Perma-Fix Environmental Services Inc (PESI) 2024 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good day and welcome to the Perma-Fix Fiscal First Quarter 2024 earnings conference call. At this time, all participants are in a listen only mode. After management's prepared remarks, there will be a question and answer session. I would now like to turn the call over to David Waldman, Investor Relations. Please go.

美好的一天，歡迎參加 Perma-Fix 2024 年第一季財報電話會議。此時，所有參與者都處於只聽模式。管理階層準備好發言後，將進行問答環節。我現在想將電話轉給投資者關係部的 David Waldman。請離開。

Thank you. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Perma-Fix Environmental Services first quarter 2024 conference call. On the call with us this morning are Mark Duff, President and CEO; Dr. Louis Centofanti, Executive Vice President of Strategic Initiatives; and Ben Naccarato, Chief Financial Officer. The company issued a press release this morning containing First Quarter 2024 financial results, which is also posted on the company's website. (Event Instructions)

謝謝。大家早安，歡迎參加 Perma-Fix 環境服務 2024 年第一季電話會議。今天早上與我們通話的是總裁兼執行長馬克·達夫 (Mark Duff)； Louis Centofanti 博士，策略計劃執行副總裁；和財務長本·納卡拉托。該公司今天上午發布了一份新聞稿，其中包含 2024 年第一季的財務業績，該新聞稿也發佈在該公司的網站上。（活動須知）

I'd also like to remind everyone that certain statements contained within the conference call may be deemed forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and includes certain non-GAAP financial measures. All statements on this conference call other than a statement of historical fact are forward-looking statements that are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause actual results and performance of the company to differ materially from such statements.

我還想提醒大家，電話會議中包含的某些陳述可能被視為 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》含義內的前瞻性陳述，並包括某些非 GAAP 財務指標。除歷史事實陳述外，本次電話會議上的所有陳述均為前瞻性陳述，這些陳述受到已知和未知的風險、不確定性和其他因素的影響，這些因素可能導致公司的實際結果和業績與此類陳述有重大差異。

These risks and uncertainties are detailed in the company's filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission as well as this morning's press release, the company makes no commitment to disclose any revisions to forward-looking statements or any facts, events or circumstances after the date hereof that bear upon forward-looking statements.

這些風險和不確定性已在公司向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件以及今天上午的新聞稿中詳細說明，本公司不承諾披露本新聞稿發布後對前瞻性陳述或任何事實、事件或情況的任何修訂與前瞻性陳述有關。

In addition, today's discussion will include references to non-GAAP measures. Perma-Fix believes that such information provides an additional measurement and consistent historical comparison of its performance. A reconciliation of non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures is available in today's news release on our website. I'd now like to turn the call over to Mark Duff. Please go ahead. Mark.

此外，今天的討論將包括對非公認會計原則措施的提及。Perma-Fix 認為，此類資訊提供了對其性能的額外衡量和一致的歷史比較。我們網站上今天發布的新聞稿中提供了非公認會計準則衡量指標與最直接可比較的公認會計準則衡量指標的調節表。我現在想把電話轉給馬克·達夫。請繼續。標記。

All right. Thanks, David, and good morning. As discussed in our year-end conference call, our financial performance in the first quarter of 2024 was impacted by several temporary headwinds, which had a significant impact on the first quarter and to a lesser extent, the second quarter. However, we believe these challenges were one-off impacts and are largely behind us now. As a result, we're regaining our momentum with improving Q2 performance and we anticipate a strong second half of 2024.

好的。謝謝，大衛，早安。正如我們在年終電話會議中討論的那樣，我們2024 年第一季度的財務業績受到了一些暫時性不利因素的影響，這些不利因素對第一季度產生了重大影響，在較小程度上也對第第二季產生了影響。然而，我們認為這些挑戰是一次性的影響，現在基本上已經過去了。因此，我們正在透過改善第二季的業績來重拾勢頭，並預計 2024 年下半年將表現強勁。

At the same time, we continue to invest in our 2025 vision, which we believe has the potential for significant growth and even transformative performance. The weakness we experienced in Q1 was due in part to delayed project starts as previously discussed during the fourth quarter of 2023, we completed our two largest service projects at Princeton Plasma Physics Lab and the ex-McKee project for the Navy.

同時，我們繼續投資 2025 年願景，我們相信該願景具有顯著成長甚至變革性績效的潛力。我們在第一季度經歷的疲軟部分是由於項目啟動延遲，正如之前在2023 年第四季度討論的那樣，我們完成了普林斯頓等離子體物理實驗室的兩個最大的服務項目和海軍的前麥基項目。

These two large projects have completed all field work now. However, they were not replaced in time by new projects due to delays in mobilization activities until late April. We also experienced challenging weather conditions during the first quarter of 2024, which resulted in the closure of two of our facilities for a week, including delays in waste shipments to support backlog.

目前，這兩個大型項目已完成全部現場工作。然而，由於動員活動推遲到四月下旬，它們沒有及時被新項目取代。2024 年第一季度，我們還經歷了充滿挑戰的天氣條件，導致我們的兩個設施關閉一周，包括為支持積壓而延遲廢物運輸。

In addition, due to the inability of Congress to pass a federal budget on schedule, the government had been operating under a continuing resolution, which contribute to delays in procurements of project starts and waste shipments since government clients were holding back budgets due to uncertainty and the potential of a shutdown of last year or at last March.

