Aduro Signs MOU to Develop a Commercial Licence Package for Hydrochemolytic™ Technology

LONDON, Ontario, March 19, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aduro Clean Technologies Inc. (“Aduro” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: ADUR) (CSE: ACT) (FSE: 9D5), a clean technology company using the power of chemistry to transform lower value feedstocks, like waste plastics, heavy bitumen, and renewable oils, into resources for the 21^st century, today announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Aduro Energy Inc., has signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) with a leading Global Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (“GEPC”) company to jointly develop a comprehensive commercial licensing package for Hydrochemolytic™ Technology (“HCT”) to support deployment across multiple markets.

The MOU follows several months of technical and commercial discussions between Aduro and the GEPC, including the sharing of preliminary technical information and evaluation of pathways to establish a commercial licence package.

The MOU establishes a framework and stage-gated activities to support the development of the technology and of a commercial licensing model for HCT. It also covers a pre-engineered plant concept that the GEPC could use to design and build industrial plants for the chemical recycling of mixed and contaminated post-consumer plastic waste that is not suitable for mechanical recycling.

The GEPC is one of the top global engineering, procurement, and construction (“EPC”) organizations. It operates across multiple continents and has extensive experience in designing and delivering complex process plants for energy and chemical sectors. It also has a long track record of working alongside technology licensors to translate process technologies into commercial licence offerings. Work under the MOU is expected to combine the Company’s chemistry and process know-how with the GEPC’s advanced engineering and project-delivery capabilities to support modular, configured, and repeatable plant designs for future customers.

The MOU’s final objective is a jointly developed commercial HCT licence package (the “Licence Package”) and an associated licence driven business program (the “Licence Business”) for HCT based plastic recycling plants. The Licence Business would set out how HCT solutions for advanced chemical recycling of plastic waste are marketed, priced, delivered, and supported for customers.

The current MOU activities and potential collaboration with GEPC are designed to fit within the HCT scale up pathway. This includes the first-of-a-kind (“FOAK”) industrial plant that is targeted to be realized at the Chemelot Industrial Park in the Netherlands. Data and operating experience from the current Next Generation Process (“NGP”) pilot plant and the planned FOAK industrial plant are expected to inform the engineering basis for the Licence Package. By combining operating data and process insight from HCT with the GEPC’s execution capabilities and global project delivery experience, the parties aim to reduce technical and delivery risk and enable a licence model that supports future HCT based projects at industrial scale.

“This MOU is an important step in the commercialisation roadmap for Hydrochemolytic™ Technology,” said Ofer Vicus, Chief Executive Officer of Aduro. “Aduro has been clear that licensing is one of the key channels in its go-to-market strategy, and this MOU supports that direction. Working with a leading global EPC company helps translate HCT into a commercial licence package and a repeatable plant concept that customers can evaluate as an industrial project. The NGP pilot plant has recently transitioned to operating campaigns, and site selection for the FOAK industrial plant has been finalized. This progress supports the stage-gated work program contemplated under the MOU. Over the past few months, teams from Aduro and the EPC company have aligned on technical requirements and the execution pathway for the next phase of work. I appreciate the effort on both sides, and I want to thank everyone involved for the work that brought us to this point.”

The MOU is non-binding and does not create any obligation on either party to proceed with any particular transaction. Any work under the framework will be subject to mutually agreed scopes of work, and each step of the collaboration, including the development of the Licence Package and any Licence Business, will be subject to technical results, financing, completion of definitive agreements, and the approvals of the parties’ respective governance bodies.

About Aduro Clean Technologies

Aduro Clean Technologies is a developer of patented water-based technologies to chemically recycle waste plastics; convert heavy crude and bitumen into lighter, more valuable oil; and transform renewable oils into higher-value fuels or renewable chemicals. The Company’s Hydrochemolytic™ technology relies on water as a critical agent in a chemistry platform that operates at relatively low temperatures and cost, a game-changing approach that converts low-value feedstocks into resources for the 21st century.

For further information, please contact:

Abe Dyck, Head of Corporate Development / Investor Relations
ir@adurocleantech.com
+1 226 784 8889

KCSA Strategic Communications
Jack Perkins, Senior Vice President
aduro@kcsa.com

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains “forward-looking information” and “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of applicable securities laws and the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (collectively, “forward-looking statements”). All statements in this release that are not statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are often identified by words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “intends,” “plans,” “potential,” “targets,” “may,” “will,” “should,” or similar expressions, and include, without limitation, statements regarding: the anticipated benefits of the MOU with the GEPC; the scope, timing, and results of the stage-gated work program contemplated under the MOU; the development of a commercial Licence Package and Licence Business for Hydrochemolytic™ Technology (“HCT”); the intended roles and contributions of Aduro and the GEPC in connection with any future definitive agreements; the development, commissioning, and operation of the Next Generation Process (NGP) pilot plant; the planned first-of-a-kind (FOAK) industrial plant in Europe, including its timing, location, financing, permitting, construction, and commissioning; the evaluation, selection, and potential use of a site for the FOAK industrial plant; the market adoption, scalability, and performance of HCT-based solutions for chemical recycling of post-consumer plastic waste; and the ability to originate and execute future HCT-based projects under a licensing model and to reduce technical, execution, or delivery risks through the development of pre-engineered and repeatable plant designs.

Forward-looking statements are based on the current expectations, estimates, and assumptions of management as of the date of this news release and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among others, risks related to: technical and operational performance of HCT at pilot and industrial scale; the ability of the parties to agree on the scope, timing, budgets, and success criteria for any stage-gated work programs; the non-binding nature of the MOU and the risk that the parties do not enter into any definitive agreements; the ability to negotiate and enter into definitive agreements with the GEPC and other third parties on acceptable terms; the ability to secure required capital, permits, approvals, equipment, and services for the NGP pilot plant, the FOAK industrial plant, and any future projects; the completion of due diligence and acquisition or leasing of any proposed FOAK industrial plant site; construction, commissioning, and operational risks; changes in market conditions, regulatory frameworks, and customer demand for chemical recycling solutions; supply chain and logistics constraints; the availability of suitable feedstocks; dependence on strategic partners; competitive pressures; and the other risk factors identified from time to time in the Company’s public disclosure documents filed on SEDAR+ and with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are given as of the date of this news release and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances, except as required by applicable securities laws.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/e3306650-9d44-458f-8165-170aae795393