1

• Rare Earth Elements (REEs) are Critical to Existing and Emerging Technologies

• The US does not have sufficient US domestic supply of rare earth elements and is reliant on foreign owned assets

• Investments in recycling methods is a potential solution• Large scale recycling is expensive• Rapid, portable, and cost-effective detection / quantification of Rare

Earth Elements is important for attractive process economics

Problem/Opportunity

Coal fly ash alone is estimated to contain “billions of dollars’ worth of REEs.*

Waste streams are abundant and “free” with strong environmental incentives for productive re-use.

*mining.com 2016

Source : NETL

2

Key Sectors Driving Increased Consumption and Demand:• Permanent Magnets for Wind Turbines and Hybrid / Electric Vehicles• Nickel-Metal Hydride (Ni-MH) Batteries• Fluid-Cracking Catalysts for Oil Refining• Rising Production of Steel, Motor Vehicles, and Electronics***• US 2nd Largest Consumer of Rare Earth Elements in World

Value Proposition

*ReportsnReports 2015, ** Technavio 2015, *** Technavio 2015Source : NETL

Rare Earth Metals Market CAGR ~10.19% By Demand Volume (2014-2019)*

Rare Earth Elements Expected to Exceed $9B By 2019**

Stratistics MRC 2015, Taiyou Research 2014, Grand View Research 2014b, Technavio 2015

Global Market $172.3B in 2014, CAGR ~7.54%

Global Market $27B in 2014, Projected $55B by 2020

Global Market Projected > $31B by 2010

3

Research TeamInternationally Recognized Team in Optical

Sensors and Optical Fiber Based Sensors

• Established ~6 Years Ago

• More than 15 provisional or non-provisional patent applications

• More than 40 combined publications

Dr. John Ahern

Dr. Zsolt Poole

Dr. John Baltrus

Dr. Paul Ohodnicki

Intellectual Products for THIS Invention

• 1 Provisional Patent Application

• 1 Submitted Manuscript Under Peer Review

Emerging Innovation from an Established Team!

4

Underlying TechnologyPortable Probe for Affordable Detection and

Quantification of Rare Earth Elements

LED Source

PortableDetector

Low-Cost Portable Sensor

Novel Optical Design

Novel Probe Design

Data Analytics

LED Source

Engineered Sensitizers

Technology Elements

IP

IP

IPSource: Gold Refining Machines

Demonstrated Detection Limit of High ppb for Selected REEs in Solution.Publication Under Review, Provisional Patent Application Submitted.

Early Prototype Exists and Requires “Light-Tight, Rugged Packaging”.

5

Underlying Technology

0

1000000

2000000

3000000

4000000

5000000

6000000

7000000

8000000

9000000

10000000

452 527 602co

unts

per

seco

ndwavelength (nm)

unsensitized Tb signal

sensitized Tb signal

Sensitized versus un-sensitized Tb luminescent signal in aqueous solution.

35X Enhancement !

5D4

T1

S1

S0

Bipy Tb3+

7F3

7F6

7F47F5

E

2,2 Bipyridine (Bipy)Energy transfer from photo-excited Bipy to Tb3+

ET

ISC

Engineered Sensitizers

Engineering of Sensitizers can Enable Significant Enhancements in Luminescent Response After UV / Visible Excitation.

(Improve Detection Limit and Optimize Source Wavelength)

6

Competitive Analysis

TechnologyCapital

Equipment Cost

Analysis Cost PerSample

Analysis Time Sensitivity Sample Type Relevant Elements

ICP – Mass Spectrometry $200,000+ ~$100 Days to

weeksLow Parts Per

BillionSolid or Liquid All Rare Earth Elements

Portable XRF ~$50,000 <$5 Seconds to Minutes

Low to Mid Parts Per Million

Solid or Liquid All Rare Earth Elements

Current Fluorescence Probe ~$15,000 <$1 Seconds to

Minutes~100 Parts Per

Billion Liquid Critical Rare Earth Elements (Sm, Eu, Tb, Dy, etc.)

Future FluorescenceProbe < ~$10,000 <$0.10 Seconds to

MinutesLow Parts Per

Billion or BetterSolid or Liquid All Rare Earth Elements

Solution: Rapid, portable fluorescence based sensor that can determine suitability of waste streams for recycling of Rare Earth Elements

Today’s Invention

Tomorrow’s Invention

7

• Optical Sensor Market is a Rapidly Growing and Emerging Industry.• Combined Global Optical Sensor Market ~$14.5B in 2014 and Projected at ~$21B in 2020• Combined Annual Growth Rate Projected at 6.33%

Financial Projections/Key Metrics

• Mordor intelligence 2016, Global Optical Sensor Market by Type, Industry Usage Forecasts ,2016

The Underlying Concepts Can Be Leveraged Broadly Across the Optical Sensor Market in Addition to the Specific Application to Rare Earth Elements.

8

The Elemental Analysis Industry is Also Growing Rapidly• Combined Global Elemental Analysis Market ~$4.6B in 2015 and Projected at ~$6.2B in 2020• Combined Annual Growth Rate Projected at 6.3%

Financial Projections/Key Metrics

• Markets and Markets 2015. Environment Testing) - Analysis & Global Forecasts to 2020. (2015)

Low-Cost Portable Quantification with High Accuracy is Ubiquitously of Value!

9

Go-To-Market Plan

NETL Research(Path #1)

Internal Funding

Work for Others

New Intellectual Property & Publications

Established Optical Sensor Company

Start-Up Venture

NETL Intellectual

Property and Know-How

Option #1 Integrate Among Existing Products

• Joint Proposal Development

• Licensing

• NDA

• CRADA

Develop a New Product Line Around

the Concept

Scale-Up to Market Depends on Path!

Two Parallel Paths to Be Pursued

Option #2

(Path #2)

10

• A New Portable Probe Technology Has Been Developed for Low Concentration Rare Earth Element Detection and Quantification

• Significant Direct and Opportunity Cost Advantages Exist Relative to Current Technology• Competitive Performance with Significant Potential for Improvements / Optimization and

Expansion to Other Emerging Portable Sensing Needs• Intellectual Property is Available for Licensing

Summary

Engineered Sensitizers

Come Speak with Us to Discuss Partnership Opportunities to Promote Further Technology Development and Ultimately Commercialize this Emerging Technology Platform!