Livorno. JSW Steel Italy Piombino s.p.a., Piombino Logistics S.p.a. and G.S.I. Lucchini S.p.a. are companies belonging to the JSW Group, are the concessioner of a part of the area and have an option on another part of it, which is undergoing an industrial conversion.

Creon Capital team will be in charge for ESG integration, fundraising, and strategic development. As the Luxembourg-regulated Creon Energy Fund follows a distinctive sustainable investment approach, the management will evaluate initial quality, ongoing integration, and overall performance of environment, social and governance (ESG) factors in all related projects.

Dr. Fares Kilzie, Chairman of Creon Capital Board of Directors, underlines: “Due to its geographical location and excellent infrastructure, we estimate great potential for the industrial zone Piombino to become an innovative cluster for contemporary energy projects in Italy. Thanks to our strong footprint in the global energy sector, we are capable to attract investors as well as technology partners into the establishment of an energy cluster, that might consist of hydrogen, renewable energy, LNG storage and regasification projects.”

Marco Carrai, Executive Vice President of JSW Steel Italy Piombino S.P.A., Piombino Logistics S.p.a. and G.S.I. Lucchini S.p.a. underlined: “Our long relationship with Creon capital gives me the full confidence in conducting all our plans for Piombino in the midterm and long-term future.”

The Presidency of Tuscany Region, underlines: “cost of energy is a key issue for a full restart of a new steel plant in Piombino. We welcome this MOU as it demonstrates that public efforts put in the area made it attractive for new potential investments on top to the engagements from JSW Steel Group.”

Additional information

JSW Steel Italy Piombino S.p.a., Piombino Logistics S.p.a. and G.S.I. Lucchini S.p.a. are part of the diversified US$ 12 billion JSW Group in India, which has a leading presence in sectors such as steel, energy, infrastructure, cement, sports among others. Today, JSW Steel Ltd. is one of the leading integrated steel companies in India with an installed capacity of 18 MTPA.

See detailed information on the JSW Steel website.

Download PDF: English, Italian, Russian

Like it or not, coal will remain an important resource for generating energy and heat over the coming decades. Countries such as China, Russia, Kazakhstan and even the EU member state Poland are increasing their coal production. It is therefore even more important to minimize environmental and health risks associated with coal. This is the mission of CoalTech Limited.

Clean Invest Africa Plc (NEX:CIA) and fund management company Creon Capital are pleased to announce the launch of CoalTech S.a.r.l. The joint company aims to expand towards Russia and CIS markets with innovation by CoalTech Limited. Recently acquired by the clean technology and renewable energy investment company CIA, CoalTech has developed an innovative agglomeration solution that converts coal fines waste deposits into combustible coal pellets via a proprietary technology.

CoalTech innovative solutions are required in Russia and CIS countries, which account for roughly two thirds of the coal production in Eurasia, excluding China. Creon Capital invests in the joint project with its clean-tech focused Creon Energy Fund (Sicav-SIF), aiming to develop multiple projects and scale up production in these markets. The Fund’s initiator Creon Energy (Moscow) will be responsible for the project implementation regionally, while adding value through its vast network in the region’s energy sector.

The technology used for upcoming projects is unique: With the help of patented binders, coal fine waste is being dried and processed into pellets, which show the same calorific values, composition and other characteristics as the coal of the respective mine itself.

CoalTech CEO Filippo Fantechi explains: “Our technology produces a valuable product made out of polluting and toxic waste. Tested successfully initially in South Africa, we are now ready to upscale globally. Russia and the CIS countries are attractive markets from an environmental and health perspective, as well as having an enormous industrial legacy. People in the region suffer from poor water and air quality, as residues of coal production and processing are often released into the environment. Drinking water is often contaminated by coal fine leaching. In winter times, carbon particles from coal fines in the air sometimes create what is known as ‘black snow’. These coal fines could relatively easily be cleaned-up and processed into combustible pellets with CoalTech’s green technology. We look forward to working with Creon to maximize this commercial clean–up opportunity”.

Dr. Fares Kilzie, Chairman and CEO of the Fund managing company Creon Capital, is confident that the new technology will be demanded in the region: “People in Russia and other former soviet countries care increasingly about how companies treat the environment, especially when phenomena such as ‘black snow’ highlight the problem of pollution. Companies have to take this into account, the industry and government authorities are seeking solutions, and the CoalTech green technology provides a commercially attractive solution whilst enabling the industry to effectively improve its environmental and social impacts.”

Creon Capital chairman Dr. Fares Kilzie and Shaikh Mohamed Abdulla Al Khalifa, main shareholder of Clean Invest Africa, signed the shareholder agreement in Forte dei Marmi (Italy). CoalTech S.a.r.l. has been established in Luxembourg, further updates shall be provided as the Russia and CIS opportunities develop.

UPDATE: CoalTech S.à.r.l. has been incorporated on October 4th, 2019.

You can DOWNLOAD the press-release here (EN/RU).

