CCTI, Jindal in clean technology JV

By Alexander Ginting

New York based Clean Coal Technologies, Inc. (CCTI) announced Wednesday it has entered into a binding agreement to form a joint venture in the ASEAN region with Indian firm Jindal Steel & Power Ltd..

Ownership of the joint venture will be held 65% by Jindal and 35% by CCTI. Final Terms of the Joint Venture Agreement are being negotiated.

?This is a defining moment in CCTI?s mission to introduce our Pristine-M? Technology as the global solution to high moisture coal. Forming a joint venture with a major global company, Jindal Power and Steel, further validates the capabilities of our technology,? the company said

For its 35% stake in the JV Company, CCTI will contribute a 25-year exclusive license to market and deploy Pristine-M? Technology, covering the ASEAN countries including Indonesia, the Philippines, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, Thailand, Laos and Myanmar.

For its 65% stake, Jindal will pay US$6,000,000 into the JV Company, $4 million of which will be paid to CCTI for an exclusive license of the Pristine-M? Technology. A payment of US$1.5 million will be made to CCTI upon the signing of the Joint Venture Agreement, and $US2.5 million upon successful commissioning of a 1/10-scale pilot plant. The remaining $US2 million will pay for the full construction of the pilot plant. It is anticipated that the pilot plant will take between 16 and 24 weeks to complete; construction is expected commence in February, 2012.

Construction of the pilot plant will be followed by an initial 1,000,000 ton commercial plant at Jindal's mines in Indonesia. The Joint Venture Company will market and deploy the Pristine-M? Technology to third parties throughout the ASEAN region.

Jindal will fund the working capital for the Joint Venture Company on terms to be negotiated in Joint Venture Agreement until CCTI is able to fund their share or until joint venture revenues are adequate to cover operating costs.

CCTI owns a patented process technology to convert coal into a cleaner burning fuel source. This technology is a ?mild gasification? process that removes moisture and volatile matters without pulverizing the coal or pelletizing it. The coal remains highly resistant to moisture re-absorption as it is naturally coated in the process. The Company's patented end product ?PRISTINE?? coal is significantly more efficient, less polluting, more cost effective, and provides more heat than untreated dirty coal.

Jindal Steel and Power Limited is one of India?s major steel producers with a significant presence in sectors like Steel, Mining, Power Generation and Infrastructure.

Editing by David Mustakim