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Photocatalysts Final NSF I-Corps Presentation

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PHOTOCATALYSTS for WATER REMEDIATION (nanocatalysts) (c) copyright 2011 • Aim to commercialize our visible light activated nanocatalysts (Nanogrids™ © ) Novel nanotechnology that removes hydrocarbons from polluted water Our product turns wastewater from fracking operations into drinkable water New product in a niche (multibillion $) market Have talked with over 70 people (dealers, distributors, customers) Surveyed another 30 customers
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Page 1: Photocatalysts Final NSF  I-Corps Presentation

PHOTOCATALYSTS for WATER REMEDIATION (nanocatalysts)

(c) copyright 2011

• Aim to commercialize our visible light activated nanocatalysts (Nanogrids™ © )

• Novel nanotechnology that removes hydrocarbons from polluted water

•Our product turns wastewater from fracking operationsinto drinkable water

•New product in a niche (multibillion $) market

• Have talked with over 70 people (dealers, distributors, customers)

• Surveyed another 30 customers

Page 2: Photocatalysts Final NSF  I-Corps Presentation

Initial Idea & Market Opportunity Estimate

• Our invented nanogrids™(c) technology offers inexpensive, extremely fast and efficient hydrocarbon decomposition

• It has potential uses in oil decomposition/ environmental remediation

• Focus on Gulf Oil Spill clean- up efforts

(c) copyright 2011

Total available market for environmental nanotechnologies

2010: $6.1b2014: $21.8b (projected)

Served Available Market environmental remediation

40% of total market

Target Market$8b

Ref: F. Boehm, Nanotechnology in Environmental Applications, BCC Research, 2006; NOAA, Gulf Spill Restoration, 2011

Page 3: Photocatalysts Final NSF  I-Corps Presentation

Team Members

PI: Perena Gouma, tenured Associate Professor, Dept of Materials Science & Engineering, SUNY Stony Brook; Director of Center for Nanomaterials & Sensor Development; Fulbright Scholar and NSF grantee since 2002. Has published over 100 research articles on ceramic nanomaterials and their functional applications; she holds 4 US patents

Lead: Jusang Lee, doctoral candidate in the PI’s research group; he has published research-based and review papers; he is a co-inventor along with the PI of the nanogrids™ technology

Mentor: Clive Clayton, founder Director of the SPIR program at SUNY; Leading Professor in Materials Science & Engineering, SUNY Stony Brook; Fellow of the Electrochemical Society; serving on advisory board of BASF’s Rensselaer NY Ecology Center

Page 4: Photocatalysts Final NSF  I-Corps Presentation

•Industrial nano-manufacturing providers

•Suppliers of precursor material

•IP protection• R&D capability•Brand•Expertise

•IP validation•Building a brand•Pilot studies•Marketing•Distribution

•New product (replaces toxic surfactants)•Green Photochemistry• Fully decomposes oil•No energy cost to use•Speed of deployment•Recoverable•Customization•Risk reduction•Convenience/usability

•Expanding their services•Continuous/long term•As-needed leasing

•Water remediation companies•Coast Guard•Shipping industry•Refineries•Oil service industry•EPA•Federal groups on remediation•Individual /home use (e.g. pool cleaning)

•Direct sales and/or leasing•Partner distribution channels

•Shipping

•Marketing

•Sale of nanogrids™ © per square foot•Per use charge (leased)• First to market; premium revenues•Licensing other IP

(c) copyright 2011

Business Model Canvas Version 1

Photocatalysts

Page 5: Photocatalysts Final NSF  I-Corps Presentation

Company Contact Person Lessons Learned

Dow Chemical Ventures Steve Hahn To focus on water cleaning systems; efficiency of catalyst is the key feature

Oceanside Water Pollution Control Plant, SF, CA)

Alexandre Miot To focus on petroleum-based contamination; skimming

Eastern Environmental Solutions, Inc (LI, NY)

Deb Engelhardt, Louis Bascelli, Joseph Napoli

Current practices: spill tech pads; Regen Ox (oxidizer)

Miller Environmental (LI, NY) Dave Reardon Got suggestions for pilot studies; projects cost vary a lot

