A gateway into China’s sustainability market has been opened by Clean TeQ Water (ASX: CNQ) through an exclusive distribution agreement with MCC Energy Conservation and Environmental Protection for their  BIONEX wastewater treatment system. 

As a subsidiary of state-owned China Metallurgical Corporation of China, MCC Environment specialises in providing equipment and design services to waste water processing within industrial markets. This includes the Chinese steel industry where MCC Environment holds the majority market share in this space and will exclusively promote Clean TeQ’s BIONEX system. 

“MCC Environment is a leader in the steel sector in China and MCC Environment an excellent partner for Clean TeQ Water,” said Clean TeQ CEO, Willem Vriesendorp. 

“We believe this partnership will dramatically expand our growth potential especially after the planned commissioning of our first large scale plant in China at the beginning of 2022”.

The 3-year distribution agreement follows a successful pilot program run by MCC Environment at a steel factory in Tianjin, China. Using Clean TeQ’s BIONEX technology, MCC was able to remove nitrate from waste-water effluent without the use of membranes and with minimal brine production thus reducing the operating cost and minimising the environmental footprint. 

China’s steel sector continues to grow both by size, and social responsibility with a greater emphasis placed on waste water treatment under the governance of Xi Jinping’s directives to China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment. 

While no financials or minimum orders relating to this distribution agreement were disclosed, Clean TeQ expects that the ensuing revenues will be material. 

MCC Environment has commissioned Clean TeQ to start the detailed design for a large-scale treatment facility at the pilot site with the intention to commission this plant before the end of 2022.

With its increasing profile in the global wastewater treatment market, Clean TeQ Water commenced trading independently on the ASX on 2 July 2021 following its demerger from Sunrise Energy Metals (ASX:SRL). 

For the quarter ended 30 September 2021, Clean TeQ reported $1.6 million in customer receipts for its first quarter as an ASX-listed company. 

The MCC agreement in China follows another major deal signed in November when Clean TeQ signed a 5-year distribution agreement with National Energy Services Reunited Corp to promote Clean TeQ’s water treatment and reuse solutions to Oil and Gas companies in the Middle East.