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Frontier Energy Limited (ASX: FHE; OTCQB: FRHYF) (Frontier or the Company) engaged independent specialist energy and resources consultancy ResourcesWA, to undertake an assessment (the Report) of Western Australia’s major electricity network, the South West Interconnected System (SWIS).
The Report focused on evaluating potential capacity for large scale connections at existing substations and terminals across the 330kV and 220kV transmission network, from now until 2032.
This Report was commissioned by the Company to gain a better understanding of new large- scale developments on the SWIS, similar to the potential of the Bristol Spring Renewable Energy Project (the Project) in the short to medium term.
The development of multiple, large scale energy projects on the SWIS would affect wholesale electricity prices (if supply outstripped demand) and therefore potential returns on Frontier’s Stage One Project development that is planned to commence in 2024.
The Report however concluded that “there are no other opportunities that exist on the SWIS for the development of a connected generator of the scale of the Bristol Spring Renewable Energy Project in the short or medium term”. The reasons for this include:
- The North Region is limited due to the existing thermal constraints on the 330kV and 132kV transmission networks in this region (see map below for region locations);
- The East Region does not present any opportunities for large scale network connected generation in the near term due to limitations of the 220kV transmission. Limitations on transfer capacity from Merredin west limit new generation in the middle area of the East Region, with new wind developments at Kondinin absorbing transmission capacity between Merredin and Collie;
- The South Region Terminals present immediate and near term opportunities for large scale network connection.
However, within the 330kV network both Oakley and Kemerton are dependent upon existing industrial loads, with Kemerton already at its upper limits due to industrial loads within the Kemerton industrial area.
The Collie region, including the Muja and Bluewaters substations, have substation connection and transfer capacity within the 330kV network, and will present opportunities following the closure of the coal-fired power stations (planned for 2029). However, the region is surrounded by State forests, limiting land availability, with the majority of cleared land currently mined for coal and requiring rehabilitation post 2030; and - Until 2030, only Landwehr Terminal (where the Project is located) can readily accommodate new large scale renewable connections of 250MW or greater. It is expected that a number of Behind the Meter connections will be developed by industry whilst smaller scale renewable and large scale battery storage are expected to be developed in conjunction with existing generators at selected substations and terminals.
Figure 1: SWIS 330kV – 220kV network and Regions
The Report supports the Australian Energy Market Operator annual Wholesale Electricity Market Electricity Statement of Opportunities (ESOO Report), which stated “the urgency of advancing generation, storage, demand side management and transmission projects to bolster reliability and support a rapid and orderly energy transition. Its findings emphasise the need for additional capacity procurement and expedited progress of capacity projects in the SWIS.” The ESOO Report also highlighted demand is forecast to increase significantly over the next decade to at least 78% (Expected Case), with an Upside Case increasing by more than 220%.
A copy of the ESOO "Report is attached to this announcement.
Frontier Managing Director, Sam Lee Mohan, commented: “While we always believed the Bristol Springs Renewable Energy Project was the best undeveloped renewable energy project in WA, we did not appreciate that it is the only project of its size that can access the SWIS network in the short to medium term. This again highlights what a unique opportunity the Company has with the Project, as well as the growing importance of the Project to the State, at a time when energy prices are continuing to rise and energy security is becoming more important than ever.
The next few months are shaping up as the most significant in the Company’s history with multiple major events on the horizon. First, we expect to complete the acquisition of Waroona Energy Inc. in December 2023. This transaction will then be followed by a DFS for Waroona’s Stage One Solar development (120MW) as well as the Peaking Plant Study expected to be released in 1Q24.”
This article includes content from Frontier Energy, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
FHE:AU
Westport
Investor Insight
Westport’s cutting-edge technologies and proven leadership in alternative fuel delivery systems offer investors a compelling opportunity to capitalize on the global shift toward a low-carbon economy.
Overview
Westport (NASDAQ:WPRT,TSX:WPRT) specializes in delivering advanced fuel technologies, with a focus on heavy-duty vehicles, aimed at reducing carbon emissions without compromising engine performance. As a key player in the clean transportation space, Westport offers innovative solutions that enable internal combustion engines to operate on alternative low-carbon fuels, including natural gas, renewable natural gas (RNG), propane and hydrogen.
