VALENCIA, CA--(Marketwire - September 7, 2010) - Enable IPC Corporation (
Enable IPC Reaches $4.5 Million Three-Year Deal for RFID Application in Livestock
On Monday, August 30 2010, Enable IPC announced that the Company has reached an agreement with a major manufacturer of RFID tags and readers to provide ultracapacitor-based products to improve the range in which the tags can be read. The customer has committed, subject to successful product development and testing, to purchase a total of $4.5 million in customized ultracapacitor devices from Enable IPC over the next three years to incorporate into the customer's RFID tags. Both parties anticipate that, given the fact that a significantly longer read range will provide much needed traction in the RFID tag market, the total dollar amount of tags sold by the customer will likely be much higher than currently forecasted.
The customer primarily sells RFID systems for livestock applications where the increased read range provided by the Enable IPC ultracapacitor should prove beneficial for both farm management and food safety.
In farm management, RFID systems can be used along with software systems to allow for easier tracking of various animal characteristics depending upon the type of farm (e.g., milk production in a diary farm), which allows for increased efficiency and decreased labor costs. As an example, one report states that using RFID systems in such a way to track individual cattle rather than in groups has allowed one farmer to estimate he is saving $35-60 per head of cattle.
Concerns over food safety have led some countries including Canada, Australia and New Zealand to begin mandating RFID use in tracking livestock all the way from birth to retail sales. In the instance of a food safety issue (for example, E. Coli found in hamburger), tainted meats can be more accurately, quickly and easily tracked back to the originating ranches, and in some instances to the animal itself, as well as any other animals or products they may have come into contact with along the way. This would facilitate more efficient and less costly recalls and quicker resolutions of any crisis. As these mandates spread to other countries and other animal types, livestock tracking is expected to become the dominant market in the RFID industry -- British Research firm IDTechEx expects livestock tracking to be the largest RFID market by 2017 at nearly $6.5 billion worldwide, largely propelled by government mandates. According to the US Department of Agriculture, in the US alone there are over 100 million cattle and over 35 million born each year.
The RFID tag industry overall is expected to see heavy growth in the coming years; one third-party market research report forecasts a 14% Compound Annual Growth Rate and a total market value of $8 billion by 2014.
RFID Systems
RFID tags are widely used across many industries. Consisting of a microchip and radio antenna, they transmit information using radio waves. A reader is used to intercept the waves and interpret the information. They are used in dozens of applications including inventory, pet, livestock and asset tracking, tires, anti-theft devices, toll roads, passports, patient identification and much more.
There are three basic types of RFID tags: passive, battery-assisted passive (BAP) and active.
- Passive RFID tags are comprised of two components: a chip and a radio antenna. A piece of equipment called a "reader" is used to send out a signal that "wakes up" the chip. The tag sends back the signal ("backscatters") to the reader, transmitting the information on the chip. Passive chips backscatter 10-15% of the energy they receive and, therefore, can usually be read from about 35 feet away.
- Battery-assisted passive (BAP) RFID tags contain an embedded power source, a thin film battery or a printed energy storage device. The power source enables the tag to backscatter much more of the energy it receives (some claim as much as 90%) and has been shown to be read from over 150 feet away.
- Active RFID tags utilize a power source, are typically "always on," and emit the energy from the battery rather than through backscatter. They are needed in electromagnetically unfriendly environments and can be read from readers over 100 feet away.
There have been three major issues with BAP and active energy storage components: cost, reliability and maintenance. Up until recently, active and BAP technologies added significant bulk and therefore cost to RFID tags. With recent thin film battery technologies bulk is less of an issue, however the thin film batteries can be less reliable and more costly. In addition, detection ranges can drop significantly with the age of the tag and battery with some dropping from 150 feet to a 12 foot detection range.
Enable IPC's solution would enable an active RFID tag to be read over 100 feet away while providing the low cost, maintenance free reliability of a passive RFID tag. Expect to hear more about this agreement and Enable's plans in the coming weeks.
Enable IPC Meets Pink Sheets Current Information Status
Enable IPC has been designated as 'Pink Sheets Current Information' status on the Pink OTC (over-the-counter) Market. The Pink OTC Markets are organized into tiers based on the depth and quality of financial reporting. The Pink Sheets segment represents the bulk of OTC companies and is further arranged into tiers:
- Pink Sheets Current Information -- Companies designated as Pink Sheets Current Information have publicly released financial information according to Pink OTC Guidelines found here: http://www.otcmarkets.com/content/doc/ps/Disclosure/Guidelines/2.pdf. The designation is based on level of disclosure and is not an indication of the quality or risk of the investment.
- Pink Sheets Limited Information -- Represents companies that have provided financial information as recent as the last six months.
- Pink Sheets No Information -- Companies under this designation either do not provide Current Information, or if they do it, has been at least six months since the most recent filing.
- More information on OTC Markets and Pink Sheets Tiers can be found here: http://www.otcmarkets.com/otcguide/investors_market_tiers.jsp
Why seek "Pink Sheets Current Information" Status?
