Company invests AUD 2.5 million in developer of synthetic biology technology for hydrogen production

15June 2023

Agronomics Limited

("Agronomics" or the "Company")

AUD 2.5 million investment in developer of synthetic biology technology for hydrogen production

Agronomics (ANIC:LSE), the leading listed company focused on the field of cellular agriculture, is pleased to announce that the Company has invested AUD 2.5 million ("the Subscription") in HydGene Renewables Pty Ltd ("HydGene"), a developer of synthetic biology to engineer microorganisms for use in hydrogen production.  The Subscription is part of HydGene's AUD 6 million Seed financing round. The Subscription is in line with Agronomics' wider focus in investing in opportunities seeking to minimise the irreversible damage to the natural environment, was paid using cash from the Company's own resources and will result in Agronomics holding 188,239 Series Seed Preferred Shares and owning, on a fully diluted basis, 12.50% of HydGene. Joining the round are the Clean Energy Finance Corporation ("CEFC" - whose investment is managed by Virescent Ventures), Understorey Ventures and NOAB Ventures.

HydGene engineers microorganisms, using synthetic biology, to act as a proprietary biocatalyst for the production of green hydrogen. This biocatalyst, produced via fermentation, enables the conversion of waste biomass into gases such as hydrogen and ammonia. The global hydrogen market is estimated to be worth US$ 160 billion in 2022^[1], with hydrogen being derived primarily from fossil fuels and used for the production of chemicals such as ammonia and methanol. The Hydrogen Council forecast this could become a US$ 2.5 trillion global market by 2050 as hydrogen's usage expands to fuel for transport applications, off-grid power generation, and seasonal energy storage, with hydrogen constituting up to 18% of the global energy supply.^[2]

Crucial to hydrogen becoming a mainstream supply of energy is the development of cost-effective green hydrogen solutions, with HydGene's biocatalyst technology providing a unique decentralised solution, allowing for hydrogen to be produced at the site of use and circumventing expensive transportation and storage costs.

Jim Mellon, Executive Director of Agronomics said:-

"Efficiently and effectively harnessing hydrogen as a renewable source of energy is vital if we are to meet our net zero ambitions and reduce our reliance on fossil fuels. By upcycling waste biomasses into renewable gases, such as hydrogen and ammonia, HydGene's biocatalyst technology provides an entirely renewable carbon-negative solution which will support this global transition.

"HydGene's unique decentralised solution aims to accelerate the cost-effective adoption of low carbon technology across the fuel sector, and we are excited to see the substantial impact this could have on the global transition to hydrogen fuel."

Louise Brown, Co-founder and CEO of HydGene said:-

"Collaborating with Agronomics as our lead investor for our Seed raise instills us with tremendous confidence and opportunities. Together, we want to provide affordable and sustainable alternatives in the production of green molecules, firstly hydrogen, derived from waste biomass. Our biocatalyst technology, which lies at the heart of our vision, is the driving force behind our mission to shape a decentralised manufacturing future."

Virescent Ventures Partner Blair Pritchard said :-

"We are proud to manage the CEFC investment of AUD 2 million in HydGene. This exciting technology has the potential to grow the global green hydrogen industry as a critical factor in our net zero emissions economy of the future. The potential demand for green hydrogen is huge, and not every place has abundant renewable energy resources or the land needed for electrolysis. We need to make green hydrogen in more geographies, with a wider range of inputs than just sun and wind. Organic waste streams, which Hydgene uses, are a perfect example."

Galloway Limited, a company indirectly wholly owned by Jim Mellon, an Executive Director of Agronomics, also participated in the fundraise, with an AUD $200,000 investment on identical terms.

About HydGene

HydGene seek to accelerate the adoption of low carbon technology by providing an alternative green hydrogen solution. The hydrogen is made from biomass waste in a carbon-negative process using the Company's engineered microorganisms as a biodegradable biocatalyst.

By replacing fossil fuel derived hydrogen, HydGene directly reduces the emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. And even more, by upcycling biomass waste into hydrogen, it seeks to divert waste from either being burned or ending up in landfill where its degradation process releases methane - a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.

With its decentralized approach to making hydrogen only when and where it is needed, the technology also reduces infrastructure requirements and costs and supports the sustainable trend of the future to decentralize energy production and chemical manufacturing.

About Agronomics

Agronomics is a leading listed alternative proteins company with a focus on cellular agriculture and cultivated meat. The Company has established a portfolio of over 20 companies in this rapidly advancing sector. It seeks to secure minority stakes in companies owning technologies with defensible intellectual property that offer new ways of producing food and materials with a focus on products historically derived from animals. These technologies are driving a major disruption in agriculture, offering solutions to improve sustainability, as well as addressing human health, animal welfare and environmental damage. This disruption will decouple supply chains from the environment and animals and be fundamental to feeding the world's expanding population. A full list of Agronomics' portfolio companies is available at https://agronomics.im/.

About Cellular Agriculture

Cellular Agriculture is the production of agriculture products directly from cells, as opposed to raising an animal for slaughter or growing crops. This encompasses cell culture to produce cultivated meat and materials, and fermentation processes that harness a combination of molecular biology, synthetic biology, tissue engineering and biotechnology to massively simplify production methods in a sustainable manner.

Over the coming decades, the source of the world's food supply traditionally derived from conventional agriculture is going to change dramatically. We have already witnessed the first wave of this shift with the consumer adoption of plant-based alternative proteins but today, we are on the cusp of an even bigger wave of change. This is being facilitated by advances in cellular agriculture. This change is necessary, given scientists' claims that if we maintain existing animal protein consumption patterns, then we will not meet the Paris Agreement's goal of limiting warming to 1.5℃.

AT Kearney, a global consultancy firm, projects that cultivated meat's market share will reach 35% by 2040. This combined with the Good Food Institute's estimate that a US $1.8 trillion investment will be required in order to produce just 10% of the world's protein using this technology, means that we are on the cusp of a multi-decade flow of capital to build out manufacturing facilities. Funding in the field of cellular agriculture is accelerating, however, still, less than US$ 5 billion has been invested worldwide since the industry's inception in 2016.

For further information please contact:

^[1] Hydrogen Generation Market Size, Share and Industry Analysis

^[2] Hydrogen, Scaling Up | Hydrogen Council

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