此外，由於國會無法按期通過聯邦預算，政府一直在根據一項持續決議運作，這導致了項目啟動採購和廢物運輸的延遲，因為政府客戶因不確定性和不確定性而推遲了預算。去年三月關閉的可能性。

However, we use this period for equipment replacement and repairs treatment program and operational enhancements and testing to support permanent expansion and broader market penetration. We believe these headwinds are now largely behind us and as things normalize, we remain confident in getting back to and surpassing our business base goal of $25 million in revenue per quarter.

然而，我們利用這段時間進行設備更換和維修處理計劃以及營運增強和測試，以支援永久擴張和更廣泛的市場滲透。我們相信，這些不利因素現在已基本成為過去，隨著情況恢復正常，我們仍然有信心恢復並超越每季收入 2500 萬美元的業務基本目標。

Our earnings during the quarter were also impacted by deliberate investments in research and development. For instance, we are investing in sorting technology, including the fabrication of a second unit to be deployed this summer and potentially a third unit to be deployed before the end of the year.

我們本季的收益也受到了對研發的刻意投資的影響。例如，我們正在投資分選技術，包括製造今年夏天部署的第二個裝置，並可能在今年年底前部署第三個裝置。

Most importantly, we're investing in our new technology to treat PFAS contamination. As a result of these investments we have completed the pilot plant testing the PFAS destruction levels and have seen them exceed anticipated regulatory requirements and are now in the process of final design and fabrication of the first operational unit in late Q3.

最重要的是，我們正在投資新技術來處理 PFAS 污染。由於這些投資，我們已經完成了 PFAS 銷毀水平的試點工廠測試，並發現它們超出了預期的監管要求，目前正在第三季度末進行第一個運行單元的最終設計和製造。

We plan to begin accepting PFAS containing liquids for destruction before the end of the year. We believe these investments are prudent and I couldn't be more excited about this new PFAS fast business line, which I will discuss further in a moment.

我們計劃在今年年底前開始接受含有液體的 PFAS 進行銷毀。我們相信這些投資是審慎的，我對這個新的 PFAS 快速業務線感到非常興奮，我將在稍後進一步討論。

In addition, as we have discussed in the past, we are advancing several very large initiatives that we expect will begin to materialize in the second half of this year and set the stage for very significant growth beginning late this year and into 2025.

此外，正如我們過去討論的那樣，我們正在推進幾項非常大型的舉措，我們預計這些舉措將在今年下半年開始實現，並為從今年年底開始到 2025 年的顯著增長奠定基礎。

First, let me begin by providing an update on our services and treatment segments by addressing some of our recent wins, and then I'll provide updates on some of the larger initiatives that are underway.

首先，讓我先介紹我們最近取得的一些成果來介紹我們的服務和治療領域的最新情況，然後我將介紹一些正在進行的較大舉措的最新情況。

Within the Services segment, we're benefiting from an increased bidding opportunities right now, including both the government and commercial sectors. We're positioned for large ongoing procurements within DOE and the US Navy as well as other midsize procurement initiatives at DOE, D0D and EPA.

在服務領域，我們目前受益於越來越多的投標機會，包括政府和商業部門。我們的定位是支持能源部和美國海軍內部的大型持續採購，以及能源部、國防部和環保署的其他中型採購計畫。

We've been able to secure strong teaming positions for award for potential awards anticipated through 2025 that would potentially represent substantial increases in sustainable revenue for the next 5 to 10 years. For example, we're participating in large procurement opportunities as part of larger teams on the operations and site mission support contract, which we referred to in the past, is the OSMS bid, along with West Valley Demonstration Project near Buffalo, New York and upcoming Navy projects, which are expected to be awarded over the next several quarters.

我們已經能夠在 2025 年之前的潛在獎項中獲得強有力的合作地位，這些獎項可能代表未來 5 到 10 年可持續收入的大幅成長。例如，我們正在作為營運和現場任務支援合約（我們過去提到的 OSMS 投標）以及紐約州布法羅附近的西谷示範項目的大型團隊的一部分參與大型採購機會即將推出的海軍項目，預計將在未來幾季內授予。

In addition, I'm proud to report that we were recently selected by DOE's Office of Environmental Management to participate in a 10-year small business set-aside multiple award IDIQ contract to provide nationwide deactivation, decommissioning and removal services for the Office of Environmental Management, the National Nuclear Security Administration and the Office of Naval Reactors and Office of Sciences, all within DOE.

此外，我很自豪地報告，我們最近被美國能源部環境管理辦公室選中，參與一項為期10 年的小型企業預留多重獎勵IDIQ 合同，為環境管理辦公室提供全國範圍內的停用、退役和拆除服務。

Perma-Fix's team is among a select group of small businesses chosen, making us eligible to compete for firm fixed price and cost reimbursable task orders, the maximum ceiling on the overall contract of $2 billion. While this is an IDIQ contract, which means basically that it's a hunting license, we believe this award provides us several opportunities for revenue growth within our base business. Even if we were to win just a proportional share of the award, it would provide meaningful revenue to the company over the next 10 years.

Perma-Fix 的團隊是精選的小型企業之一，這使我們有資格競爭固定價格和成本可報銷的任務訂單，總合約的最高限額為 20 億美元。雖然這是一份 IDIQ 合同，這基本上意味著它是一份狩獵許可證，但我們相信該合約為我們的基礎業務提供了一些收入增長的機會。即使我們只贏得了一定比例的獎項，它也會在未來 10 年為公司帶來可觀的收入。

That said, we believe that based on our growing reputation, our technical capabilities and our proven track record relative to some of the small -- other small businesses participating in this IDIQ, the potential opportunity could be much greater. We expect that recent wins such as these and numerous projects currently in our pipeline will continue to support our long-term growth plan and help us further diversify our revenue stream.

