BioLargo, Inc. (OTCQB:BLGO) announced today that its PFAS treatment system, the Aqueous Electrostatic Concentrator (AEC), is capable of treating water to below the EPA’s newly proposed drinking water standards for PFAS.
On March 14, 2023, the Biden-Harris administration announced that it is proposing long-anticipated national drinking water standards for six PFAS chemicals: PFOA, PFOS, PFNA, PFHxS, PFBS, and GenX.
The new rule proposes limits of four parts per trillion for the two most common and widespread PFAS chemicals: PFOA and PFOS. The other four, they will have a combined, calculated limit weighted by their respective health risks.
The White House’s press release is linked here.
This move by the EPA, in concert with its September 2023 proposal to designate PFOA and PFOA as CERCLA hazardous substances, is one of the most substantial acts by the Federal Government thus far to regulate PFAS. If finalized after a public comment period, the proposed regulation will require that public water utilities monitor PFAS in their water, notify the public if limits are exceeded, and treat their water to reduce PFAS contamination if it exceeds these limits.
BioLargo’s Aqueous Electrostatic Concentrator has been proven in multiple case studies, conducted with PFAS-contaminated water provided by municipalities across the US, to reduce each of the six PFAS chemicals targeted by the EPA’s new drinking water standards to below their respective limits of detection, meeting the EPA’s proposed limits. These studies have proven the AEC’s ability to remove all PFAS chemicals monitored in the current testing methods.
“It is especially notable that our AEC technology can reduce the presence of PFBA and PFBS to below their detection limit because existing water treatment solutions like carbon-filtration and ion exchange tend to struggle to remove these,” says Randall Moore, President of BioLargo’s engineering subsidiary. “Because of their small size and low polarity, they tend to slip right through carbon and other media-based technologies.”
BioLargo’s President and CEO Dennis P. Calvert commented, “For BioLargo, the timing of this news is perfect. Assuming these regulations go into effect as written, many municipalities will soon be required to install PFAS treatment systems. Our system is the practical, affordable, sustainable solution for all PFAS treatment, generating far less PFAS-laden solid waste than other options. Our team is also being recognized for their expertise on PFAS, with our Director of Commercialization Tonya Chandler being sought after as a speaker at PFAS-focused events many times over the past year.”
“With our first customer for PFAS treatment already secured and underway – a large industrial site – we are eager to offer our PFAS solution to more municipal and industrial customers over the coming year. As a reminder, we don’t just treat water contaminated with PFAS, we also take on the responsibility of handling their solid waste to make it simple for the customer.”
Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of harmful chemicals widely used in manufacturing and consumer products, known to contaminate drinking water sources around the world, and are both bio-persistent (meaning they remain in organisms indefinitely without breaking down), and are bioaccumulative (meaning that over time, they build up in ever-increasing amounts in people, wildlife, aquatic life, and the environment). Having been detected in the blood of more than 99% of tested Americans, they are linked to increased incidence of cancer, liver and kidney disease, reproductive issues, immunodeficiencies, and hormonal disruptions.
Meanwhile, BioLargo’s Q1 2023 revenues have already surpassed the Company’s previous record quarterly revenues set last quarter.
This revenue growth is driven primarily by sales of the Pooph branded pet-odor control product sold by Ikigai Marketing Works, LLC. Company management expects that quarter-over-quarter revenues in Q1 2023 will surpass a 50% growth rate over Q4 2022, will represent the seventh consecutive quarterly period of revenue growth, and that first-quarter revenues will be more than four times 2022’s first-quarter topline revenue.
This comes off the heels of its already released press release dated January 9, 2023, announcing a year-over-year growth rate of at least 125% for 2022 versus 2021, which represents the eighth consecutive year of revenue growth. While the Company is not yet profitable, its net losses are trending downward as revenues have increased.
The Company is currently concluding the audit of its 2022 financial statements and intends to file its annual report with the SEC at the end of March.
These revenue estimates for 2022 and the first quarter of 2023 are preliminary and subject to change pending review and audit by the company’s independent registered public accounting firm.
“The lion’s share of the recent revenue increases is due to the ongoing growth of Pooph sales led by our partners at Ikigai Marketing Works, which has expanded the product’s adoption in retail outlets across the country,” Calvert says. “We have many products and solutions in the early stages of commercialization that we believe will contribute to revenue growth in future periods, such as our PFAS treatment solution, Clyra Medical’s Bioclynse, and Garratt-Callahan’s ‘minimal liquid discharge’ industrial wastewater treatment system. Each of these initiatives continues to advance and we look forward to sharing more information as they each expand. We believe there is still plenty of opportunity for market penetration for the Pooph branded pet-odor control product, as well as the Company’s other products and services.”
The Company intends to hold an earnings conference call and webcast on April 3, 2023, at 1:30 PM Pacific Time.
See recent articles on BioLargo here:
· California Business Journal Article: https://calbizjournal.com/biolargo-inc-the-pioneering-cleantech-company-continues-to-innovate-and-break-down-barriers-that-few-thought-was-ever-possible/
· Sequire Spotlight Interview: https://youtu.be/PlcCJUtDlwM
