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ADVANCED TREATMENT OF CONTAMINATED SOIL

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - HAC (ADVANCED TREATMENT OF CONTAMINATED SOIL)

Période du rapport: 2019-06-01 au 2019-11-30

The problem and the impact on society:

Human polluting activities take many forms but one of the most serious types of pollution is soil contamination. In the EU alone, there are an estimated 2.5 million sites with polluted soil. Soil which was contaminated by organic materials has a critical impact on public health and safety. Not only because of the damage to soil and possible damage to cultivation, but also because of the evaporation of pollutants and contamination of groundwater. Alpha Cleantec AG has invented a new process for transforming contaminated soil into clean soil. The new process has two main advantages over conventional soil remediation techniques: it is inexpensive and does not cause environmental side effects. Alpha Cleantec's simple but effective solution is accomplished with the use of commonly available chemical compounds. Alpha Cleantec AG solution for soil remediation based on two proprietary processes developed by the company: Advanced Fenton Agent (AFA) and Super Oxidation Agent (SOA). The two processes are based on modified Fenton’s system and Haber-Weiss reactions activated by air. They can be applied to the remediation of all commonly encountered soil contaminants from 1 ppm up to 100,000 ppm at a fraction of the cost. The solution can be applied in- situ and ex-situ to clean most of the commonly encountered pollutants. Alpha Cleantec aims to radically transform the soil remediation industry by offering a powerful remediation technology, which is faster, cheaper and offers higher conversion rates than other known solutions. The technology can treat among other petroleum products, PCBs, dioxins, pesticides, and herbicides, leftovers from the cosmetic, pharmaceutical and heavy industries. With this solution, Alpha Cleantec wants to help clean up the environment and contribute to healthy living.

The objectives of the work performed:

• Detailed market analysis, market potential and technology development plan to identify competitors and potential partners in the soil remediation business and formulate a plan for developing and commercializing the technology.
• Analysis of the raw materials market and procurement analysis to explore the prices and suppliers of chemical materials and sign a contract with a strategic partner in this field.
• Analyze and understand the structure of prices for laboratory testing services for contaminated soil and water and enter into an agreement with labs for testing samples from project sites.
• Develop a revenue model including pricing and promotion
• Roadmap of pilot tests - develop a roadmap for future pilot tests, determine the prerequisites for applying our technologies, develop a timeline for the project and risks
During the feasibility assessment, Alpha Cleantec AG has completed a full analysis of the technical and business potential of the SOA and AFA soil treatment technology in the European market. During the project period, the company has greatly expanded its knowledge regarding the technical objectives, potential target customers and partners, regulatory approval required for the European market launch.

The key technical milestones achieved during the feasibility period was the market review and detection of suitable competitors, partners, customers, analysis of the pricing model in the market in target European countries. Defining and agreement with suppliers of raw materials, and drilling and analytical companies for the projects. Approval and certification of the technology and approval of SDS for active reagents as well as approval of the process by the certification authority (TUV) which is a step needed to verify prior to applying to CE certification and working in the European market. Moreover, the company signed five MOUs with potential customers on the target markets (Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Israel) and agreed about the pilot’s dates and conditions with these partners. In addition to this, the company is in the advanced negotiation process with additional customers in the European market.

The company also analyzed its production capabilities in conjunction with its scale-up targets and decided that it is an advantage to outsource the engineering design and manufacturing of the soil treatment machine and started negotiation with the Swiss engineering office for design and manufacturing the prototype machine.

Alpha Cleantec analyzed in detail the go-to-market strategy to define the approach for accelerated and effective market uptake. It was concluded, that local partners in each territory will be responsible for the market penetration and the company will provide licenses for the technology and supervision. Nevertheless, on the first stage (first pilot project in each European country) Alpha Cleantec will be responsible also for project execution together with the local partners.
Based on the success of the project three pilots are already planned and agreed to the first quarter of 2020 and an additional four pilots are under discussion with potential customers. All the customers already sent the first samples for analysis to our laboratory.
Based on the success of the pilot's full projects will be proposed to the company. As a result, we expect to achieve revenues of up to € 14 M in the second year and to reach 10 employees two years after the beginning of the first project.
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