H2O Innovation Awarded CAN$2.4 Million in Contracts for Industrial and Municipal Water Treatment Systems

QUEBEC CITY, QUEBEC--(Marketwire - Jan. 12, 2011) - H₂O Innovation Inc. ("H₂O Innovation" or the "Company) (TSX VENTURE:HEO)(ALTERNEXT:MNEMO:ALHEO) announces today that it has recently been awarded new contracts totaling $2.4 million. H₂O Innovation was awarded these contracts shortly before the end of the second quarter of its 2011 fiscal year, ended December 31, 2010. H₂O Innovation recorded a total of $7.4 million in new bookings during the second quarter of fiscal 2011.

These contracts will see H₂O Innovation provide custom-built water treatment systems and equipment to industrial, mining, and municipal end-users in Canada and the United States, the Company's two major geographical markets. These contracts bring H₂O Innovation's sales backlog to $14.7 million as of January 12, 2011. The Company's sales backlog is comprised entirely of systems and equipment sales and does not include sales of services and consumable products, nor does it include the backlog of the Company's Indian joint venture H₂O Innovation India.

"With the other new bookings announced on November 10, 2010 – totaling $5 million –, these new contracts bring our total bookings for the second quarter of fiscal 2011 to $7.4 million. This is significantly higher than during the second quarter of the previous fiscal year, where we had secured $4.2 million in new contracts, and twice as high as during the first quarter of the current fiscal year. We are encouraged by this higher level of new bookings – which will translate into revenues over the next 12 months – and look forward to maintaining a high success rate in our bidding activity as we start the third quarter of the fiscal year", stated Frédéric Dugré, President and CEO of H₂O Innovation.

As part of the contracts announced today, H₂O Innovation will design, fabricate, and deliver an industrial process water production system for a U.S. energy and power generation company as well as a drinking water production system for an Ontario mining customer. The Canadian mining industry is currently experiencing sustained growth – fueled by the rising price of most metals and minerals. Active in the mining industry in Canada and abroad for more than 10 years, H₂O Innovation is an experienced designer and manufacturer of high performance water treatment systems for mining operations & workers camps, development projects and exploration properties.

The Company will also design, build, and deliver a 150,000 GPD Bio-Brane wastewater treatment system to a First Nation community in Manitoba, Canada. H₂O Innovation's Bio-Brane technology is a high-efficiency IFAS MBR (integrated fixed-film activated sludge and membrane bioreactor) system used for municipal and industrial wastewater treatment and water reuse applications.

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.