PuriflOH battles COVID chaos

PuriflOH seems set to make an announcement on the implications of the COVID-19 chaos besetting its Somnio Global campus in Detroit, Michigan.

The Governor of Michigan, Gretchen Whitmer, has declared Michigan to be in a “State of Disaster”.

She told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday that Michigan would be “in dire straits again in a matter of days”.

The Whitmer declaration has been reiterated by President D Trump.

He says a “major disaster” exists in Michigan.

This has implications for COVID protocols in Oakland County, the local administration overseeing Novi, location of Somnio/PO3 operations.

Some days ago Somnio VP and quasi-general manager Steve Annear ordered a special announcement be posted on the Somnio website.

Headed Somnio Joins the COVID-19 Fight, the announcement says (my emphases) “While we have reduced our operations in line with Executive Order 2020-21, a small team will continue work in the development of two technologies targeted at the detection and elimination of the COVID-19 Virus.

“These employees are designated as an Essential Critical Infrastructure Workers as defined by the guidelines released on March 19th 2020 by the Cyber Security and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).

“At all times the priority of the Company remains the safety or our people and our reduced operations will be managed in compliance with Oakland County's Amended Emergency Order (2020-5) for the Control of Pandemic.”


Apart from being VP of Somnio Global, Steve Annear is President of PuriflOH USA Inc.

He is no longer a director of the PuriflOH holding company.

There are two key men who are directors of Somnio Global and PuriflOH.

They are Carl Le Souef and Prof Pravansu “Jewel of India” Mohanty.

Carl Le Souef is based in Melbourne. Prof Mohanty is based in Michigan.

COVID-19 strictures mean Carl Le Soeuf can’t visit Mohanty or his Somnio/PO3 campus.

Still, there’s nothing stopping both men from having a phone/video conference with PO3 Michigan-based Chairman Bill Parfet with a view to ensuring that Annear’s Somnio announcement is paralleled with a statement to the ASX by PuriflOH.

Governance protocols require PO3 to report events having a material impact on its operations.

Let’s unpack Annear’s Somnio messaging.

As I understand it, Somnio Global has a headcount of at least 50 and possibly 60.

We can only surmise how many personnel would be in a “small team”. Let’s assume the number is less than 10.

This would suggest that the Somnio/PuriflOH workforce has been slashed by at least 80%.

Are the workers being paid while absent? Either way their absence could be expected to affect PO3’s R & D outlays and budgets.

Further, a slashed headcount is likely to cause delays in the development of PO3’s FRG critical beta prototype(s) and hence hold-ups in negotiations with OEMs such as Dyson Inc.

Of course, these OEMs will be dealing with their own serious issues relating to COVID-19.

Further unpacking the Annear statement, the question arises as to the nature of the technologies Annear’s referring to.

First, Technology #1: I suspect Annear is referring to Upkara, a pharmalogical preservation technology partly described in the Technologies section of the Somnio website.

Upkara is aiming to address global markets valued at $US225b – and that number excludes the COVID market.

Through his controlling stake in Somnio Global, PO3 director Carl Le Souef would have a potentially controlling interest in any entity running the Upkara project but it’s unlikely PO3 would directly benefit.

As for Technology #2, this is almost certainly relates to FRG.

But is Steve Annear’s reference to COVID-19 enough to warrant a special PO3 statement on the positives arising from COVID?

While it’s good that the FRG is now regarded as “critical infrastructure”, it may be concerning that only a “small team” is currently involved in developing the tech.

Overall, it seems that COVID-19 may have big minuses and modest pluses for PO3.

So a special announcement may be imminent.

In any case, PO3 is due to post an Appendix 4c by the end of the month.

By that time the course of the COVID-19 pandemic in Detroit will be clearer.

And so might the future for Carl Le Souef’s mooted hotel project at 422 Lt Bourke
e Street, Melbourne.

As a result, I would think – and hope – that the 4c will be accompanied with a detailed Quarterly Operations Update