也就是說，我們相信，基於我們日益增長的聲譽、我們的技術能力以及我們相對於參與此 IDIQ 的一些小型企業（其他小型企業）的良好記錄，潛在的機會可能會更大。我們預計，諸如此類的近期勝利以及目前正在籌備中的眾多項目將繼續支持我們的長期成長計劃，並幫助我們進一步實現收入來源多元化。

Overall, we're encouraged by the long-term outlook of the Services segment as seven new projects are mobilizing in May to support increased revenues in the latter half of the year. Several of these projects include soil sorting technology deployments, and we continue to realize the growth of these applications on larger projects, both in the US and in Europe.

總體而言，我們對服務部門的長期前景感到鼓舞，因為 5 月將啟動七個新項目，以支持下半年收入的增加。其中幾個項目包括土壤分選技術的部署，我們繼續在美國和歐洲的大型專案中實現這些應用的成長。

Within our Treatment segment, the backlog for waste treatment has been growing over the past few months, which we -- which has resulted in increasing revenues through the second quarter of 2024. This included increased waste shipments within the commercial sector, along with steady sales from our industrial waste programs as well.

在我們的處理部門中，廢棄物處理的積壓工作在過去幾個月一直在增加，這導致我們到 2024 年第二季的收入不斷增加。這包括商業部門廢棄物運輸量的增加，以及我們工業廢棄物項目的穩定銷售。

We've also been implementing facility upgrades at each of our waste treatment facilities to support modernization, new technology deployments and preparation for upcoming target waste streams with larger inventories defined at several client sites. In March, the long-awaited TSCA VTD or vacuum thermal desorption system treatment took place at our Perma-Fix of Florida facility along with members of the US EPA Region 4.

我們還對每個廢棄物處理設施實施設施升級，以支援現代化、新技術部署，並為即將到來的目標廢棄物流做好準備，並在多個客戶站點確定了更大的庫存。3 月，期待已久的 TSCA VTD 或真空熱解吸系統處理在我們位於佛羅裡達州的 Perma-Fix 工廠與美國 EPA 第 4 區的成員一起進行。

While final review and verification analysis are still pending, acknowledgment of successful testing by the EPA in a few months will provide a basis for Perma-Fix of Florida to obtain a TSCA treatment permit to provide generators as a path forward for difficult to treat higher activity task and contaminated waste streams. We estimate this backlog of waste within the industry to generate approximately $10 million in incremental annual revenue beginning in Q4.

雖然最終審查和驗證分析仍在等待中，但 EPA 在幾個月內成功測試的確認將為佛羅裡達州 Perma-Fix 獲得 TSCA 處理許可證提供基礎，以提供發電機作為難以處理較高活性的前進道路任務和受污染的廢物流。我們估計，從第四季開始，產業內積壓的廢棄物將產生約 1,000 萬美元的增量年收入。

I'd now like to turn our attention to several of the larger projects we're working towards as we've discussed previously, we believe that these initiatives should contribute to meaningful growth in revenue and earnings. I would like to briefly discuss each of these initiatives and provide our investors with an overview of the vision for the balance of the rest of the year and next year.

我現在想將我們的注意力轉向我們正在努力的幾個較大項目，正如我們之前討論的那樣，我們相信這些舉措應該有助於收入和收益的有意義的增長。我想簡要討論每一項舉措，並向我們的投資者概述今年剩餘時間和明年的願景。

First, let me start with the developments at Hanford. As many of you may be aware, DOE has been involved in what is known as the holistic negotiations for nearly five years with members of the tri-party agreement at Hanford, which includes state of regulators -- state regulators, EPA. and the DOE.

首先，讓我從漢福德的發展開始。正如你們許多人可能知道的那樣，能源部近五年來一直參與與漢福德三方協議成員的全面談判，其中包括州監管機構——州監管機構和美國環保署。和能源部。

The purpose of these negotiations as defined in the Hanford settlement agreement published for the public comment just about a few weeks ago on April 29 is to develop the strategic commitments by all the parties to clean up Hanford. I'd like to congratulate DOE for defining an agreement that adapts to new technologies to accelerate the tank cleanup program while leveraging existing commercial capabilities to be an integral part of the program over the next several decades.

幾週前（4 月 29 日）公佈的漢福德和解協議公開徵求意見，這些談判的目的是讓各方做出清理漢福德的戰略承諾。我要祝賀能源部製定了一項協議，該協議適應新技術以加速儲罐清理計劃，同時利用現有的商業能力成為未來幾十年該計劃不可或缺的一部分。

Under the settlement agreement, DOE states that the DFLAW hot commissioning program will be completed no later than August of 2025. While this is a few quarters later than anticipated view is committed to the schedule in a legally binding agreement.

根據和解協議，能源部表示 DFLAW 熱調試計畫將不遲於 2025 年 8 月完成。雖然這比預期晚了幾個季度，但在具有法律約束力的協議中，我們對時間表的承諾。

I may complete the milestone sooner. As we've discussed, the DFLAW affluent will be processed by perfect Northwest to include any potential waste generated during the hot commissioning program as well and along with supporting the DFLAW operations for at least the initial 10 years of its operational life.

