MONTREAL, QUEBEC--(Marketwired - April 27, 2016) - PyroGenesis Canada Inc. (http://pyrogenesis.com) (TSX VENTURE:PYR)(OTCQB:PYRNF), a TSX Venture clean-tech company (the "Company" or "PyroGenesis") that designs, develops, manufactures and commercializes plasma waste-to-energy systems and plasma torch products, announced today that a potential customer, acting as an independent third party, has analyzed a sample of PyroGenesis' titanium powders produced using the Company's patented powder production technology and found that, after using laser diffraction, a generally accepted industry standard for such testing, over 90% of the powders analyzed are below 106μm and more importantly, over 50% are below 45μm.
"These are indeed unprecedented results," said P. Peter Pascali, President and CEO of PyroGenesis. "We can think of no other technology that can provide such a particle size distribution. The Additive Manufacturing market is currently divided into two principal segments of customers: (i) those that require powders between 15μm and 45μm and (ii) those that require powders between 45μm and 106μm. This independent analysis reflects that the majority of our powder production is within these two sweet spots, and further validates our recent decision to re-enter the Additive Manufacturing market and spin-off these capabilities to its existing shareholders."
Until recently, PyroGenesis had been a fabricator of plasma-based systems that produced unique titanium powders which are greatly sought after by the Additive Manufacturing industry. These powders are unique in that they are small, spherical, and uniform, allowing them to flow like water; a characteristic that is extremely important in industries such as 3D printing.
In 2015, the Company announced that it made significant improvements to its existing technology, which improvements resulted in the Company filing for a provisional patent and more recently, resulted in the Company's decision to re-enter the Additive Manufacturing industry and become a supplier of titanium powders.
According to Tech Pro Research, as of June 2014, nearly 60% of enterprises were using, or evaluating the need for 3D printers(1). Moreover, based on Wohlers Report (2015), it is expected that the global demand for 3D printers will exceed 14,000 machines by 2020, generating a demand for metal powders in excess of 8.6MM kg, representing a market value of over $3.45 billion at an average price of $400/kg(2). The small, spherical, uniform titanium powders, such as those produced by PyroGenesis' patented technology, can immediately address over 30% of this metal powder demand(3).
"This is extremely exciting for PyroGenesis," said P. Peter Pascali, President and CEO of PyroGenesis, "as we are essentially producing "the ink" for 3D printers. PyroGenesis has, a number of years ago, already produced these small, spherical, uniform, titanium powders for the biomedical industry, particularly for bio-medical implants. We stopped producing powders as we could not sell all of the powder produced however with the advent of 3D printing, and the demand for titanium powders, such as ours, growing daily, the economics are far too compelling for us to ignore. We cannot get back into the business fast enough."
"This is just the beginning," said Pierre Carabin, Director of Engineering of PyroGenesis. "The fact that we, at PyroGenesis, have one of the largest concentrations of plasma expertise in the world, with over 250 years of combined experience, together with our relationships with major Universities performing cutting edge plasma research and development, gives us a clear advantage over our competitors when it comes to improving our existing capabilities. We have only skimmed the surface with respect to the number of improvements we plan on making over the course of the coming year, and our success to date proves the unique skills and inventiveness that exists within PyroGenesis' technical team."
About PyroGenesis Canada Inc.
PyroGenesis Canada Inc., a TSX Venture 50® clean-tech company, is the world leader in the design, development, manufacture and commercialization of advanced plasma processes. We provide engineering and manufacturing expertise, cutting-edge contract research, as well as turnkey process equipment packages to the defense, metallurgical, mining, advanced materials (including 3D printing), oil & gas, and environmental industries. With a team of experienced engineers, scientists and technicians working out of our Montreal office and our 3,800 m2 manufacturing facility, PyroGenesis maintains its competitive advantage by remaining at the forefront of technology development and commercialization. Our core competencies allow PyroGenesis to lead the way in providing innovative plasma torches, plasma waste processes, high-temperature metallurgical processes, and engineering services to the global marketplace. Our operations are ISO 9001:2008 certified, and have been since 1997. PyroGenesis is a publicly-traded Canadian company on the TSX Venture Exchange (Ticker Symbol: PYR) and on the OTCQB Marketplace (Ticker Symbol: PYRNF). For more information, please visit www.pyrogenesis.com.
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements containing the words "may", "plan", "will", "estimate", "continue", "anticipate", "intend", "expect", "in the process" and other similar expressions which constitute "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements reflect the Company's current expectation and assumptions, and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, our expectations regarding the acceptance of our products by the market, our strategy to develop new products and enhance the capabilities of existing products, our strategy with respect to research and development, the impact of competitive products and pricing, new product development, and uncertainties related to the regulatory approval process. Such statements reflect the current views of the Company with respect to future events and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties and other risks detailed from time-to-time in the Company's ongoing filings with the securities regulatory authorities, which filings can be found at www.sedar.com, or at www.otcmarkets.com. Actual results, events, and performance may differ materially. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements either as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange, its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) nor the OTC Markets Group Inc. accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.
| (1) | Tech Pro Research |
| (2) | Wohlers Report (2015) |
| (3) | Wall Street Research |
Contact Information:
P. Peter Pascali
Chief Executive Officer
(514) 937-0002
ir@pyrogenesis.com