Fernandez: Startups risk failure by fixing offtake prices before FEED engineering
Mario Fernandez · FOAK tales · Jun 4, 2025 · at 24:07
Mario Fernandez, head of Breakthrough Energy Catalyst, explains the danger of locking in offtake pricing prior to completing detailed engineering studies.
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“Many times Off-takes are priced in a way before engineering, you know, failed one, failed two, engineering have been done, and it's based on optimistic CapEx assumptions. Now, when the companies go through the engineering process, and they actually get to a feed, they find out that CapEx is twice as much. Unfortunately, they've already signed an off-take agreement based on half the CapEx, and that's when they get into trouble”
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