我可能會更快完成這個里程碑。正如我們所討論的，DFLAW 富水將由 Perfect Northwest 進行處理，以包括熱調試計劃期間產生的任何潛在廢物，並支援 DFLAW 運營至少在其運營壽命的最初 10 年。

We believe we are well-positioned to treat all of the affluent waste from the operations as defined in the January 2023 Record of Decision by DOE, which estimates up to 8,000 cubic meters of waste to be generated annually upon hot start-up of the vitrification.

我們相信，我們有能力處理能源部 2023 年 1 月決策記錄中定義的所有營運產生的富裕廢棄物，該記錄估計玻璃化熱啟動後每年將產生高達 8,000 立方公尺的廢棄物。

As I've mentioned in the past, the volume of this waste will be more than double the current production of all of our plants combined on an annual basis. Also defined in the new Settlement Agreement, DOE is committed to complete waste retrievable from 22 tanks within the west tank farm for grouting off-site and disposal off-site by 2040.

正如我過去所提到的，這些廢棄物的數量將是我們所有工廠目前產量總和的兩倍以上。新的和解協議中還規定，能源部承諾在 2040 年完成從西部槽區 22 個儲槽回收廢棄物，以便場外灌漿和場外處置。

It's difficult to define the exact quantity of waste to be removed from this inventory during that period, but unofficial estimates include expectations for up to approximately 3 million gallons of waste to be processed annually to meet these goals for 2040. The agreement is unclear about when these operations would commence. However, the recent Hanford systems 10 document defines retrievable operations beginning in the January '26 time frame.

很難確定在此期間從該庫存中清除的確切廢物量，但非官方估計預計每年將處理多達約 300 萬加侖的廢物，以實現 2040 年的這些目標。該協議尚不清楚這些行動何時開始。然而，最近的 Hanford Systems 10 文件定義了從 26 年 1 月開始的可檢索操作。

This is critically important as the DOE has formally recognized groundings importance relative to the overall store closure strategy as a preferred supplement to the current DOE vitrification strategy. And while DOE will continue to develop multiple pathways for grouting, we remain confident that our existing Perma-Fix Northwest facility in Richmond, Washington, adjacent to the site will continue to provide the lowest risk best value strategy for grouting this waste for transport in a solid form via rail to out-of-state disposal facilities.

這一點至關重要，因為能源部已正式認識到接地相對於整體商店關閉策略的重要性，作為當前能源部玻璃化策略的首選補充。雖然美國能源部將繼續開發多種灌漿途徑，但我們仍然相信，我們位於華盛頓州里士滿的現有Perma-Fix 西北設施（毗鄰該地點）將繼續提供風險最低、最有價值的策略，以灌漿這種廢棄物進行運輸。

We believe that our location is ideally suited to treat a large portion of this waste given its proximity permits and our proven track record overall for safety. Moreover, we believe we can provide a highly cost effective solution for these ways that could potentially save taxpayers billions of dollars as an alternative to vitrification alone. The Hanford mission and planning has unfolded to include grouting of tank waste is a huge validation of our capabilities.

我們相信，鑑於其鄰近許可以及我們經過驗證的整體安全記錄，我們的地點非常適合處理大部分廢棄物。此外，我們相信我們可以為這些方法提供極具成本效益的解決方案，作為單獨玻璃化的替代方案，可能為納稅人節省數十億美元。漢福德的任務和規劃已經展開，包括罐廢物灌漿，這是對我們能力的巨大驗證。

As such, we plan to increase from our current capacity of 300,000 gallons per year for grouting to levels around 3 million gallons per year as the program progresses over the next several years. As I mentioned, the agreement is unclear about when these operations would commence. However, the Hanford systems rev 10 document published in January by DOE is currently being implemented to include two new tank waste removal systems to be installed and operating in late 2025 in early '26.

因此，隨著該計劃在未來幾年的進展，我們計劃將目前的灌漿產能從目前每年 30 萬加侖增加到每年 300 萬加侖左右。正如我所提到的，該協議並不清楚這些行動何時開始。然而，美國能源部 1 月發布的漢福德系統修訂版 10 文件目前正在實施，其中包括兩個新的儲罐廢物清除系統，將於 2025 年底、26 年初安裝和運行。

One of these removal systems will be built installed and operated to support the DFLAW facility while the other will be dedicated to the removal of tank waste for shipment to commercial ground facilities for off-site disposal. This is very significant development and reaffirms our strategy and outlook for it with our involvement in these transformative projects.

其中一個清除系統將被建造、安裝和運行以支援 DFLAW 設施，而另一個系統將專門用於清除儲槽廢物，然後運送到商業地面設施進行場外處置。這是非常重大的發展，並透過我們參與這些變革性項目重申了我們的策略和前景。

Overall, we look forward to working closely with DOE to support this mission of remediating Hanford, both through vitrification and through grouting as well as leveraging these capabilities at our other critical sites around the country.

總體而言，我們期待與能源部密切合作，透過玻璃化和灌漿以及在我們全國其他關鍵地點利用這些能力來支持修復漢福德的使命。

On a separate note, we're expanding our waste treatment offering within the commercial and international markets, including Europe, Mexico and Canada. As announced last year, our joint venture was awarded a EUR50 million seven year contract by the joint research council of the European Union at the export facility in Italy.

另外，我們正在擴大我們在商業和國際市場（包括歐洲、墨西哥和加拿大）的廢棄物處理產品。正如去年所宣布的那樣，我們的合資企業獲得了歐盟聯合研究委員會授予的一份價值 5000 萬歐元的七年期合同，位於意大利的出口設施。

Work on this project is progressing at GRC as we continue to work on the design and business model for our proposed new facility in the UK with the initial way shipments projected for that GOC contract to begin in late Q4 2025 to the US until the new facility in the UK is commissioned.