DEC (region 1, NY) Karen Gomez State environmental regulations; contractors

Eco-Test Babylon (LI, NY) Thomas Powell Water quality testing procedures and EPA standards

GES Edward Savarese Current practice: pump and treat; geologists org. contact

David Tonjes DT&S-SBU; consultant

Customer is the Env. Engineer

WRS environmental; Environtrac (LI, NY)

Front desk personnel

Talked to their R&D people

So, Here’s What We Did TESTED THE CUSTOMER SEGMENTS HYPOTHESIS

Page 6: Photocatalysts Final NSF  I-Corps Presentation

Business Model Canvas Version 2

•Industrial nano-manufacturing providers

•Suppliers of precursor material •IP protection

• R&D capability•Brand•Expertise

•IP validation•Building a brand•Pilot studies•Marketing•Distribution

•New product •Green• Decomposes oil•No energy cost to use•Recoverable•Customization•Risk reduction

•Expanding their services•Continuous/long term

•Water remediation companies•Coast Guard•Shipping industry•Refineries•Oil service industry•EPA•Federal groups on remediation•Individual /home use (e.g. pool cleaning)

•Partner distribution channels

•Marketing•Sale of nanogrids™ © per square foot• First to market; premium revenues•Licensing other IP

•Speed of deployment

•As-needed leasing

•Direct sales and/or leasing

•Remediation of petroleum-based oil-polluted water

•Per use charge (leased)

•Shipping

•R&D costs

Photocatalysts

Page 7: Photocatalysts Final NSF  I-Corps Presentation

Here’s What We Found Target Market: Petroleum-Oil Polluted Water Remediation

• Industry is excited about innovative products/solutions

• Problems are diverse; Common pollutants: gasoline, fuels

• Makes no sense to directly sell and ship our products

• Need to identify distributors and partner with them

• No Leasing

• Our competitive advantage could be that we offer fast remediation solutions

Page 8: Photocatalysts Final NSF  I-Corps Presentation

•Industrial nano-manufacturing providers

•IP validation

•Partner/other distribution channels

(c) copyright 2011

•Suppliers of precursor material

•Building a brand •Pilot Studies

•Distribution

• New Product

•Green

• Decomposes oil

•No energy cost to use

•Fast Remediation

•Recoverable

•Customization

•Risk reduction

•Convenience/usability

•IP protection

•R&D capability•Brand

•Expertise

•Marketing

•Distributors

•Dealers/Partners

•Marketing

•R&D costs

•Expanding their services

•Continuous/long term

•Sale of nanogrids™ © per square foot

• First to market; premium revenues

•Licensing other IP

•Remediation of Petroleum-based oil polluted water

Business Model Canvas Version 3

Photocatalysts

Page 9: Photocatalysts Final NSF  I-Corps Presentation

So, Here’s What We Did

Talked to Dealers of Environmental Remediation Products

Approached Key Distributors

Talked to Remediation Specialists in Numerous Remediation Companies

We Went on a Field Study to Eyewitness the Challenges Associated with Remediating Underground Oil Spills

ECS Environmental Compliance (MA)

AECOM (MA)

Kerfoot Technologies, Inc (MA)

EnviroTrac (LI, NY)

BKW Environmental (TX/PA)

Advanced EnvironmentalSolutions (MA)

ASSESSED THE MARKET TYPE

Page 10: Photocatalysts Final NSF  I-Corps Presentation

So, Here’s What We Found

• Remediation treatments of petroleum-oil contaminated water almost leave residual hydrocarbon contamination levels that prevent the disposal of the remediated water to the environment

• Our nanocatalysts can be used to fully remediate hydrocarbons and to provide clean water

• However, is there a sizeable market for our technology?

• What is it?

• Does the size of the opportunity make it worth pursuing it further?