Westport is focused on the following transportation market opportunities:
- HPDI (via Cespira): The new home of Westport’s keystone innovation, the High-pressure Direct Injection (HPDI) system, targeting long-haul trucking and heavy-duty off-road applications. This technology allows trucks to operate on natural gas or hydrogen with diesel-like or better performance but lower CO₂ emissions. Launched in June of 2024, Cespira is Westport’s joint venture with Volvo Group and is already generating increasing levels of revenue.
- High-pressure Controls and Systems: Focuses on high-pressure fuel management solutions for hydrogen and other alternative fuel engines. Westport is embracing early-stage hydrogen infrastructure development and offers key components such as pressure regulators, injectors and fuel rails for both internal combustion engines and fuel cell applications. While hydrogen is key to the future decarbonization of transport, Westport’s components and solutions are already powering innovation today across a range of gaseous fuels.
Market Position and Competitive Advantage
Westport operates in a rapidly growing and changing clean transportation market driven by stringent emission regulations, increasing fuel costs and rising demand for sustainable mobility solutions. The company’s competitive edge lies in its proprietary HPDI technology, which uniquely delivers diesel-equivalent performance while significantly reducing carbon emissions. Westport’s joint venture with Volvo Group, under the Cespira name, enhances its ability to scale HPDI solutions globally.
Fleet operators and logistics companies are increasingly turning to alternative fuel vehicles to reduce operational costs and meet stringent environmental standards around the world. In response, Westport continues to invest in innovation, particularly in hydrogen and renewable natural gas solutions.
Company Highlights
- Pioneer in Alternative Fuels: Westport develops and commercializes advanced fuel delivery systems for natural gas, renewable natural gas (RNG), propane and hydrogen-powered internal combustion engines (ICEs).
- Heavy-duty Market Expertise: Leveraging proprietary technologies, Westport reduces carbon emissions across commercial and passenger vehicle segments.
- High-pressure Fuel Solutions: The high-pressure controls & systems segment delivers fuel management components for hydrogen and other pressurized alternative fuels.
- Flagship HPDI Technology: Through Cespira, a joint venture with Volvo Group, Westport’s HPDI enables heavy-duty trucks to run on natural gas or hydrogen, lowering CO₂ emissions while maintaining or exceeding diesel-equivalent performance.
- Strategic Growth Partnerships: Collaborations like Cespira with Volvo Group accelerate the global adoption of HPDI and support scalable growth.
- Strengthened Financial Position Following Light-duty Divestiture: Westport completed the sale of its light-duty segment in Q2 2025, generating $62.5 million in net proceeds – bolstering its balance sheet and enabling a sharper focus on its core growth businesses.
Key Technologies
HPDI Fuel System (transferred into the Cespira JV with Volvo Group)
The HPDI fuel system is engineered for heavy-duty trucks and industrial applications. By injecting high-pressure natural gas or hydrogen directly into the combustion chamber, HPDI delivers diesel-like torque and power with up to 98 percent lower CO₂ emissions when using hydrogen. This technology is critical for long-haul trucking and other high-load applications, where maintaining performance and range is essential. This technology was created by Westport and has been transferred into the Cespira JV.
The HPDI system features a revolutionary, patented injector with a dual concentric needle design that delivers small quantities of diesel fuel and large quantities of natural gas, at high pressure, to the combustion chamber.
High-pressure Controls and Components
Westport’s high-pressure gaseous controls segment plays a leading role in the clean energy transition, designing, developing and producing critical components for transportation and industrial applications. Partnering with major fuel cell manufacturers and companies committed to decarbonizing transport, Westport delivers versatile solutions that support a wide range of gaseous fuels. While hydrogen is central to the future of transport decarbonization, Westport’s technologies are already enabling innovation across multiple alternative fuel platforms today.
With decades of experience, market-leading brands, and deep engineering expertise, Westport has established itself as a trusted leader in high-pressure fuel systems. Though still a relatively small business, its strategic positioning and innovative capabilities place it on the cusp of significant growth, making it a preferred partner for those driving the future of clean energy.
Management
Westport is helmed by an accomplished executive team with extensive experience in automotive technology, alternative fuels and corporate strategy.
