Source: HL Acquisitions Corp.

HL Acquisitions Corp. and Fusion Fuel Green PLC Announce Closing of Business Combination; Fusion Fuel to Trade on Nasdaq Global Market Under the Ticker “HTOO” Beginning on December 10

NEW YORK, NY, Dec. 10, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- HL Acquisitions Corp. (Nasdaq: HCCH) (“HL”), a special purpose acquisition company, and Fusion Fuel Green PLC (“Fusion Fuel”), an emerging leader in the production of green hydrogen, jointly announced today that they have closed their previously announced business combination (the “Business Combination”). The Business Combination was approved at the annual general meeting of HL’s stockholders held on Friday, December 4.

Beginning on Thursday, December 10, 2020, the Class A ordinary shares and warrants of Fusion Fuel Green PLC, the post-combination company, are expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq Global Market under the ticker symbols “HTOO” and “HTOOW,” respectively. HL’s units, ordinary shares, warrants and rights ceased trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market on December 9, 2020.

Fusion Fuel has spent the last several years developing a process and technology to produce emissions-free green hydrogen using concentrated photovoltaic (“CPV”) technology. Through its proprietary microelectrolyzer technology, Fusion Fuel is able to capture and utilize the thermal energy generated by CPV solar modules to enhance the efficiency of the electrolysis process and produce green hydrogen at costs meaningfully cheaper than today’s conventional electrolyzers.

“This marks a significant step in the evolution of our company,” commented João Teixeira Wahnon, Head of Business Development at Fusion Fuel. “This transaction will allow Fusion Fuel to expand our production capacity, begin our international expansion, as well as fund the development of our scale demonstrator project, GreenGas Evora, which will be the first green hydrogen project in Portugal. Fusion Fuel has already received a Production License for Evora from the Portuguese Department of Energy and we expect to commence construction before year end. This project is part of the Portuguese National Strategy for Hydrogen and was recently announced by the Secretary of State for Energy at a conference organized by ECO/Advocatus.” 

Frederico Figueira de Chaves, Chief Financial Officer of Fusion Fuel, remarked: “The Business Combination along with our recently announced strategic joint venture with EREE Desarrollos Empresariales SL positions us to capitalize on the many emerging opportunities in Spain, as we seek to build a broad footprint in the green hydrogen industry. We are already in advanced stages of negotiation with several large consumers of hydrogen in Spain and hope to establish our presence there in the very near future.”

Jeffrey Schwarz, Chief Executive Officer of HL, added, “We are incredibly excited to complete the Business Combination with Fusion Fuel and to provide the company with significant capital and strategic support that will enable to it accelerate the implementation of its business plan. The hydrogen market really started to pick up steam in the second half of 2020, and we feel Fusion Fuel is now well-positioned to become a leading supplier of both green hydrogen and electrolyzer technology to consumers of hydrogen all over the world.”

The transaction will result in net proceeds of approximately $70 million to Fusion Fuel, including through a $25 million fully committed PIPE.

Graubard Miller served as legal advisor and EarlyBird Capital served as financial advisor to HL. Fearnley Securities served as placement agent on the PIPE offering. Feinberg Hanson LLP, Arthur Cox, and Lisbonlaw Avogados served as legal advisors to Fusion Fuel.

Forward-looking Statements
Certain statements made in this release are “forward looking statements” within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When used in this press release, the words “estimates,” “projected,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “forecasts,” “plans,” “intends,” “believes,” “seeks,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “future,” “propose” and variations of these words or similar expressions (or the negative versions of such words or expressions) are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, conditions or results, and involve a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other important factors, many of which are outside HL’s or Fusion Fuel’s control, that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statement, including, among other things,  the ability to maintain the listing of Fusion Fuel’s securities on Nasdaq or another national securities exchange following the business combination, changes adversely affecting the businesses in which Fusion Fuel is engaged, management of growth, general economic conditions, including changes in the credit, debit, securities, financial or capital markets, the impact of COVID-19 or other adverse public health developments on Fusion Fuel’s business and operations, and the other risks and uncertainties set forth in the definitive proxy statement/prospectus filed by each of HL and Fusion Fuel on November 10, 2020. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release.

Use of Social Media as a Source of Material News
Fusion Fuel intends to post a copy of the press release on its LinkedIn profile and/or its website (www.fusion-fuel.eu) and other social media outlets. Fusion Fuel uses, and will continue to use, its LinkedIn profile, website, press releases, and various social media channels, as additional means of disclosing information to investors, the media, and others interested in Fusion Fuel. It is possible that certain information that Fusion Fuel posts on social media or its website, or disseminates in press releases, could be deemed to be material information, and Fusion Fuel encourages investors, the media and others interested in Fusion Fuel to review the business and financial information that Fusion Fuel posts on its social media channels, website, and disseminates in press releases, as such information could be deemed to be material information.

HL Acquisitions Corp. Company Contact:                                                                   
Benjamin Schwarz                                                                          
Vice President of Business Development                                                 
(212) 486-8100
ben@hlacquisitions.com

Fusion Fuel Green PLC Investor Relations Contact:
Gateway Investor Relations
Cody Slach and Georg Venturatos
(949) 574-3860
ir@fusion-fuel.eu

Fusion Fuel Green PLC Company Contact:
Frederico Figuera de Chaves
Chief Financial Officer
+351 215 818 802
fchaves@fusion-fuel.eu