New Product for Niche Segment of Existing Market

Page 11: Photocatalysts Final NSF  I-Corps Presentation

•Industrial nano-manufacturing providers

•IP validation

(c) copyright 2011

•Suppliers of precursor material

•Building a brand •Pilot Studies

• New Product•Green

• Decomposes oil

•No energy cost to use

•Fast Remediation

•Recoverable

•Customization•Risk

reduction•Convenience/usability

•IP protection

•R&D capability•Brand

•Expertise

•Marketing

•Distributors

•Dealers/Partners

•Marketing

•R&D costs

•Expanding their services

•Continuous/long term

•Sale of nanogrids™ © per square foot

• First to market; premium revenues

•Licensing other IP

•Remediation of Petroleum-based oil polluted water

•Manufacturing costs

Business Model Canvas Version 4

Photocatalysts

Page 12: Photocatalysts Final NSF  I-Corps Presentation

• Came up with different Packaging Options for our product

• Contacted 30 Potential Customers about our product

• Tried to Recruit Members for IAB

• Calculated the Cost of In-House Manufacturing

• Produced a Revenue Model for Our Company

So, Here’s What We Did

•Rolls of fabric-like material

• Blankets

• Pads /mats

Packaging options

Packaging Options & Cost of Manufacturing

Page 13: Photocatalysts Final NSF  I-Corps Presentation

Our Product* Estimated Cost Existing Product in Market

Rolls of fabric-like material (Sold per square foot)

$10 U*** Oil Absorbent $ 20

Blankets (3x2 .5 feet) $50 P***Oil-Only Weighted Absorbent Blanket $ 112

Pads mat for small spill (15" x 18“)

$30 B*** INDUSTRIES Buff Oil Absorb Pads$ 51

So, Here’s What We Found

* Our product description: • new nanotechnology that collects & decomposes oil in water, in-situ

• It can hold oil up to 20 times its weight, floats in water, and uses sunlight to break down hydrocarbons into eco friendly products

Industry likes our product and pricing

Page 14: Photocatalysts Final NSF  I-Corps Presentation

Industry Expert/Customer Testimonials

“I feel your purchase prices are too high for the mass of the remediation market. For a massive spill of 100,000 gallons or more, the cost would compare unfavorable with skimming and transporting for reclamation. For small spills your product is in competition with the cost of conventional absorbents plus landfill disposal. In this case, your $10 per sq. foot compares with $10-16 per ton landfill disposal.” Dan Gray, Hepaco Inc., Tucker, GA.

“I think that the pricing is right on, I think it shouldn’t be very difficult to sell the fabric, especially since its eco-friendly.Would these then, in theory, be able to be thrown in the trash along with MSW?Here on LI most of our garbage is burned, what type of off gasses are produced when these are incinerated?Also, would this product work on water/ocean/river spills?”James Cressy, Project Manager, Impact Environmental

Page 15: Photocatalysts Final NSF  I-Corps Presentation

•IP validation

(c) copyright 2011

•Suppliers of precursor material

•Building a brand •Pilot Studies

• New Product•Green

• Decomposes oil

•No energy cost to use

•Fast Remediation

•Recoverable

•Customizationn•Risk reduction

•Convenience/usability

•IP protection

•R&D capability

•Brand

•Expertise

•Marketing

•Distributors

•Dealers/Partners

•Marketing

•R&D costs

•Expanding their services

•Continuous/long term

•Sale of nanogrids™ © per square foot

• First to market; premium revenues

•Licensing other IP

•Remediation of Petroleum-based oil polluted water

•Manufacturing costs

•Remediation of ”Produced Water”

•Water desalinationcompanies

Business Model Canvas Version 5

Photocatalysts

Page 16: Photocatalysts Final NSF  I-Corps Presentation

Added Key Customer Segment

“Produced water”: Discharged in off-shore oil-producing areas

Fracking creates large amounts of wastewater

Current energy exploration and extraction in US creates 15-20 billion barrels of produced water / year

Worldwide, estimates top 50 billion barrels

Energy companies pay between $3 – $12 to dispose of each barrel of produced water

Produced water is usually treated to remove most free oil

Need to treat the remaining amount of soluble and volatile petroleum hydrocarbons

BTEX average concentration remaining about 5mg/L Allowable limit of BTEX in drinking water 5mg/L

WHAT IS BTEX? BTEX is the abbreviation used for four compounds found in petroleum products. The compounds are benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes.

Produced Water

So, Here’s What We Found

Page 17: Photocatalysts Final NSF  I-Corps Presentation

Nanogrids™ ©

Reducing benzene contamination by 1000 times!

