GRAND FORKS, N.D., Nov. 18, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Midwest Energy Emissions Corp (OTCQB:MEEC), a market leader in mercury control systems for the coal-fired power industry, held an Annual Meeting of Shareholders today at the Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) at the University of North Dakota.
During the meeting, shareholders gathered to vote to reelect board members and other measures that were up for shareholder vote. Additionally, the company then held a general business update meeting thereafter to review the Company's third-quarter results.
"This is a very proud moment for all of us at ME2C," said President and CEO, R. Alan Kelley. "The opportunity to share our success with our shareholders is another important milestone. After 20 years of dedicated research and technology development, this technology is in a very strong position to make a significant impact on the coal-fired power sector in mercury control. We now have 15 coal-fired power generation units under contract and are looking forward to many more opportunities ahead."
The Company set a company record in its third quarter, with over $1.37 million in revenues, a 49% increase in revenues over the previous year, generated from on-time equipment deliveries and system testing at customer sites, in advance of next year's important Mercury and Air Toxic Standards (MATS) compliance start date.
ME2C's patented SEATM technology (pioneered by a team of researchers at the EERC) uses a combination of materials tailored and formulated specifically to customers' coal-fired power units. The technology is an effective and economically sound solution to achieving mercury emission capture rates of over 90% in coal-fired power plants.
"ME2C, the EERC, and the EERC Foundation® have had a long and mutually beneficial partnership," said EERC Director Tom Erickson. "We are honored to host and participate in ME2C's shareholder meeting at our facilities in Grand Forks where this technology was conceived. This partnership is the model for licensing and commercialization of our technologies, and we look forward to working alongside ME2C."
Erickson continued, "About a year ago, the EERC Foundation and ME2C signed an amendment to an exclusive licensing agreement, which established the EERC Foundation as an equity owner in the Company and provided the Company with new patents and new patent applications in mercury emission control."
ME2C is in a unique market position with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's MATS rule that requires all coal-fired power plants in the United States larger than 25 megawatts to remove roughly 90% of mercury from their emissions starting in April 2015.
"Our team is expanding and preparing to win significant market share to address the impending MATS rule," said Kelley. "Our unique leading-edge approach to mercury capture will play a major role in the United States, and we believe we have the resources to expand this patented approach even further to other international markets, such as China, where we see major opportunity in the coming years," he said.
About Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC): The EERC is a research, development, demonstration, and commercialization facility recognized as one of the world's leading developers of cleaner, more efficient energy technologies as well as environmental technologies to protect and clean our air, water, and soil. The EERC, a high-tech, nonprofit division of the University of North Dakota (UND), operates like a business and pursues an entrepreneurial, market-driven approach to research and development in order to successfully demonstrate and commercialize innovative technologies. The EERC currently employs 235 people. The EERC leverages and enhances government research dollars by developing working partnerships with industry, government, and the research community. Since 1983, the EERC has had more than 1290 clients in 52 countries.
About Midwest Energy Emissions Corp: ME2C develops and employs patented and proprietary technologies to remove mercury from coal-fired power plant emissions. Midwest Energy employs patented technology that has been shown to achieve mercury removal levels compliant with MATS at a significantly lower cost and with less operational impact than currently used methods, while preserving the marketability of fly ash for beneficial use, a roughly $450MM industry annually. Management estimates that mercury emission control is a recurring $2–$3 billion opportunity in the United States annually, with further international growth expected as countries adopt mercury emission regulations under the United Nations Minimata Convention on Mercury. Learn more at www.midwestemissions.com
Safe Harbor Statement: With the exception of historical information contained in this press release, content herein may contain "forward-looking statements" that are made pursuant to the Safe Harbor Provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on management's current expectations and are subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made. Matters that may cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include, among other factors, the gain or loss of a major customer, additional or new Environmental Protection Agency regulations affecting coal-burning utilities, disruption in supply of materials, a significant change in general economic conditions in any of the regions where our customer utilities might experience significant changes in electric demand, a significant disruption in the supply of coal to our customer units, the loss of key management personnel, failure to obtain adequate working capital to execute the business plan and any major litigation regarding the Company. In addition, this release contains time-sensitive information that reflects management's best analysis only as of the date of this release. The Company does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect future events, information, or circumstances that arise after the date of this release. Further information concerning issues that could materially affect financial performance related to forward-looking statements contained in this release can be found in the Company's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.