4C Update (21/4/26)

Yesterday’s 4C Update rehashed the events of the quarter summarised below. The Cash at 31 March was A$12.9m (A$15.3m including undrawn grants), with quarterly operating cash outflow of A$2.0m and ~6.5 quarters of funding at current burn. 

Cash spend for R&D plus operations is down ~30% on PcP as the company pivots from the costs of establishing the pilot plant to it’s capital and cost lite IP sales model in partnership with KBR. Hence the cash runway looks solid for now, but it is going to be years before serious revenues and so a capital raise will be needed unless they get further government funding (which is a reasonable possibility).

Summary of Quarter events:

• KBR–Hazer completed the 30 ktpa hydrogen / 120 ktpa graphite PDP post‑quarter, giving an “off‑the‑shelf” design for large‑scale plants and supporting licensing.
• Graphite strategy progressed via a non‑binding LOI with Green Steel WA for up to 8,500 tpa from 2030, priced off anthracite (~A$400/t).
• Hazer graphite was independently qualified by Boral for use in concrete and asphalt, opening large infrastructure markets.
• Commercial pipeline broadened across steel, construction, liquids fuels, ammonia and international steelmakers; KBR was engaged on FortisBC to progress engineering and economics.

Disc: I own RL+SM

PDP Complete (15/4/26)

Hazer announced the completion of the 30 ktpa Process Design Package (PDP) with KBR, which is an extension of the pilot plant as a de‑risking milestone for Hazer’s commercialisation. Working with KBR provides validity for industrial scale feasibility and economics for methane pyrolysis.

The standardised design basis allows for a range of configurations (10–50 ktpa single trains, >100 ktpa multi‑train) that provide a starting template for customers to work from which should “fast-tracks customer take-up and licensing”.

This important piece of “homework” has the following implications on my view on value:

• Supports using a 30–50 ktpa “typical plant” in NPV/DCF work and reduces technical and capex/opex change risk between feasibility, FEED and FID, which are still unknown.
• Increases confidence that long‑term targets (10 plants by 2035, A80–100m NPV10 per project) are technically achievable, though it does not add new customers, FIDs or revenue visibility.
• Is consistent with the thesis that the KBR alliance is central to scale‑up; it enhances the quality of the “technical asset” Hazer brings but leaves demand, funding runway and execution timing risks (additional capital before FY29–30 FCF breakeven, need for more customer wins in 2026) essentially unchanged.

So, nice to hear from them and good news that may arrest some of the recent price slide and improve the chance of adding customers, but it’s customer take up that’s going to really move the dial and the news I look forward to seeing.

Disc: I own RL+SM

KBR engagement announcement, fast‑tracking FortisBC (23/3/26)

Summary:

• Today Hazer announced a formal engagement of KBR specifically on the FortisBC Canadian project, leveraging the existing alliance to fast‑track development.
• KBR is engaged to lead or support completion and integration of FEED, reactor and process design optimisation, and project delivery engineering, with the explicit objective of accelerating FID timing and de‑risking scale‑up.
• Hazer links this engagement to an expanded customer pipeline (50+ active leads) and reiterates FortisBC as a priority reference project within its capital‑light licensing model.

Comment: I would rank this non-market sensitive as more important than last weeks market sensitive Green Steel announcement. KBR’s involvement will likely reduce income from the project, but keep Hazer capital and overhead light plus accelerate the project.

FortisBC engagement summary

Hazer’s Canadian partnership with FortisBC has progressed from a 2022 MoU with Suncor/FortisBC to a binding 2024 Project Development Agreement for a 2,500 tpa hydrogen facility where FortisBC owns 100% and leads development while Hazer licenses its methane‑pyrolysis technology on a capex‑lite basis. Pilot testing in British Columbia and CleanBC funding have validated the technology and attracted government support. Today’s engagement of KBR on the FortisBC project aims to accelerate FEED integration, reactor design and FID, leveraging Hazer’s global alliance with KBR to fast‑track this flagship commercial reference plant.

Disc: Own RL+SM

Offtake LOI with Green Steel (19/3/26)

An agreement for a possible agreement in 2030 – that’s all this announcement (pdf )is.

With any false enthusiasm delt with, this agreement with privately owned Collie Steel Mill (in WA) is for an offtake agreement of up to 8,500 tonnes of Graphite a year for 10 years (starting 2030). The price is the landed (Bunbury) anthracite price less 5% which is currently ~A$400/tonne. I believe this is a good price for mid-low grade graphite for bulk use, if it’s at all different to the price used in their hydrogen production economics then that will be impacted.

The Collie Steel Mill is expected to start construction late 2026 and be operational in 2028. The aim is to “produce Australia’s most sustainable steel rebar from recycled scrap steel for domestic and international consumption”. This is the first commercial offtake agreement for Hazer, a Letter Of Intent (LOI), so is encouraging but currently worth as much as the paper it’s written on.

I would like to see several of these agreements and international before I start getting excited about them, but at least this is a start.

Disc: I own RL+SM