H2O Innovation and 3M Purification Inc. Partner to Provide Mobile Water Treatment Unit for Project HOPE in Haiti

QUEBEC CITY, QUEBEC--(Marketwire - Feb. 15, 2011) -

Editors note: A photo is included with this press release on Marketwire's website.

H₂O Innovation Inc. ("H₂O Innovation" or the "Company")(TSX VENTURE:HEO) and 3M Purification Inc. ("3M Purification") have teamed up to provide a mobile water treatment unit to Project HOPE to support its humanitarian assistance and health care programs in Haiti. H₂O Innovation has designed, built and will deliver a trailer-based mobile water treatment system that will enable Project HOPE to produce drinking water from either surface, underground or brackish water sources. 3M Purification has provided funding for the purchase of raw material and equipment needed to build the unit, while H₂O Innovation will donate the training required for the operation of the unit by Project HOPE's local staff. H₂O Innovation's mobile water treatment unit is scheduled to arrive in Haiti in Spring 2011. The Company also provides an update on the first year of its sales representation agreement with 3M Purification and 3M Canada during which it has recorded the first orders for water treatment systems and membrane specialty chemicals.

"Just over one year after the terrible earthquake that devastated Haiti, humanitarian and reconstruction efforts are far from being completed. In this context, H₂O Innovation is proud to team up with our sales representative 3M Purification to contribute in a sustainable way to Project HOPE's long-term health care development initiatives in Haiti. The rugged yet simple-to-operate mobile water treatment system provided by H₂O Innovation and 3M Purification will help support Project HOPE's invaluable work in Haiti, where access to both health care and clean drinking water are far from universal", said Frédéric Dugré, President and CEO of H₂O Innovation.

Assembled and manufactured by H₂O Innovation in its plant located in Ham-Nord, Quebec, the mobile water treatment unit is capable of producing enough potable water to ensure the daily operations of a field hospital, or to deliver a volume of drinking water equivalent to 35,000 bottles (500ml), every day.

Equipped with 3M Purification filters and cartridges, joining high performance with ease of replacement, the mobile unit is designed to be operated in the roughest conditions. Hitched to a pick-up truck or other vehicle, it can be moved around Haiti as needed. Equipped with a gasoline-powered generator, it can produce high quality drinking water in remote areas where electrical power supply is unavailable. H₂O Innovation's mobile emergency relief water treatment unit can be built and ready to ship in only two weeks and, once deployed on location, can produce potable water in minutes.

The mobile water treatment unit is designed to be operated by Project HOPE's local staff, requiring only basic knowledge of water treatment science. H₂O Innovation will donate operating training to Project HOPE's local team, covering both operating and maintenance of the unit.

Founded in 1958, Project HOPE (Health Opportunities for People Everywhere) is dedicated to providing lasting solutions to health problems with the mission of helping people to help themselves. Identifiable to many by the SS HOPE, the world's first peacetime hospital ship, Project HOPE now provides medical training and health education, as well as conducts humanitarian assistance programs in more than 35 countries. Over the past five decades, Project HOPE has demonstrated its ability to develop and permanently institute long-term solutions to pressing health problems, the true essence of helping people help themselves.

Update on the sales representation agreement with 3M Purification & 3M Canada

One year ago, H₂O Innovation entered into a sales representation agreement with 3M Purification – and subsequently with 3M Canada – whereby 3M Purification and 3M Canada represent H₂O Innovation's complete line of water treatment solutions in the U.S. and Canadian oil & gas and automotive assembly markets on a non-exclusive basis.

Over the course of the first twelve months of the agreement, the Company has provided multiple sales information and training sessions to 3M's sales teams. In turn, 3M Purification and 3M Canada's sales teams have generated a number of sales opportunities for H₂O Innovation, enabling the Company to record the first sales of water treatment systems through the agreement. These first orders will see H₂O Innovation deliver industrial process water production systems and equipment to both customers of 3M Purification and to its own manufacturing plants.

The Company has also recorded the first orders for its membrane antiscalants and membrane cleaners, which are marketed under the Professional Water Technologies brand. Furthermore, the business relationship between H₂O Innovation and 3M Purification has enabled the parties to identify additional sales opportunities in high growth markets outside those covered by the initial agreement. The Company follows such additional sales opportunities on a case-by-case basis and is currently focusing on the rapid-growth mining industry, in North America and abroad, in which the Company has solid experience.

"As we embark on the second year of our sales representation agreement with 3M Purification and 3M Canada, we are satisfied to have secured orders in the first twelve months of the agreement and expect our relationship to generate additional orders for water treatment systems and specialty chemicals as we continue to build it. H₂O Innovation is actively engaged supporting its external sales force, a network composed of over 20 North American wastewater equipment sales representatives and nearly 15 international distributors for its line of membrane pretreatment chemicals and cleaners", concluded Frédéric Dugré.

Prospective disclosures

Certain statements set forth in this press release regarding the operations and the activities of H₂O Innovation as well as other communications by the Company to the public that describe more generally management objectives, projections, estimates, expectations or forecasts may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of securities legislation. Forward-looking statements concern analysis and other information based on forecast future results and the estimate of amounts that cannot yet be yet determined. Forward-looking statements include the use of the words "expect", "believe", "estimate" and other similar terms as well as those usually used in the future and the conditional, notably regarding certain assumptions as to the success of a venture. Those forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties which may result in actual and future results of the Company to be materially different than those indicated. Information about the risk factors to which the Company is exposed is provided in the Annual Information Form dated September 21, 2010 available on SEDAR (www.sedar.com). Unless required to do so pursuant to applicable securities legislation, H₂O Innovation assumes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements contained in this press release or in other communications as a result of new information, future events and other changes.

About H₂O Innovation 

Building on 10 years of experience, H₂O Innovation designs, manufactures, and integrates state-of-the-art custom-built water treatment systems for the production of drinking water, the reclamation of water, the treatment of wastewater and industrial process water in the municipal, commercial, industrial, oil & gas, mining, and energy markets. Additionally, the Company offers complete operating and maintenance solutions for membrane filtration and reverse osmosis systems. H₂O Innovation has approximately 100 employees and eight offices including three manufacturing plants in Canada and the United States and is a founding partner of H₂O Innovation India, a joint venture based in Mumbai, India. Shares of H₂O Innovation are listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (HEO) as well as on the NYSE Euronext Alternext Exchange (MNEMO: ALHEO). For more, visit www.h2oinnovation.com.