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ABOUT US

Creon Capital S.a.r.l. manages the Luxembourg-based Creon Energy Fund (S.C.A. Sicav-SIF). The regulated Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) concentrates investments up to 100 Mio. Euro (targeted) on green technologies, logistics projects, value-adding midstream and downstream energy projects. The unlimited opportunity fund cooperates with partners such as the Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD) and is focused on emerging markets and uprising new business segments in Eurasia and the Middle East. The Fund’s initiator and general partner is the Moscow-based independent consulting and management company Creon Energy, which brings add value on projects in Russia and CIS countries by using its vast network and market expertise in the region.

CoalTech Limited is registered in the UK and its parent company, Clean Invest Africa Plc is listed in London NEX Exchange (NEX:CIA). CoalTech has developed a revolutionary and innovative agglomeration solution that converts coal waste into combustible coal pellets via a proprietary technology using a specially formulated organic binder and a customized production process. CoalTech has developed its proprietary technology over almost a decade, has an operational producing and testing plant in Witbank, Province of Mpumalanga, South Africa. This plant started commercial operations in November 2018. The plant is expected to operate at full capacity soon, generating revenues on target margins based on a net monthly volume of 5,000 tons.

Creon Capital chairman Dr. Fares Kilzie (on the left) and Shaikh Mohamed Abdulla Al Khalifa, main shareholder of Clean Invest Afrika Plc. signed the shareholder agreement, based on which the Luxembourg-based Joint Venture CoalTech S.a.r.l. will be established.

The team of CoalTech Ltd, Creon Capital and Creon Energy after the signing ceremony (from the left): Yuri Ratnikov and Vladimir Voloshin (Creon Energy), Abdulla M. A. Al Khalifa (CoalTech Ltd.), Dr. Fares Kilzie (Creon Capital), Shaikh Mohamed Abdulla Al Khalifa (Clean Invest Africa), Sandjar Turgunov (Creon Group), Florian Willershausen (Creon Capital).

Press Contact:

Maria Dymenko,
Creon Group
Head of Corporate Communications
E-Mail: md@creon-group.com
Phone: +7-985-1351009

Since political relations between Russia and the West deteriorated, the bilateral partnership between Moscow and Beijing has gained importance. At least since 2014, politicians from both countries have increasingly and resolutely proclaimed a closer alliance of the major powers. Consequently, a more comprehensive cooperation between the countries, was also claimed at the major bilateral China-Russia Conference, which took place on May 29 and 30 in Beijing. As a partner of the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC), CREON Group supported the summit in China’s capital. Almost 300 delegates participated in the event, which was organized by the China Strategic Cooperation Council with Russia and the Institute for Russia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Both organizations belong to China’s Academy of Social Sciences (CASS).

The title of the top-class conference promised optimism: “China and Russia: cooperation on the way to a new era.” Dai Bingguo, a former deputy of the People’s Republic of China and co-chairman of the Chinese-Russian Committee for Friendship, Peace and Development, praised the common strategic interests of both countries. Igor Ivanov, Russia’s former foreign minister (1998-2004) and current chairman of the RIAC, was pleased with the intensification of the relationship in recent years, the importance of which should not be underestimated in an increasingly unstable world. Politically, according to the quintessential high-level discussions, China and Russia became recently closer than ever before.

And economically? There is still room for improvement, as representatives of both countries openly explained. Li Sin, senior academic researcher at the academy and Director of the Center for Russian and Central Asian Studies at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, noted “an absolutely insufficient level of direct investment” from the Chinese side in Russia and vice versa. The reason for this: “There is a lack of mutual trust and understanding.”

Yevgeniy Nadorshin, Chief Economist of the investment company “FK Capital” said, he was missing “equal relations”, so he came to a similar conclusion. Chinese were wrong if they try to explain their low investments in Russia with existent investment barriers: “China has already overcome much larger investment hurdles in Africa years ago.” Instead, it should be time to admit: “We do not trust each other, that is not a question of customs barriers.” Andrey Klepach, Chief Economist and Vice-President of Vneshekonombank (VEB), found reasons for the mutually low level of foreign direct investments (FDI) also in Russia: “We must allow investments in the extraction and processing of natural resources and large-scale infrastructure projects”, the former Vice Minister of Economic Development demanded. It appears to him that China’s investment activity in Russia is too limited to the role of a creditor.

CREON had already systematically collected information about the FDI-influx for the conference one year ago: $ 62 billion, the total amount invested by Chinese financial institutions in the Russia’s energy sector. This rough figure has not changed significantly for a year. And it continues to apply that 98 percent of China’s FDI flow into the commodity and energy sectors.

China, it seems, still considers Russia as a pure raw material supplier. For Fares Kilzie, the founder of the Creon Group, this is a dangerous perception: “If the oil price moves up or down harshly, there will be conflicts between supplier and customer. Investors should swiftly diversify their economic relations with Russia.” However, this does not necessarily mean to invest in completely different industries instead: “Diversification can be achieved easily by just processing raw materials into products in Russia in order to export them to China, ” Kilzie suggested. Projects dedicated to the processing of gas to methanol or agrochemicals, for instance, would be completely free of sanctions while being economically very attractive. The Creon Group offers Chinese as well as European partners to accompany such projects as a co-investor. There are a lot of projects to be realized.

Creon Capital signs MoU with JSW Steel Italy Piombino for upscaling Italy’s logistics and energy sectors

Creon and CoalTech create JV to provide green technology for a cleaner coal industry

Kilzie: Investors from China should consider feedstock processing