Enable IPC is committed to assisting its investors in making informed investment decisions about the Company. Current Information reports provide investors with tools to make informed investment decisions and Pink Sheets Current Information status signals to investors that the depth of information provided has met the OTC Market requirements pursuant to the designation. This tier also allows companies to provide current information to investors at a much lower cost than is required to be SEC reporting. As a development stage company, Enable's board voted to stop SEC reporting expenses so that funds could be put to better use developing the Company's leading-edge technologies. By reporting current information under the Pink OTC Market's standards for 'Pink Sheets Current Information,' the Company feels it has optimized its resources while continuing to provide current information to investors.
SolRayo's Potentiostat Featured On National Instruments' Website
National Instruments is a large (net sales $676 million in 2009) public company with over 5,000 employees operating in 41 countries worldwide. National Instruments is a provider of measurement and automation products to a wide range of industries. Enable IPC's subsidiary SolRayo Inc.'s potentiostat uses National Instrument products for some of its key components. In effect, the more potentiostats that SolRayo sells, the more components SolRayo will purchase from National Instruments. National Instruments has created a case study feature on SolRayo's Potentiostat found on the National Instruments corporate website at http://www.ni.com/solrayo written by Dr. Mark Daugherty, CEO of SolRayo.
In addition to this, National Instruments featured SolRayo's potentiostat in an IEEE Spectrum webinar and we were also mentioned in their second quarter earnings call (the transcript can be found here:
http://seekingalpha.com/article/216852-national-instruments-corp-q2-2010-earnings-call-transcript?source=yahoo)
Enable IPC's Ultracapacitor Technology Can Provide Solar Energy Storage Solutions
Enable IPC's ultracapacitor technology is flexible and can be used in a variety of applications. The Company has frequently discussed the concept of using ultracapacitors for energy storage, such as in solar photovoltaic (PV) installations. Some of these discussions and presentations can be found on the Company's website at: http://www.enableipc.com/papers_ucaps.html.
PV is an emerging industry expected to see heavy growth in the coming years (Forecasted Compound Annual Growth Rate of 26.3% through 2014, according to third party market research reports).
Solar Energy Storage
The worldwide emphasis on "clean" and renewable energy production has many drivers. Energy costs make up an ever-increasing portion of the average consumer's expenditures and the volatility of oil prices as well as concerns over dependence upon foreign oil sources have led many countries to seek alternative means of energy production. An increased awareness of the real and potential environmental dangers posed by the use of fossil fuels has helped foster interest specifically in geothermal, wind and solar energy as clean and abundant alternatives. Also, as R&D continues and technologies advance, costs are continually driven down making renewable sources more and more cost-competitive. Utility-scale wind power, for example, has seen an 80% reduction in costs over the last 20 years.
"Clean" energy sources are typically intermittent, i.e., they do not provide constant energy (the classic examples are a wind turbine on a still day, or a solar panel at night or on a cloudy day). Especially in off-grid applications, batteries or similar devices allow electricity storage during times of "excess energy" for use during times of need.
In "grid-tied" solar photovoltaic installations, energy storage devices are not typically utilized due to required maintenance, poor performance and high costs.
- Maintenance -- Many lead acid batteries, which are typically used in solar applications, require periodic maintenance from the homeowner (checking and replacing fluid levels, etc). Others such as gel and Absorbed Glass Mat (AGM) are considered maintenance free but are expensive.
- Poor Performance -- Batteries operating in grid-tied applications may need to be replaced anywhere from once every 6 months to once every 7 years. Some may last longer but few manufacturers guarantee it.
- High costs -- In a market where customers must consider long-term breakeven (or "buy-back") periods, the fact that energy storage devices can add anywhere from 15% to 40% (depending on the level of tax credits) to the costs for the entire installation pushes the customers long-term breakeven date back even further.
Enable IPC's design is aimed at producing a competitively priced, maintenance free product lasting as long as the PV installation itself (20-25 years), which will severely cut the investment required by the end-user.
About SolRayo, Inc.
SolRayo, Inc. (www.solrayo.com) is a Madison, Wisconsin-based company set up to commercialize an ultracapacitor technology licensed from the University of Wisconsin. In addition, the Company introduced its potentiostat/galvanostat equipment products in January 2010. SolRayo is a subsidiary of Enable IPC Corporation.
About Enable IPC Corp. (Intellectual Property Commercialization)
Enable IPC provides efficient, streamlined strategies for turning technologies into products and bringing them to market. Though not limited to nanotechnology or the energy industries, Enable IPC's growing portfolio currently includes the exclusive rights to two break-through energy technologies a microbattery and an ultracapacitor. The company seeks to turn technologies into products and is a transparent, fair turnkey partner for sub-licensing and joint development with other companies.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release may contain forward-looking statements, such as "expects," "projected," "should" and similar terminology that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause a company's actual results in the future to differ materially from forecasted results. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, the ability to secure additional financing for the company, changing economic conditions, business conditions, and the risks inherent in the operations of a company.
Contact Information:
Contacts
Product Inquiries:
Kevin Leonard
SolRayo, Inc.
(608) 244-2799
kevin_leonard@solrayo.com
Investor Relations:
Rich Kaiser
(888) 391-1196, ext. 106
or (800) 631-8127
ir@enableipc.com