A third attempt to roll the board of renewable tech firm 1414 Degrees has been launched

1414 Degrees shareholders are being asked to roll the company’s board for the third time in just over a year.

Director of 1414 Degrees Dr Kevin Moriarty. Picture: Tricia Watkinson

1414 Degrees shareholders are facing the prospect of having to vote at three general meetings in less than four months after a new push to roll the board was launched this week.

The company’s shareholders were asked to push out the chair Tony Sacre and two directors at a meeting held in July, with all three hanging on by margins of less than 1 per cent.

Dr Kevin Moriarty, who requisitioned that meeting and also led a similar push about a year earlier, was elected however, regaining the seat on the board he gave up in 2021.

Now this week, investors including resources consultant Nigel Gammon, Barossa Valley wine identities Anita and Randolph Bowen, and Ian Burdon - who Dr Moriarty was attempting to have installed alongside himself as part of the last spill attempt, have used their voting power to call another meeting.

With the company’s annual meeting having to be convened before the end of November and the extraordinary general meeting (EGM) legally required to be held within two months of its own requisitioning, the company said it is looking into how best to handle the situation.

1414 listed in 2018 with the goal to commercialise its technology, which aimed to store energy in the form of molten silicon for later use.

It has been unsuccessful in that endeavour, and is currently focused on developing the Aurora renewables project in South Australia’s Upper Spencer Gulf, which is now a joint venture with private company Vast Solar after a deal was struck in June.

One of Dr Moriarty’s key grievances with the company is that the deal greatly undervalued the project.

The conveners of the new EGM are again seeking to have directors Dana Larson, Peter Gan and chair Tony Sacre removed from the board - the same outcome sought at the previous meeting.

1414 told the ASX on Tuesday that given that the meeting had been legally requisitioned, it would now seek to hold it as expeditiously as possible.

“The board is disappointed that the matter of its composition continues to be the subject of activism so soon after the same resolutions as are proposed in the notice were voted upon and rejected by shareholders at the extraordinary general meeting held on 28 July 2022,’’ it told the ASX.

“Despite this, the board is committed to ensuring that the interests of shareholders as a whole continue to be served as the company navigates this further challenge.

“The board is particularly concerned to ensure that company resources are not unnecessarily diverted in calling a further extraordinary general meeting in response to the notice, in particular given any extraordinary general meeting will necessarily be required to be held in

close proximity to the annual general meeting.’’

1414 earlier this month was required to respond to an ASX query after Dr Moriarty, the company told the ASX, traded in its shares during a closed period without prior written clearance being received.

The company told the ASX that Dr Moriarty had told them he had “inadvertently overlooked the requirements of the trading policy’’ and had bought the shares to demonstrate support for the company.

1414 shares were 6.3 per cent lower at 8.9c in midday trade on Tuesday. The company is valued at less than $20m.