Dan Sceli - CEO
Dan Sceli was appointed as CEO in January of 2024. His distinguished 37-year career in the global manufacturing sector marks him as a visionary leader, whose strategic acumen and commitment to excellence have propelled companies to new heights.
Elizabeth Owens - CFO
Elizabeth Owens is a seasoned finance executive with over 20 years of leadership experience across multinational corporations in automotive, telecommunications, aviation, and chemical manufacturing. She has spent the past decade with Westport, most recently as vice-president of finance and tax. She brings extensive expertise in tax, finance, and accounting, as well as mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures. A CPA, CA who began her career with Deloitte, Owens holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting from the University of British Columbia.
Ashley Nuell - VP of Investor Relations
Ashley Nuell joined Westport in May of 2022 and currently has approximately 20 years of experience in investor relations. Her career includes roles with companies at various parts of the energy sector value chain, as well as in the investor relations and stakeholder communications practice area of a global consulting firm.
Innovation Mining
Investor Insight
With tightening cyanide regulations and rising demand for sustainable mining, Innovation Mining offers a compelling investment opportunity, poised to disrupt the market and lead in cleantech gold extraction.
Overview
Innovation Mining is a clean-tech company with an innovative technology that promises to transform the gold mining industry. The company has developed RZOLV, a breakthrough water-based hydrometallurgical formula that effectively recovers gold from ores, concentrates and tailings without the environmental and regulatory burdens associated with cyanide.
While cyanide has been the industry standard for over a century, its toxic nature has led to bans in several countries and costly permitting challenges for mining companies. RZOLV offers similar cost and performance metrics as cyanide, but with a non-toxic and sustainable profile. The company is currently focused on validating its technology through a series of 100-tonne industrial tests, after which full commercialization efforts will begin.
Company Highlights
- Clean-Tech Innovation: Innovation Mining has developed RZOLV, a proprietary, non-toxic, water-based formula that provides a sustainable, cost-effective and safe alternative to the $2.5B of sodium cyanide consumed annually for 90% of global gold extraction.
- Cost-Competitive & Scalable: RZOLV offers a competitive reagent cost and a relatively seamless transition from cyanide without complex infrastructure changes, making adoption cost-competitive and operationally efficient.
- Proven Performance: Tested at both small and large scale, including several 100-kilogram to 250-kilogram pilots, RZOLV has delivered high gold recovery rates, rapid leach kinetics, and performance comparable to cyanide while eliminating toxic waste risks.
- A 100-tonne leach test is underway, and results are expected in the coming months to validate scalability further and reinforce its economic advantages.
- Versatile Applications: RZOLV is effective across a range of ores, concentrates and tailings potentially unlocking previously untapped gold resources.
- Regulatory & ESG Benefits: By eliminating cyanide, RZOLV unlocks previously stranded resources, simplifies regulatory approvals, reduces compliance risks, improves social license to operate, and enhances ESG standing—appealing to investors and stakeholders focused on responsible mining.
- TSXV Debut: Innovation Mining is preparing to list on the TSX Venture Exchange, offering investors exposure to a clean-tech gold disruptor.
Technology Value Propositions
Innovation Mining is a clean-tech company dedicated to the research, development and commercialization of RZOLV, a revolutionary, water-based hydrometallurgical formula for gold recovery.
As a safe, non-toxic and cost-competitive alternative to cyanide, RZOLV addresses a long-standing industry challenge, enabling mining operations to transition toward sustainable and high-performance gold extraction without compromising profitability.
RZOLV has shown high gold recoveries, rapid leach kinetics, and cyanide-comparable performance in extensive lab tests. Its water-based formula enables scalable deployment without major infrastructure changes, and recent modifications have made it cost-competitive with cyanide. Further savings come from reduced insurance, elimination of cyanide circuits, and lower monitoring and remediation costs. Applicable to both vat and heap leaching, RZOLV greatly improves the economics of eco-friendly gold extraction
In the near term, Innovation Mining plans to conduct a 100-tonne leach test to validate its industrial-scale applicability. With increasing regulatory restrictions on cyanide and a growing demand for sustainable mining practices, Innovation Mining is positioned to disrupt the market and establish the company as a leader in clean-tech gold extraction.
Competitive Advantages
Innovation Mining's RZOLV formula presents several distinct advantages over traditional cyanide-based gold extraction methods:
- Non-toxic and Eco-friendly: Water-based chemistry with no hazardous byproducts, significantly reducing environmental impact and permitting challenges.
