Jan 11, 2022   SOURCE: BusinessWire

Loop Energy Delivers Against 2021 Objectives Setting the Foundation for a Successful 2022

Loop EnergyTM (TSX: LPEN), a developer and manufacturer of hydrogen fuel cell solutions, is pleased to announce it has achieved its business objectives for 2021, which sets the foundation for further growth in 2022. Loop Energy’s milestones for 2021 focused on four pillars: go-to-market strategy, production capacity, product development and cost reduction.

1. Go-to-Market Strategy (GTM Strategy)

View Loop Energy’s Customer Adoption Cycle.

A key component of Loop's GTM Strategy is its Customer Adoption Cycle, which consists of three distinct phases:

Pilot “1” Phase involves the sale of a minimum of one hydrogen fuel cell module or system to an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) who manufactures fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) applications such as buses and trucks and sells it to one or more operators. During this phase, the OEM focuses on prototyping and integrating the Loop hydrogen fuel cell into an FCEV application for design, testing and certification.

Scale up “10” Phase involves production scale up and deployment by the customer with a limited number of early adopter FCEV fleet operators.

Full Production “100” Phase involves the rollout of the product offering by the OEM to a wide cross-section of fleet operators.

We are pleased to announce that in December, Loop achieved its 2021 objective to add ten new qualified OEMs who manufacture FCEVs to the Customer Adoption Cycle (CAC). Loop has progressed ten customers to CAC with a total of 10 in the Pilot “1” Phase and advanced one customer (Skywell) to the Scale Up “10” Phase. Skywell’s buses with Loop’s fuel cells have completed over 300,000 kilometres as a part of the 11-vehicle fleet operated by the City of Nanjing, Lishui District, China, while successfully achieving a 96% uptime for the full cell systems, which exceeded our target.

The growth of Loop's customer portfolio has also seen its geographic footprint expand, with OEMs located in Europe, Asia and North America.

2. Production Capacity

The success of our GTM Strategy has driven the need to grow our production capacity. Therefore, a priority for the past year has been securing and developing a manufacturing facility in China. Substantial progress has been made on our new Shanghai-based facility, which will provide over 35,250 sq ft of dedicated production space. The facility will add geographic diversification in a key market and significantly increase Loop's production capacity. In addition, Loop expanded its 14,000 sq ft Canadian production facility and leased additional office space for its corporate headquarters in 2021.

Loop is pleased to report that it received Environment Protection Bureau (EPB) approval to manufacture stacks and modules at its Shanghai based facility and is in the process of outfitting the facility from an equipment perspective. This is expected to be completed and fully operational in H1 2022.

3. Product Development

Loop's current product portfolio is focused on the medium-duty commercial vehicle space, which enables us to gain rapid traction in a market comprised of existing electrified platforms such as logistics & delivery trucks and buses. Our current fuel cell plate design incorporates our patented eFlowTM hydrogen fuel cell technology. eFlow™ is designed to enable commercial customers to achieve performance maximization and cost minimization. We believe that Loop has superior fuel cell systems when compared to those of our competitors for a variety of reasons that are important to our customers, including (a) leading fuel efficiency, (b) higher durability, and (c) increased power capabilities1. Loop has over 30 patents in its IP portfolio at various stages2 to help ensure Loop can continue to benefit from its competitive advantages.

The evolution of our fuel cell stack technology, particularly the bipolar plates incorporated into the stack, is a cornerstone of Loop's future products, and we believe this is a vital component of our cost reduction strategy. In 2021, Loop significantly advanced the development and testing of its latest technology bipolar plate. We are planning for this next-gen plate and stack technology to be available to customers later in 2022. The new plate is significantly larger, reducing the number of plates required in the stack, and we expect this new design to deliver improved performance for our customers.

4. Cost Reduction

We are focused on driving cost reduction through increasing production scale coupled with vertical integration and improvements in production efficiencies through automation. In 2021, Loop evaluated key elements of its supply chain, successfully identifying multiple opportunities to reduce the overall cost of materials. Planned capital investment will also enable Loop to reduce its manufacturing cost per unit, continuing to drive down product cost.

Setting the Foundation for a Successful 2022

Loop set some aggressive targets in 2021, and we are pleased to be able to report we have delivered against our promises and started to lay the foundation for future successes. 2022 promises to be another landmark year for Loop, and we are excited to share our upcoming catalysts at our February 2022 webinar.

The successes of 2021 put Loop in a strong position to achieve its objectives for the upcoming year. Loop will provide details about the February webinar in the coming weeks to reveal its corporate, product, and sales initiatives for 2022.

About Loop Energy Inc.

Loop Energy is a leading designer and manufacturer of fuel cell systems targeted for the electrification of commercial vehicles, including light commercial vehicles, transit buses and medium and heavy-duty trucks. Loop's products feature the Company's proprietary eFlow™ technology in the fuel cell stack's bipolar plates. eFlow™ was designed to enable commercial customers to achieve performance maximization and cost minimization. Loop works with OEMs and major vehicle sub-system suppliers to enable the production of hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles. For more information about how Loop is driving towards a zero-emissions future, visit www.loopenergy.com.

This press release may contain forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities legislation, which reflect management's current expectations and projections regarding future events. Forward-looking information is based on a number of assumptions and is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's control and could cause actual results and events to vary materially from those that are disclosed, or implied, by such forward‐looking information. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the ability of the Company to execute on its strategy, progress existing and future customers through the Customer Adoption Cycle in a timely way, meet manufacturing cost reduction targets, complete our new production facility in China on time and achieve the production capacity targets of such facility, make our next-gen stack technology available to customers in 2022, obtain future patent grants for our proprietary technology and the effectiveness of such patents in protecting our technology; the realization of electrification of transportation, elimination of diesel fuel and ongoing government support of such developments; the expected growth in demand for fuel cells for the commercial transportation market; and the factors discussed under "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Information Form dated March 30, 2021. Loop disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

About Skywell New Energy Vehicles Corp. (Skywell)

Skywell New Energy Vehicles Corp., formed in 2011 following the acquisition of Nanjing Jinlong Bus Manufacturing Co., is a leading developer and global supplier of electric vehicles. With headquarters located in the Lishui Airport Economic Development Zone in Nanjing, China, with production factories located in Wuhan, Shenzhen and Xianyang, Skywell manufactures and markets an extensive range of sustainable vehicles from light-duty automobiles, to medium and heavy-duty buses, commercial and specialty fleet trucks. The company also operates buses in the Lishui district of China. For more information, please visit www.skywellcorp.com.

  1. Based on Loop’s internal testing and comparisons of published studies of the performance of fuel cells from other manufacturers and competitors. In order to quantify the benefit of eFlowTM technology directly, Loop purchased commercially available CCM materials from a top competitor, built them into Loop eFlowTM fuel cell stack, and then operated this stack at Loop’s best estimate of the top competitor’s operating conditions using publicly available information.
  2. As of November 29, 2021. Inclusive of patents in different stages (issued, in examination, and pending).