GRC 的該專案工作正在取得進展，我們將繼續為擬議的英國新工廠設計和商業模式，GOC 合約的初步發貨方式預計將於 2025 年第四季度末開始運往美國，直至新工廠建成在英國被委託。

This award is very important to us, and it opens up substantial opportunities throughout Europe. This and other international opportunities in Germany and other European countries along with Mexico are expected to generate sustained receipts beginning in 2025, providing combined revenues estimated to be over $10 million annually.

這個獎項對我們來說非常重要，它為整個歐洲帶來了大量的機會。這個機會以及德國和其他歐洲國家以及墨西哥的其他國際機會預計將從 2025 年開始產生持續的收入，預計每年的綜合收入將超過 1000 萬美元。

On one final note, I'd like to discuss the rapid and significant progress we're making in advancing our new patent-pending technology to treat PFAS contamination, which we recently recently trademark as Perma-FAS. Both the White House and EPA have made this a major focus due to the hazards associated with these quote forever chemicals, 1,000 sites across the country and the world have large inventories of these chemicals, not to mention all the sites with PFAS contamination that will require remediation.

最後一點，我想討論我們在推進正在申請專利的新技術來處理 PFAS 污染方面所取得的快速而重大的進展，我們最近將其註冊為 Perma-FAS 商標。由於與這些化學物質相關的危害，白宮和EPA 都將此作為主要關注點，全國和世界各地的1,000 個場所都擁有大量這些化學物質的庫存，更不用說所有受到PFAS 污染的場所，需要對這些化學物質進行處理。

Estimates of this market very widely. However, the opportunity to provide services and treat PFAS contaminated waste for government, municipal and commercial applications is estimated to exceed $100 billion over the next 10 years.

對這個市場的估計非常廣泛。然而，未來 10 年內，為政府、市政和商業應用提供服務和處理 PFAS 污染廢棄物的機會預計將超過 1,000 億美元。

In addition, initial estimates associated with impacted soils include more than 200 million acres of contaminated farmland and in the US alone. In addition to earmarking billions of dollars in federal funding, the EPA has taken decisive action to address this problem, including the recent designation of PFAS as a hazardous substance, which enables that agency to compel responsible parties to pay for or conduct investigations and cleanup as well as the addition of seven additional P fast to list to the list of chemicals covered by the Toxics Release Inventory.

此外，與受影響土壤相關的初步估計僅在美國就有超過 2 億英畝的受污染農地。除了撥款數十億美元的聯邦資金外，美國環保署還採取了果斷行動來解決這一問題，包括最近將PFAS 指定為有害物質，這使得該機構能夠迫使責任方支付費用或進行調查和清理，以及將另外七種 P 快速列入有毒物質釋放清單所涵蓋的化學物質清單中。

EPA has also issued a CERCLA enforcement discretion policy that makes it clear that EPA will focus enforcement on parties who significantly contribute to the release of PFAS chemicals into the environment, including parties that have manufactured PFAS or used PFAS in the manufacturing process, along with federal facilities and other industrial parties. Importantly, current and former waste producers are now beginning to understand that liability ultimately resides with the generator of the waste and that they are not absolved of this liability if the waste is not properly remediated.

EPA 也發布了一項CERCLA 執法自由裁量權政策，明確規定EPA 將重點執法，重點關注那些對PFAS 化學品釋放到環境中做出重大貢獻的各方，包括製造PFAS 或在製造過程中使用PFAS 的各方，以及聯邦設施和其他工業方。重要的是，現在和以前的廢棄物生產者現在開始明白，責任最終在於廢棄物產生者，如果廢棄物沒有得到適當的補救，他們就不能免除這種責任。

In contrast to our party -- excuse me, in contrast to our process, which offers a sustainable and an environmentally responsible solution, traditional disposal methods for PFAS contamination materials such as deep well injection and land-filling pose substantial environmental risk, including the potential for groundwater contamination.

與我們的政黨相比——對不起，與我們提供可持續且對環境負責的解決方案的流程相比，PFAS污染材料的傳統處置方法（例如深井注入和填埋）帶來了巨大的環境風險，包括潛在的用於地下水污染。

Towards this end, we continue to scale the process, and with the pilot plant test now complete, we have a very high degree of confidence in moving forward and the pilot plant testing was not only successful, but exceeded our expectations. In fact, our process achieved PFAS destruction levels of 6, 9s or 99.9999%, exceeding anticipated regulatory requirements.

為此，我們繼續擴大流程，隨著中試工廠測試現已完成，我們對前進充滿信心，中試工廠測試不僅成功，而且超出了我們的預期。事實上，我們的製程實現了 6%、9% 或 99.9999% 的 PFAS 銷毀水平，超出了預期的監管要求。

These tests affirm -- or reaffirm our prior bench-scale testing, which indicated our process should effectively destroy these harmful chemicals at high levels of efficiency, and could be applied to a variety of potential markets, including liquids, soils, biosolids and sludges.

這些測試證實或重申了我們先前的小規模測試，這表明我們的製程應該有效地有效銷毀這些有害化學物質，並且可以應用於各種潛在市場，包括液體、土壤、生物固體和污泥。

The initial feedback from customer -- from potential customers we've been talking to has been extremely positive, given the increasing pressure to treat and dispose of waste or for these waste streams. In addition to the costs associated with storing these materials, as I mentioned, there are significant growing legal and regulatory requirements to treat these waste, not to mention the potential liabilities associated with these harmful and dangerous waste streams that have permeated landfills and water supplies.