- Effective & High-Performance: Delivers high-performance gold recovery rates and fast leach kinetics, making it a reliable alternative to cyanide.
- Stability: RZOLV is a chemically stable solution, ensuring consistent performance and reliability over time.
- Seamless Integration: Requires no major infrastructure overhauls, enabling easy adoption for miners
- Scalability: Proven in lab tests and undergoing industrial-scale validation to demonstrate commercial viability.
- Cost-effective: Comparable costs to cyanide while lowering permitting, remediation, and operational expenses.
- Regulatory Benefits: Allows for easier permitting due to non-toxic nature, reducing compliance risks.
- Versatile Gold Recovery: Effectively extracts gold from low-grade ore, concentrates, and tailings, unlocking additional value.
- Commercialization: Industry interest and strategic partnerships under development to accelerate commercialization.
- Strong Executive Leadership: Backed by a highly experienced team with a track record of success in mining, metallurgy, and business development.
Management Team
Chester F. Millar – Executive Chairman, Director
An inductee of the Canadian and Mexican Mining Hall of Fame, Chester Millar has a distinguished career in building junior mining companies. He discovered and founded the Afton Mine served as Founder and Chairman of Glamis Gold and was sold to Goldcorp for $8.6B. He is the true pioneer of heap & vat leaching which now accounts for 50% of all global gold production.
Duane A. Nelson – Director, CEO
Founder of Innovation Mining, Duane Nelson brings extensive experience in clean-tech innovation and mining operations. He was a co-founder and past director of EnviroMetal Technologies, SilverMex Resources, Quotemedia.com and has a proven track record in leading successful ventures in the mining sector.
Joseph Ovsenek – Director
Joseph Ovsenek was president and CEO of Pretium Resources, where he led the advancement of the high-grade gold Brucejack Mine which has been operating profitably since commercial start-up in 2017. Ovsenek began his nine-year tenure at Pretium in 2011 as chief development officer and led the over $2 billion financing. Prior to Pretium he served for 15 years in senior management roles for Silver Standard Resources Inc., lastly as Senior Vice President, Corporate Development responsible for the sale of the Brucejack and Snowfield assets to the newly created Pretium Resources Inc.
Grant Bond – Chief Financial Officer
Grant Bond is a chartered professional accountant with more than 12 years of financial management experience in the mining industry. His expertise includes financial reporting, risk management and SOX compliance.
Hanif Jafari – CTO
Hanif Jafari holds a Master of Engineering in Mining and Mineral Processing from the University of British Columbia. He is proficient in construction, value chain analysis, and strategic growth planning across diverse domestic and international markets. Jafari has over eight years in hydrometallurgical research.
Bruce Bried – Director
Bruce Bried is a mining engineer with over 28 years’ experience in the engineering, development, operation, reclamation and management of producing mines, including Dickenson Mines (now Goldcorp) and the KamKotia Arthur White Mine in Red Lake.
Darryl J. Yea – Director
Darryl Yea has over 35 years of diverse experience in operations, investment banking, corporate finance and venture capital with public and private companies in several industries. He was president and chief executive officer of C.M. Oliver (TSX:OLV), a national financial services organization.
Michael Cowin – Director
Michael Cowin has 20 years of investment banking and investment experience. Since 2007, he has been a director of Northcape Capital, a boutique investment fund based in Australia which manages over A$8 billion.
William R. Sheriff – Advisory Board
William Sheriff is an entrepreneur and visionary with over 40 years’ experience in the minerals industry and the securities industry and has been responsible for significant capital raises along with corporate development. He is currently the executive chairman of enCore Energy, USA’s largest uranium producer.
Keith Peck – Advisory Board
Keith Peck is a consultant with Holnik Capital. He was previously chairman and chief executive officer of Lincoln Peck Financial. Peck has over 35 years of investment banking experience, including as vice-president and director of RBC Dominion Securities and Haywood Securities, and vice-chairman of Yorkton Securities.
Janet L. Sheriff – Advisory Board
Janet Sheriff brings 25 years of senior management experience in the mining industry. She previously served as chief executive officer of Golden Predator Mining and president of enCore Energy.