Operational Update on Greenswitch Ferrandina Plant

Operational Update on Greenswitch Ferrandina Plant - Progress in Upgrade, Maintenance and Restart Programmes

80 Mile plc ('80 Mile' or the 'Company'), the AIM, FSE listed and Pink-Market traded exploration and development company with projects in Greenland, Finland and Italy, is pleased to provide an operational update on Greenswitch Srl ('Greenswitch'), a subsidiary of Hydrogen Valley Ltd ('Hydrogen Valley' or 'HV'). This update outlines significant upgrades completed at Greenswitch's Ferrandina Plant and the ongoing maintenance programme aimed at resuming activities in 2025.

The £8.5 million Plant Upgrade

Prior to the agreement to purchase the Ferrandina Plant by the Company, the plant underwent a £8.5 million refurbishment and upgrade programme, which included the modernisation of key infrastructure such as switches, electrics, boilers and piping, cleaning of existing pipework, removal of production build up in the pipes and tanks, and replacing old or worn out parts and equipment.

The Company is now pleased to advise that with these equipment and maintenance upgrades complete, the plant has received all necessary authorisations and permits for a staged restart. Currently there is a 29-person technical and commissioning team deployed on the esterification front end restart, expected in the coming weeks.

Across the three production centres key upgrades included:

Process & Utility Enhancements:

• Overhaul of water treatment, process water, service water and water recycling systems to enhance operability, reliability and efficiency.

Electrical & Instrumentation Upgrades:

• Replacement of electric power feeders and switchgears to improve and regulate power distribution.
• Installation of a new Distributed Control System, that will allow for increased automation and process monitoring.

Energy Efficiency & Mechanical Upgrades:

• Addition of onsite power co-generation units, steam boilers, and hot oil systems to improve energy efficiency and recyclability.
• Extensive mechanical improvements to primary process units to ensure higher reliability and lower maintenance costs.

Safety & Compliance Improvements:

• Expansion of the firefighting system, meeting updated Italian regulatory requirements.
• Installation of a CCTV security system covering the plant, external fences, and offices.

Final €1.9 million Maintenance Programme Underway

A structured, multi-phase maintenance programme is in progress in parallel with plant pressure and flow testing to ensure full operability at full production. The "soft start" is designed to ensure plant performance as production is ramped up over the coming months, and also to ensure long-term operational availability. The programme is led by Greenswitch Srl personnel, under the direction of Hydrogen Valley's Chief Technical Officer and Greenswitch's Maintenance Manager, with support from local contractors and specialist vendors.

Hydrogen Valley Directors also advise that Greenswitch Srl has entered into a technical consultancy agreement with a global fuel trader with hard production assets in Europe. Under the technical agreement, technical oversight and assistance for the current commissioning of the plant, and training and ongoing technical support will be provided up to and including the start of production.

Currently, technical, operational and advisory staff are working on critical path deliverables for a staged ramp up to capacity. A clearer understanding of operational capacity and critical dates are expected shortly, however;

At full operational utility the Ferrandina Plant has nameplate capacity of:

• Biodiesel Unit: 185,000 tonnes/year ('t/y') (continuous mode).
• FEROIL Esterification Unit: 200,000 t/y (continuous mode).
• ESBO Epoxidation Unit: 15,000 t/y (batch mode).
• Glycerine Recovery & Purification Unit: Producing ≥98% purity for high-value applications.

The Directors of HV currently believe the below timeframes regarding maintenance and restart to be conservative and achievable;

Phase 1: Ongoing, due for completion prior to end of May 2025.

• Maintenance of the ESBO (Soybean Oil Epoxidation) unit, improving speciality chemical production.
• Overhaul of Intermediate Storage Facilities for raw materials and finished products.
• Upgrades to FEROIL (Esterification Unit), a core continuous processing unit.

Phase 2: June 2025 - August 2025

• Optimisation of the Methanol Distillation Unit to improve recovery efficiency.
• Maintenance of the Biodiesel Production Unit (Transesterification process), ensuring higher yield.

Phase 3: July 2025 - September 2025 with nameplate capacity being achieved end of 2025 Q1 2026

• Enhancements to the Glycerine Recovery & Purification Unit, targeting ≥98% purity for high-value applications.

The current maintenance programme being executed as part of a test within a €1.9 million budget with approximately €1 million in required parts and equipment utilised from existing warehouse inventory.

Energy & Infrastructure:

• Thermal Power Plant producing low and medium-pressure steam (max thermal capacity 12 million Kilo Calories/day).
• Methanol Recovery Unit optimising process efficiency.
• Electrical Substations with 2.5 Megawatt electric ('Mwe') installed power (high, medium, and low voltage).
• Fuel Gas & Metering System for natural gas supply from the SNAM grid.

Storage Facilities:

• Raw materials storage: 16,000 metres cubed ('m³') capacity.
• Finished product storage: 3,000 m³ capacity.
• These infrastructural enhancements will enable cost-effective, high-volume production, aligning with Hydrogen Valley's strategy for sustainable, scalable operations.

The Company is encouraged by Hydrogen Valley's clear focus and commitment to operational efficiency, cost control, and creating shareholder value. Further updates will be provided as the maintenance programme advances.

Eric Sondergaard, Managing Director of 80 Mile, commented:

"The Plant continues to make good progress. Administratively, we are working with Hydrogen Valley to resolve outstanding condition precedents prior to excising our next option, and operationally, the Plant continues forward. I look forward to updating shareholders in due course."