VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Dec. 30, 2014) - Larry Kristof, Founder and CEO of Mantra Venture Group Ltd. (OTCQB:MVTG), has issued the following year-end letter to the shareholders:
Dear fellow shareholders,
As a result of the fast pace at which Mantra has grown this year, I am issuing this letter to provide a comprehensive update of the company's activities and initiatives. I am very pleased with how the business has been developing, as industry, governments, and investors across the globe are beginning to appreciate the value of Mantra's innovative technologies.
To begin with, our successful capital raise in March has allowed us to build out our core team with the skills necessary to develop both our technologies and our business. Our new research facilities in Vancouver and corporate office in Surrey now host a team of 16, including Ph.D. engineers and scientists, technical support staff, and management. As a result of the innovative and environmentally beneficial nature of Mantra's technologies, financial support has been awarded for many of these staff members from federal funding organizations, totaling $239,500 over two years.
Specifically, this year has seen the addition of Drs. AshwinUsgaocar, PiotrForysinski, Christina Gyenge and TirdadNickchi to the Mantra team. Each of these highly skilled scientists brings an invaluable contribution to the company's core competence, and the benefits have already been realized in the design of our products, processes, and business strategies. The Scientific Advisory Board has been bolstered by the membership of highly respected UNM scientists Professor PlamenAtanassov and Dr. Alexey Serov. Randy Gue, a 30-year Lafarge veteran, has joined the management team.
Most importantly, the growth of our team has allowed us to ensure that our state-of-the-arttechnology demonstration projects see a successful and effective deployment. We have continued to innovate on our process for the Electro-Reduction of CO2 (ERC), realizing significant process and reactor design improvements over the past year. These have been and continue to be integrated into Mantra's ERC pilot plant, the first of its kind in the world, and are the subject of recent patent filings. As a result of recent high profile opportunities regarding the deployment and operation of the innovative ERC plant, a comprehensive update on this project will be issued in January.
Having recently attended the 3rd International CO2 Forum on CO2 recycling in Lyon, France, I am confident that Mantra remains an industry leader and that this pilot demonstration will receive a great deal of international attention. The granting of Mantra's Canadian patent for the ERC technology in September has further bolstered this project.
We have also been successful with a series of significant design improvements for our novel Mixed-Reactant Fuel Cell (MRFC). These improvements have been facilitated in part by our use of 3D printing for cell components, a strategy that allows us to rapidly screen and refine new design concepts. We have, through our highly talented research team, additionally re-engineered a secondary 3D printer to serve as a CNC spraying machine to produce higher quality, reproducible fuel cell electrodes. This focus on innovation has resulted in a more powerful system; in fact, recent laboratory work has shown an unexpected linearity in the scale-up of bipolar units, a very positive result that will greatly benefit the system design moving forward. As a result of our efforts in using innovative technologies and strategies to develop our product, the MRFC demonstration will be pushed out to January; allowing us to demonstrate a significantly more robust and sophisticated product.
The issuance of the US patent for the MRFC technology has further strengthened our position in the industry, and this will serve as the basis of additional IP creation moving forward.
On top of the research and development work being done internally in support of these projects, we have established excellent relationships with several universities across North America, including UBC and INRS. Through government-sponsored projects, including a recently awarded NSERC Strategic Project Grant, we have access to some of the brightest minds in electrochemistry and catalysis, which have led to valuable technical contributions.
Due to the global significance of the problems that Mantra's technologies are designed to address, the company has become truly international. Subsidiaries have been established in Hong Kong, the UK, and most recently in the German state of Bavaria. These branches have been strategically located in regions that have a demonstrated commitment to addressing the problems of CO2 emissions and sustainable energy, and have expressed the desire to see the successful deployment of Mantra's technologies. Specifically, the Bavarian brewery Ayinger has agreed to host a second ERC demonstration, for the conversion of CO2 to new products developed by Mantra.
Mantra's interest in these areas is in part due to the large regional, national and international funding opportunities available specifically for our technologies. The company is dedicated to accessing public funding for its projects whenever possible, and thereby maximizing the value of these projects for its shareholders. Given the innovative nature of our business, the positive reception we have had across regions, and the interest from large industrial partners, we are confident that in the coming year we will successfully obtain a large grant for a pre-commercial technology deployment.
As always, intellectual property remains Mantra's most critical asset. We are extremely pleased to now have our core ERC patent awarded in four of the six jurisdictions applied, and the core MRFC patent in two of the three. In the interest of expanding this value, and as a result of successful laboratory-scale development, we have over the past year filed an additional five patent applications covering various aspects of our technologies. Our demonstration projects, being the first of their kind, will serve to produce a new generation of intellectual property that will further solidify Mantra's position as a global leader.
The company has been further validated through the receipt its firstrecurring revenue, totaling over $330,000 to date, and the establishment and maintenance of close relationships with large multinational companies. As per recent developments, the recurring revenue stream will continue to support our research and development activities as we move our products to the market, and our partners will provide the platform from which this market penetration can be successfully executed.
Looking forward, 2015 is the year in which Mantra will showcase a multitude of first-of-their-kind technology demonstrations. This includes two demonstrations of ERC for the production of a suite of valuable chemicals from CO2, and the demonstration MRFC for large-market applications such as backup and stationary power, industrial equipment, and transportation. Because we have based these demonstration projects on the highest quality research and engineering, we expect their success will lead to the company's first early license adoptions this year, catapulting Mantra to the next stage of growth.
I look forward to taking these groundbreaking steps with you, thank you for your support in 2014, and wish you the best in the coming year.
Best regards,
Larry Kristof
President and CEO
Manta Venture group Ltd.
About Mantra Venture Group
Mantra Venture Group Ltd. (OTCQB:MVTG) is a clean technology incubator that takes innovative emerging technologies and moves them towards commercialization. The Company, through its subsidiary Mantra Energy Alternatives, is currently developing two groundbreaking electrochemical technologies designed to make reducing greenhouse gas emissions profitable, ERC (Electro-Reduction of Carbon Dioxide) and MRFC (Mixed-Reactant Fuel Cell).
ERCis a form of "carbon capture and utilization" (CCU) that converts the polluting greenhouse gas carbon dioxide into useful, valuable products including formic acid and formate salts. By utilizing clean electricity, the process offers the potential for an industrial plant to reduce emissions while generating a salable product and a profit.
The MRFC is an unconventional fuel cell that uses a mixture of fuel and oxidant, thereby greatly reducing the complexity and cost of the fuel cell system. Ideal for portable applications, the MRFC is cheaper, lighter, and more compact than conventional fuel cell technologies.
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Forward-looking statements:Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this press release are forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements and are subject to risks and uncertainties. See Mantra Venture Group's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which identify specific factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements.
Contact Information:
John Williams
(604) 495-1766 (Canada)
(502) 214-5932 (USA)
jwilliams@mantraenergy.com
Company Contact:
(604) 560-1503
info@mantraenergy.com
http://www.mantraventuregroup.com