鑑於處理和處置廢物或這些廢物流的壓力越來越大，來自我們一直在交談的潛在客戶的初步回饋非常積極。正如我所提到的，除了與儲存這些材料相關的成本之外，處理這些廢物的法律和監管要求也不斷增長，更不用說與這些滲透到垃圾掩埋場和供水系統的有害和危險廢物流相關的潛在責任。

We're now in the process of the final design of the operational unit, and we've also selected a build partner for the fabrication of our initial operational system and look forward to providing updates on this shortly. As a result, we're aiming for start-up in September of a system that can destroy PFAS at approximately 1,000 gallon batches and for up to 3x a day.

我們現在正在進行操作單元的最終設計，我們還選擇了一個建造合作夥伴來製造我們的初始作業系統，並期待很快提供相關更新。因此，我們的目標是在 9 月啟動一個系統，該系統可以銷毀約 1,000 加侖批次的 PFAS，每天最多銷毀 3 次。

We anticipate this system will receive a variety of modifications and upgrade as we optimize performance and make adjustments to the treatment parameters. We have established goals for additional units to be installed in each of our existing treatment plants in 2025. In parallel with this effort, we're rapidly progressing the development of both soil and bio-sludge applications, which will use the same technology but require different engineering considerations.

我們預計，隨著我們優化性能並對治療參數進行調整，該系統將進行各種修改和升級。我們制定了 2025 年在每個現有處理廠​​安裝更多裝置的目標。同時，我們正在快速推進土壤和生物污泥應用的開發，這將使用相同的技術，但需要不同的工程考慮。

We have completed bench-scale demonstration successfully on the solids and are now moving towards pilot scale testing at a 55-gallon volume. We also continue to develop partnerships with industry leaders in remediation as well as universities to provide R&D breadth and verification of services and performance while expanding on new ideas and applications.

我們已經成功完成了固體的小規模演示，現在正轉向 55 加侖體積的中試規模測試。我們也繼續與修復領域的行業領導者以及大學建立合作夥伴關係，以提供研發廣度以及服務和性能的驗證，同時擴展新的想法和應用。

As I mentioned, given the low cost as well as the technological and environmental advantages of our new process, we are already witnessing significant interest from large potential customers as well as regulatory agencies. We expect to begin generating revenue from this process in Q4, and our initial estimate for revenues in '24 is approximately $1 million to $2 million.

正如我所提到的，鑑於我們新製程的低成本以及技術和環境優勢，我們已經看到了大型潛在客戶和監管機構的濃厚興趣。我們預計將在第四季度開始透過此流程產生收入，我們對 2024 年收入的初步估計約為 100 萬至 200 萬美元。

However, based on discussions with customers, we expect to dramatically expand our revenues from this process in 2025 as we have the ability to ramp up production rapidly. And this process has a very high margin potential.

然而，根據與客戶的討論，我們預計到 2025 年我們的收入將大幅增加，因為我們有能力快速提高產量。而且這個過程具有非常高的利潤潛力。

So to wrap up, we're extremely encouraged by the outlook for the business. The foundation we have laid over the past several years and the investments we've undertaken in the first half of 2024 should position Perma-Fix for solid growth in the second half of the year and set the stage for a potential breakout year in 2025 and beyond.

總而言之，我們對該業務的前景感到非常鼓舞。我們在過去幾年中奠定的基礎以及我們在 2024 年上半年進行的投資應該將使 Perma-Fix 在下半年實現穩健增長，並為 2025 年潛在的突破奠定基礎。

We've also trimmed certain costs and have built a highly scalable business model, which we expect will drive very meaningful returns for our shareholders. All right. On that note, I'll now turn it over to Ben, who will discuss the financial results in more detail. Ben?

我們也削減了某些成本，並建立了高度可擴展的業務模式，我們預計這將為我們的股東帶來非常有意義的回報。好的。關於這一點，我現在將其交給本，他將更詳細地討論財務結果。本？

Thank you, Mark. Let me start with revenue. Our total revenue from continuing operations for the first quarter was $13.6 million compared to last year's first quarter of $20.1 million, a decrease of $6.5 million or 32%. Revenue decreased in both our operating segments as treatment was down 885,000 as a result of lower volume of waste treated as well as lower average price term, lower average prices related to the waste mix.

謝謝你，馬克。讓我從收入開始。我們第一季持續經營業務的總收入為 1,360 萬美元，與去年第一季的 2,010 萬美元相比，減少了 650 萬美元，即 32%。我們兩個營運部門的收入均下降，處理量減少了 885,000，這是由於廢物處理量減少以及平均價格下降、與廢物混合相關的平均價格下降所致。

In the services segment, our revenue was down $5.6 million, primarily due to the two large projects which were effectively complete in 2023. And we're not replaced by similar sized projects due to the timing of contract wins and delays in startup new projects come partly in part from continuing resolution impact.

在服務領域，我們的收入下降了 560 萬美元，主要是由於兩個大型項目已於 2023 年有效完成。我們並沒有被類似規模的專案所取代，因為合約贏得的時間和啟動新專案的延遲部分是由於持續的決議影響。

Our gross profit for the quarter was a negative $620,000 compared to $3 million and gross profit in Q1 of 2023. In both segments, lower revenue had a significant impact on our gross profits with a cumulative total of approximately $2.1 billion.

