You can have all the lower price targets drawn up for you on a meaningless chart 74c, 70c, 65c, 60c, 40c and lets even mention a ridiculous price target of 20c, but the rate of water scarcity and the need to recycle wastewater are only moving in an upwards trajectory in both developing and industrialised countries. For example, wastewater treatment takes 3-4% of the total US electrical energy load, approximately equating to 110 TWh/year. This equates to about 25 billion dollars spent annually and another 300 billion dollars spent on improving their existing government-owned wastewater infrastructures according to the US Environmental Protection Agency. BILLIONS! Now let's bring in the rest of the world and do some calculations..... nevermind my calculator broke..
Let's not forget that current technologies are not sustainable to meet the growing demand for sanitation simply because they are too cost and energy intensive. Out of all the current wastewater treatment technologies, an anaerobic digestion unit probably comes closest to what a Microbial Fuel Cell(MFC)-backed wastewater treatment technology can offer. An anaerobic digestion unit requires ~0.6 kWh/cubic metre of wastewater treated, about half at most of which can be supplied by biogas (CH4 and H2) produced by the unit itself through anaerobic digestion.
Now here is why a lot of seasoned investors are flocking this stock, including GE Ventures and Israel's Office of the Chief Scientist. The use of MFC allows the direct production of clean energy at ambient conditions without the need for further purification and separation (unlike anaerobic digestion units). MFCs are capable of producing 1.43 kWh/cubic metre from primary sludge and even more for a treated discharge. This is where our beloved EBR comes into play:
- Energy positive wastewater treatment technology - net zero OPEX
- Lower sludge handling costs due to very low sludge production
- Base load, distributed, carbon-free power
- Modular design which enables gradual implementation and easier expansion
- A robust process with high tolerance to salinity (5% dissolved solids and even more) sulfate (up to 5'000mg/l) and wide pH range (pH 6.5 to 9.5)
- Suitable even for small installations, with organic load as low as 100 Kg BOD per day
- Typical payback time is 5 years, contributed by: energy savings, reduction in excess sludge quantity, electricity production and tax/ carbon credits
- Odorless, encapsulated system, suitable for treatment of VOCs (volatile organic compounds) containing wastewater
Energy positive. net zero OPEX. MFCs only consume a portion of the electricity generated for feeding and the energy required for mixing (0.076 kWh/kg of BOD). Now I'm not sure about this, but if that energy produced can be used by another unit of a chemical plant or say a resort facility, this further reduces their electricity cost and consequently their carbon footprint. Alternatively, selling that electricity can also act as a 'conduit' for revenue generation. On top of that, lower production of sludge is another great news and relieves the tension in total sludge disposal (expensive).
Let's not make EMC another chapter of your sob investment story that you tell your kids/grandkids. I'm sure a lot of people here have investment opportunities which have slipped from both shares and the housing/land market. If EMC does well in the future, your kids/grandkids would not want to hear your lame excuse of having TA not convince you of buying-in into the company despite the fundamentals that backs it. IMO, this company has a lot more upsides than downsides. I believe this company can grow more than 10 fold from here in the future. Finally, your lazy 1k sitting in your bank for a measly 2% interest rate deserves a better place.
REMEMBER: THIS IS ALL IMO. I could be complete delusional and wrong, but I'm just logically basing my investment on the facts presented.
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