EuroBusinessMedia (EBM) : Bionersis, a renewable energy company that makes natural gas from solid waste, is listing its shares as part of a private placement. Bertrand Courcelle, welcome. You are the cofounder and managing partner of Bionersis. To begin with, would you please tell us what Bionersis does exactly, as I believe your business model is quite unique.
Bertrand Courcelle (BC) : Well I would just say first of all, that we are not making gas from waste. This is quite a different technology. What we do is landfill gas to energy business. So we are mainly dealing with the landfill gas as being the natural process of the fermentation of the waste. So this is gas extraction used for energy process. So as such it's a renewable energy company but dealing with this landfill gas, we are also eligible for the Kyoto protocol procedures and this landfill gas being really a complex gas, we are entitled to some carbon credit because we destroy this gas - being a potent greenhouse gas - and that's what we do in the first phase; we install the systems to collect this gas and to destroy it. Doing that, we have time to study exactly what we're going to do with this gas, be it technically, legally, financially, and make the best of this period to imagine the most profitable way of making energy out of it, in the Annex II to the Kyoto protocol countries, mainly Latin America, Asia and eventually later on Africa. So that's a unique model because the companies we've seen dealing from time to time with this business are either doing just electricity, renewable energy, classical renewable energy companies, or just mainly interested in carbon-credits trading or investing into the project on the back of some country-to-country credits. That's very different. We are a global player making phased investment to make the best financial opportunity of the two phases.
EBM: As I mentioned, during the process of floating the company, why do you feel the need to list your shares today and how does this fit in with your medium-term business plan?
BC: Well, obviously we need money to be sure that the units we've been signing, commercially securing, will be developed because we are getting close to having 2 million carbon credit revenues yearly, base installed in 2008. And we need money to finance and be sure that these units will be there, that's the first thing obviously. But being floated is also really attractive to us, because that's a key way of making our company more attractive to the countries, to the governments we are working with, because they will be more comfortable to work with us; "that will be OK, this company is a serious one, it is floated, we can go with them". That adds credibility to our pretension to be a global partner investing and operating the system. Because we are floated we are a respectable company. That's very important. Second, being floated, we can attract the best managers, the best directors in these countries. And it is a very specific way of working in Latin America. You need to have the best persons because it's all individually related and the best men go to the best companies. And a floated company is more attractive than any other one. And eventually, being floated will help us to be more attractive even for further investment into our later stage of development, let's say going more into Asia and in Africa later on. So I think it's very, very good for us to be floated now.
EBM: What is the likelihood of larger companies, such as Suez or Veolia, becoming a competitive threat to you?
BC: Well, I didn't mention that, but I've been working 15 to 16 years in Suez, so I know from the inside this company. And that's quite interesting, because they work mostly on their core business, making most of their revenues from the collection and management of waste. They are not quite actually dealing with this landfill gas to energy business. And when they just do that they do that on their own sites. We are working on medium sites, closed sites and complex sites where they are not present and so we are mainly working with municipalities and we don't see them at all. And even more, sometimes we co-operate with them and so we have some joint co-operation from time to time in Chile or in Peru. So we are not a competitor, we are more a partner dealing with a very specific part of their job that they do not cater for. We pay them for that obviously, but they don't take the risk to do it.
EBM: The price of carbon emission rights has been very volatile since the market was recently created. Does this volatility present any threat to your bottom line?
BC: Well I'd say we have seen volatility being quite high, something hard to handle last year when [carbon emission rights] fell down to quite a low level. But today the trend is higher. We've been expecting raise coming up to our market, and levels of 30 euros per tons are not quite unrealistic now. And we believe this trend will accentuate - will be more and more something real to face with, because obviously we've seen what's happening - USA, Canada and Australia having been quite reluctant to the scheme are now getting nearer, and that will generate more volume, more demand for this carbon credit and the trend will be there. And I'd say also, that our cost being closer to 6 euros per ton, that gives us quite some margin to protect us from a decrease in this trend and obviously we are not be ready for that, but if the prices would go down - which I don't believe will happen - to 15, to 16, to 13, whatever it is - we'll be protected because our price is quite lower than that. And we consider this quite unlikely, we do not consider this decrease as a threat for us.
EBM: And finally, how would you best describe your company's outlook and investment case for investors listening today in the context of the private placement?
BC: Investing into Bionersis at this stage is quite, I think, a good opportunity for the investors, because we are really a first mover. We are a first mover in this business and no one has been doing it this way with our model. So being there with us will allow us to take let's say a quite significant place in this market, and when we'll be there, it will be very hard for this market to develop without us. We'll be a key player in this business and I think it's quite important for investors to accompany us in this.
EBM: Bertrand Courcelle, co-founder and managing partner of Bionersis, thank you very much.
BC : It is a pleasure to be with you this morning.