Turning Wastewater into Drinking Water

From 3.5 ppm

To 2.4 ppb

Page 18: Photocatalysts Final NSF  I-Corps Presentation

What is the Problem We Solve?

• Our product can contain the volatile petroleum hydrocarbons (e.g. benzene) and subsequently decompose them either in-situ or off-site

• It can be used as the final remediation step in the “produced water” clean up

• It can, in principle, turn “produced water” from wastewater to drinkable water while treating on-site

• New legislation expected to cancel the Energy Industry’s exception from the Clean Water Act, thus favoring “new, self-contained, on-site water treatment”

• The current market for treating produced water is estimated to exceed $4.3 billion for next 5 years

Page 19: Photocatalysts Final NSF  I-Corps Presentation

•IP validation

•Partner/other distribution channels

•Suppliers of precursor material

•Building a brand •Pilot Studies

•Distribution

• New Product

•Green

• Decomposes oil

•No energy cost to use

•Fast Remediation

•Recoverable

•Customizationn•Risk reduction

•Convenience/usability

•IP protection

•R&D capability

•Brand

•Expertise

•Marketing

•Distributors

•Dealers/Partners

•Marketing

•R&D costs

•Expanding their services

•Continuous/long term

•Sale of nanogrids™ © per square foot

• First to market; premium revenues

•Licensing other IP

•Remediation of Petroleum-based oil polluted water

•Manufacturing costs

•Remediation of ”Produced Water”•Water

desalinationcompanies

• Filtration

Business Model Canvas Version 6

Photocatalysts

Page 20: Photocatalysts Final NSF  I-Corps Presentation

Market Size Diagram

GlobalNanocatalyst Market

$6bBy 2015

World Water Treatment Market $48.1b

Filtration /Water Purification Market $8.5b

Target Market

http://www.strategyr.com/Nanocatalysts_Market_Report.asp; World Water Treatment Products to 2015 - Demand and Sales Forecasts, Market Share, Market Size, Market Leaders; thttp://www.wateronline.com/article.mvc/Report-World-Water-Wastewater-Treatment-Marke-0001

Page 21: Photocatalysts Final NSF  I-Corps Presentation

Distribution Channel Diagram

Distributors

Dealers/Potential Partners

Customers

Purchasing

Individual

Products

Filtration Industry/Integrated Solutions

Page 22: Photocatalysts Final NSF  I-Corps Presentation

Revenue model diagram

Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 40

10

20

30

40

50

60

($M

)

First year revenues:20 SME of $100,000 sales/year= $2M2 LC of $1M /year =$2Mfirst year revenues : $4M

Second year revenues:75% retention of SME15 SME of $150,000 sales/year= $2.25M2 LC: $5M sales/yearsecond year revenues $7,25M

Third year revenues:maintain the domestic levels with existing customers but expand international sales to $3.5MThis will set us over $10M

Fourth year revenues:Add new line of products for existing market; expand into adjacent markets(off-site remediation; water purification; etc)Revenues to reach $50M

Page 23: Photocatalysts Final NSF  I-Corps Presentation

What’s Next

The PI and Lead are forming a company (C-corp)

The mentor will maintain advisory role

Ongoing negotiations for exclusive licensing of IP in progress

Seek seed funding from investors, VCs, SBIR, SUNY’s economic development office, NYSERDA

Explore interactions with Pall and Siemens Water Technologies on developing integrated solutions/licensing IP

Explore opportunities for women-owned businesses

Disseminate core principles learned into the University’s incubator program through mentor’s efforts

Page 24: Photocatalysts Final NSF  I-Corps Presentation

Stony Brook University Office of Technology Licensing and Industry Relations

The Office of Technology Licensing and Industry Relations (OTLIR) is an entity of the Research Foundation for State University of New York, which manages the intellectual property for esteemed SUNY faculty members and acts a liaison for academic-industry interactions.

Exclusive License General Terms: Clearly defined field of use Diligence milestones for compliance and assurance of

commercialization Up-front payment Patent cost reimbursement Financial milestone payments based on product sales and

commercial milestones Sublicensing and Assignment terms Limitations on liability including insurance and indemnification


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