Licella sign amended Joint Development Agreement with Quadrise
Licella is pleased to announce an amendment to the Joint Development Agreement (“JDA”) with Quadrise Plc (AIM:QED), further advancing the companies’ collaboration through an updated schedule for joint fuel testing. Licella will provide expertise in scalable HTL bio-oil production, while Quadrise will contribute its maritime fuel expertise and market access.
Licella sign amended Joint Development Agreement with Quadrise
Licella is pleased to announce an amendment to the Joint Development Agreement (“JDA”) with Quadrise Plc (AIM:QED), building on the collaboration announced by the companies on 26 March 2025.
Quadrise develops and supplies lower-cost, lower-emission alternative fuels and biofuels for the shipping and heavy industry sectors.
Licella’s proprietary Cat-HTR™ hydrothermal liquefaction (“HTL”) technology converts abundant biomass residues and biowastes, including forestry and agricultural residues, into high-quality, sustainable bio-oil. This bio-oil can be further upgraded, blended or refined into low-carbon liquid fuels.
HTL is globally recognised as one of the most promising pathways for producing sustainable fuels for hard-to-abate sectors such as shipping, with leading organisations, including the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Centre for Zero Carbon Shipping, highlighting its ability to deliver low-carbon bio-oils at the scale required by the maritime industry.
Under the JDA entered into in March 2025, Quadrise and Licella have been collaborating to advance the use of Licella’s bio-oil as a potential cost-effective feedstock for Quadrise’s bioMSAR™ and bioMSAR Zero™ fuels. Pursuant to the JDA, laboratory testing has been undertaken in Australia and the UK, enabling the parties to develop a deeper understanding of the technological advancements required to supply sustainable HTL-derived bio-oils to the maritime sector.
As a result, and prior to diesel engine testing, the Amended JDA now sets out a non-binding but more targeted development programme, including an updated timetable for the joint testing of the parties’ respective fuel technologies. Licella will contribute its expertise in scalable HTL bio-oil production, while Quadrise will provide maritime fuel expertise and market access. Subject to the successful completion of final laboratory testing on refined Licella HTL bio-oils in H2 2026, the parties plan to commence initial marine diesel engine pilot testing. Following this, Quadrise and Licella intend to undertake the larger-scale third-party engine testing required to progress toward commercial vessel trials.
Commenting on this agreement Peter Borup, CEO of QED, said:
“The combination of Quadrise emulsion technology and the abundant feedstocks offered by Licella’s HTL technology offers an increasingly promising pathway to scalability of bioMSAR™ for the maritime industry, and a potential way of mitigating the price pressures with other bio-feedstocks.”
Commenting on this agreement Dr Len Humphreys, Chief Executive Officer of Licella, said:
“The shipping industry needs sustainable fuel solutions that can truly scale, and that is exactly what Licella’s Cat-HTR™ technology delivers: abundant, low-cost feedstocks to meet the scale of the challenge. Our partnership with Quadrise brings together two highly complementary technologies, and with Quadrise’s maritime market expertise and fuel experience we see a compelling opportunity to accelerate the delivery of scalable, cost-competitive low-carbon marine fuels. This amended agreement reflects the strength of our relationship and our shared confidence in the pathway ahead, and we look forward to advancing testing and commercialisation together.”
About Quadrise
Quadrise is targeting a US$147 billion global fuel oil market in which both fuel consumers and refiners face increasing pressure to optimise costs and improve efficiency while still being compliant with international emissions regulations such as Fuel EU.
The Company’s commercial products, MSAR® and bioMSAR™, provide a lower-cost alternative to fuel oil alongside improved energy efficiency and emissions performance. Our feedstocks are low value residues from refineries, biofuel plants and from very heavy oil fields where we add significant value to the asset owners.
- MSAR®: Commercially proven and available today, providing a lower-cost, readily available alternative to conventional fuel oil, delivering cost savings to producers and consumers alike, improved efficiency and reduced emissions using existing infrastructure.
- bioMSAR™: Successfully tested on diesel engines, offering a lower-cost alternative to traditional biofuels and providing a practical pathway to emissions compliance, delivering reduced greenhouse gas emissions within existing fuel systems without the need for significant capital investment.
These fuels can be deployed using existing infrastructure with modest capital requirements, enabling rapid adoption across shipping, refining and industrial applications.