與 2023 年第一季的毛利 300 萬美元相比，我們本季的毛利為負 62 萬美元。在這兩個領域，收入下降對我們的毛利產生了重大影響，累計毛利約為 21 億美元。

And in addition, lower margin waste slash project mixes also impacted gross profit by about $1.7 million . As we've previously, disclosed, especially in the Treatment Segment, we carry significant fixed costs which have a big impact on our gross profit when revenue is low. Our G&A costs for the quarter were $3.5 million, which is higher than prior year by $58,000. This modest increase in costs was a result of higher business development costs, which offset lower legal fees and utility expenses.

此外，利潤率較低的浪費削減項目組合也影響了毛利約 170 萬美元。正如我們之前所揭露的，特別是在治療領域，我們承擔著巨大的固定成本，當收入較低時，這會對我們的毛利產生重大影響。我們本季的一般管理費用為 350 萬美元，比去年同期高出 58,000 美元。成本的小幅增長是由於業務開發成本上升，抵消了法律費用和公用事業費用的下降。

Our net loss for the quarter was $3.6 million compared to last year's net loss of $411,000. Total basic and diluted loss per share for the quarter was $0.26 compared to a loss per share of $0.03 in the prior year. The EBITDA from continuing operations for the quarter as defined in this morning's press release was negative $4 million compared to EBITDA $171,000.

我們本季的淨虧損為 360 萬美元，而去年的淨虧損為 411,000 美元。本季每股基本虧損和攤薄虧損總額為 0.26 美元，而上一年每股虧損為 0.03 美元。今天早上的新聞稿中定義的本季持續經營業務的 EBITDA 為負 400 萬美元，而 EBITDA 為 171,000 美元。

Turning to the balance sheet, cash on the balance sheet was $2.4 million compared to $7.5 million at year end 2023. Our current liabilities were down $1.3 million, reflecting decreased costs associated with production as well as timing of vendor payments. Our waste backlog at the end of March was $10.6 million, up from $8.7 million at the end of last year and up from $9.4 million in March 2023. Our total debt for the quarter is $2.7 million, excluding our debt issuance costs, most of which is owed PNC Bank.

轉向資產負債表，資產負債表上的現金為 240 萬美元，而 2023 年底為 750 萬美元。我們的流動負債減少了 130 萬美元，反映出與生產相關的成本以及供應商付款時間的減少。截至 3 月底，我們的廢棄物積壓金額為 1,060 萬美元，高於去年年底的 870 萬美元，也高於 2023 年 3 月的 940 萬美元。我們本季的總債務為 270 萬美元，不包括我們的債務發行成本，其中大部分是欠 PNC 銀行的。

Finally, I'll summarize our cash flow activity for 2024, our cash used by continuing operations was $4.4 million. Our cash used by discontinued operation of 159,000. Cash used for investing in continuing operations was $244,000, and that relates to capital spending.

最後，我將總結 2024 年我們的現金流活動，持續經營所使用的現金為 440 萬美元。我們已終止經營業務所使用的現金為159,000。用於投資持續經營業務的現金為 244,000 美元，這與資本支出有關。

Our cash used for financing was $125,000. This is representative of our monthly payments on our term and capital loans of $259,000 and payments to our finance leases of $75,000, offset by receipts from option and warrant exercises of $209,000. With that, I will now turn the call over to the operator for questions.

我們用於融資的現金為 125,000 美元。這代表我們每月支付 259,000 美元的定期貸款和資本貸款以及支付 75,000 美元的融資租賃款，並被期權和認股權證行使的收入 209,000 美元所抵消。現在，我將把電話轉給接線員詢問問題。

(Operator Instructions) Howard Brous, Wellington Shields.

（操作員指示）Howard Brous，Wellington Shields。

Mark, Ben, Louis, first of all, congratulations on creating a myriad of opportunities that we're looking at. So congratulations. The Hanford settlement, the state of Washington Department of Ecology, DOE, EPA, Mark, what you were referring to, I've certainly read the documents. I need for you to confirm my understanding that this is a legal binding agreement amongst all these parties. Is that a correct statement?

馬克、本、路易斯，首先祝賀你們創造了我們正在尋找的無數機會。所以恭喜你。漢福德定居點、華盛頓州生態部、能源部、環保局、馬克，你所指的，我當然讀過這些文件。我需要您確認我的理解，這是所有各方之間具有法律約束力的協議。這是正確的說法嗎？

That is a true statement, Howard. It is a legally binding document. It has taken a long time, as I mentioned, almost five years with a mediator to come to these conclusions and there's a lot of give and take between the regulators and DOE. There's a lot of funding considerations that go into it, schedule considerations. So the commitments in there are really written in stone.

這是千真萬確的說法，霍華德。這是一份具有法律約束力的文件。正如我所提到的，調解員花了很長時間才得出這些結論，幾乎五年了，監管機構和能源部之間也有很多妥協。其中有許多資金方面的考慮，以及進度的考慮。所以其中的承諾確實是一成不變的。

However, do keep in mind, it's a draft document. It's going to be coming out for public comment. I can't remember when it comes out, but soon for 60 days and I do believe it's going to be very well received. I'm sure there'll be many comments, but the reason it's going to be well received is unlike some of the prior agreements between the tri-party, this one has a lot of action in it.

但是，請記住，這是一份草稿文件。它將公開徵求公眾意見。我不記得它是什麼時候發布的，但很快就 60 天了，我相信它會很受歡迎。我相信會有很多評論，但它之所以會受到好評，與之前三方之間的一些協議不同，這裡面有很多行動。

And I know I'm talking to DOE that, that was their intent is to be able to show real progress, meaningful progress, beginning with this administration and to show that there's an end state or end goal that's defined in a way to get there that recognizes what the technologies they've selected will do. In other words, what vitrification can actually do plus grouting.

