Ann: AI tech to expand seaweed R&D into battery industries, page-19

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As i mentioned BP8 are heading in the right space.

The key points of the R&D plan regarding essential mineral extraction are: ● Overview and objectives of R&D plan: Leveraging its existing Phyto-hydrometallurgical techniques developed for the extraction of nutraceuticals from seaweed, the Company plans to develop and deploy artificial intelligence (AI) technology to enhance essential mineral identification and isolation, and to further develop its Phyto-hydrometallurgical techniques to extract from seaweed: o Minerals and nano-minerals such as cobalt and nickel for sale to: ▪ the commodities markets; and ▪ battery manufacturers and other operators in the energy industry, including the for the enhancement of battery life and performance.; and o Essential minerals for use as nutraceutical raw materials in vitamin supplement manufacture. ● R&D program components for Proof of Concept: o Stage One – seaweed prospecting and identification: Conduct prospecting to identify tropical seaweed species with the highest concentration of agarose, macro mineral (potassium) and micro minerals (nickel, cobalt and manganese). To undertake this prospecting, the Company is planning to develop low-cost, efficient techniques, including artificial intelligence (AI) enhanced detection and screening processes, for identifying the presence of macro and micro minerals. The rationale is to target seaweeds which have particular metal concentrations and in higher concentrations. Consideration will be given to targeting seaweeds that grow in waters polluted by heavy metals. Seaweeds grown in such waters are not suitable for direct human consumption because of the high heavy metal content. Given that seaweeds absorb heavy metals, the cultivation of seaweeds in waters polluted by heavy metals would also have a bio-remedial effect on those areas and would enable the Company to make a significant contribution to global sustainability (ESG) goals. o Stage Two – growth factors and mass cultivation strategy: Investigate optimum growth factors for selected seaweed species (light intensity, temperature, nutrient profile) and determine the suitable substrate inoculation strategy for mass cultivation. o Stage Three – extractive strategies: Investigate different extractive strategies (pyrolytic vs non-pyrolytic/low heat) to achieve highest yield of target compounds out of selected seaweed species.

Market will realize the significance of BP8'S new developments.