IT was a promise of 100 new jobs and millions of dollars of investment but where has it gone?
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In December 2013 Algae.Tec announced plans for an $80 million facility at South Nowra that would employ 100 people.
The company signed a long-term lease with Shoalhaven City Council for a shed at Flinders Estate and said it expected to be selling product by June 2014.
Almost one year since that announcement the company has vanished from the Shoalhaven. No local investment, no new facility, not even a goodbye.
At the time the company had yet to attract enough investors to begin production but was confident it would.
Then company chairman Roger Stroud told the South Coast Register the algae yields achieved at its small facility on the Manildra site in Bomaderry were of a sufficiently high level to justify the establishment of a dedicated production facility at South Nowra.
He said the company would now launch into the commercialisation phase of its development in the hope of “rapidly delivering positive cash flows”.
Shoalhaven City Council Economic Development manager Greg Pullen laughed when asked what happened to Algae.Tec.
“I don’t know what happened to them. I’ve tried to call them. But haven’t had contact with them. I haven’t heard any news about them. I think they’ve set up an operation in India,” he said.
The Register contacted Algae.Tec’s Perth office and spoke to the company’s managing director Peter Hatfull.
Mr Hatfull explained the company had moved its focus to a large biofuel contract in India which took resources from the Australian arm of the business.
He apologised for not keeping Shoalhaven City Council up to date but said the company had put most of its resources into attracting financial backers and contracts in the US and India.
“We haven’t had the people on the ground in Nowra who can keep up to date with procedures like keeping council informed.
“We’ve been quite slack on that front because we’ve been flying around the world trying to raise this money,” he said.
“We’re still negotiating on projects in the US, but Australian money is very tight at the moment.”
He said he was confident the Nowra facility would go ahead.
“The progress we’re making in India is quite good. When people see our success there it might help with financial support for the Nowra project.
“Although it’s gone quiet it has not stopped by any means.
“I’m very optimistic about Nowra.
“We still have a lease on land there and one thing we’ve done is lower our initial requirements to start the build and make it more affordable,” he said.