我知道我正在與能源部交談，他們的目的是能夠展示真正的進展，有意義的進展，從本屆政府開始，並表明有一個以實現目標的方式定義的最終狀態或最終目標認識到他們所選擇的技術的用途。換句話說，玻璃化實際上可以做的事情加上灌漿。

So to answer your question, yes, it's a legally binding document once it gets to public comment, then it will be commitments on all 3 parties.

因此，回答你的問題，是的，一旦徵求公眾意見，它就是一份具有法律約束力的文件，那麼它將成為所有 3 方的承諾。

One quick comment in the documents, the parties agreed that the settlement agreement is not subject to public comment. And that clearly means that this is effectively locked in stone. And if I refer to first of all, the ROD that was put out at January 2023, the other documents that was put in January of 23 and the most recent settlement agreements, it basically locks in.

文件中的一項簡短評論稱，雙方同意和解協議無需徵求公眾意見。這顯然意味著這實際上是一成不變的。如果我先參考 2023 年 1 月發布的 ROD、23 日發布的其他文件以及最近的和解協議，它基本上就鎖定了。

First of all, the ROD locks you in Perma-Fix for 10 years. But DFLAW and the affluent will be treated from 2025, the latest August possibly earlier to 2060. I know you don't have a contract, but other than the ROD, but effectively, is there any competition in treating the affluent?

首先，ROD 將您鎖定在 Perma-Fix 中 10 年。但 DFLAW 和富人將從 2025 年（最晚 8 月，可能更早到 2060 年）開始享受待遇。我知道你們沒有合同，但除了 ROD，但實際上，在對待富人方面是否存在任何競爭？

So your question is, to make sure I understand. Howard, your question is, is there -- is what's the competition associated with the treating the effluent from DFLAW?

所以你的問題是，確保我理解。霍華德，你的問題是，與處理 DFLAW 廢水相關的競爭是什麼？

Right.

正確的。

Yes, right now, the ROD does commit to 10 years and upon start-up and the reason is less competition for pretty much any of the other opportunities in Hanford relative to waste management is because the waste gets disposed of after we treat the waste or anyone who treats the waste, it gets disposed of at the Hanford landfill locally.

是的，目前，ROD 確實承諾在啟動後為期 10 年，原因是漢福德幾乎所有其他與廢物管理相關的機會的競爭較少，因為廢物在我們處理廢物或任何處理廢物的人都會在當地的漢福德垃圾掩埋場進行處理。

So it would not make any sense to have anyone outside of the area of the region, ship to and ship it back, while we're just 10 miles down the road from the actual sites themselves. So yes, it'd be very difficult, as I've mentioned before, for someone to get a permit. It takes an upwards of 10 years to get a permit. It also takes significant investment in the facility itself and citing it and licensing it and going through all the processes to get it commissioned.

因此，讓該地區以外的任何人運送貨物並運回是沒有任何意義的，而我們距離實際地點僅 10 英里。所以，是的，正如我之前提到的，要取得許可證是非常困難的。獲得許可證需要長達 10 年以上的時間。它還需要對設施本身進行大量投資，引用它並對其進行許可，並完成所有流程以使其投入使用。

So it's very solid for 10 years. And most likely, I don't see any or very limited risk the DOE would decide to build these facilities on their site as long as we're providing value and doing the job efficiently.

所以它可以持續10年，非常穩定。最有可能的是，只要我們提供價值並有效率地完成工作，我認為能源部決定在其網站上建造這些設施的風險不會有任何或非常有限。

So effectively, you're going to be treating the affluent for the next 35 years, starting no later than August of next year. Is that basically a fair statement?

因此，從不遲於明年 8 月開始，您將在未來 35 年裡有效地為富人提供服務。這基本上是個公平的說法嗎？

It's true. Again, I can't comment beyond 10 years, but it would be a very high probability that they'll be supporting that plant through the life of the plant, which is 2060.

這是真的。再說一遍，我無法對 10 年後發表評論，但他們很有可能會在工廠的整個生命週期（即 2060 年）內支援該工廠。

In addition, on the settlement, they also discuss other opportunities, certainly, with the high-level waste, they plan on building a second vitrification plant. So it's not just the split between -- and I hope I get this correct. The East tank is supposed to be -- East tanks are supposed to be vitrified. The West tanks are supposed to be grouted. Do I have that correct?

此外，在解決方案上，他們還討論了其他機會，當然，對於高放射性廢棄物，他們計劃建造第二個玻璃化工廠。所以這不僅僅是兩者之間的分歧——我希望我的觀點是正確的。東坦克應該是－－東坦克應該是玻璃化的。西方的坦克應該是灌漿的。我說的對嗎？

You have that correct. It's confusing, though, Howard. I am glad you brought it up. Yes, there was originally three vitrification plants planned. The first one which is getting rolling up that's designed to do 1 million gallons a year and that was to do the first 40% on the East tank farm.

你說得對。不過，這很令人困惑，霍華德。我很高興你提出來。是的，最初計劃了三個玻璃化工廠。第一個正在滾動，設計每年生產 100 萬加侖，是在東部油庫生產前 40%。

Then there was going to be one for the West tank farm that was going to be constructed. And then there's one that's already started construction, which will do the other 20%, which they're viewing as the high-level waste. High-level waste, if I remember correctly, is supposed to be commissioned or start up in 36 or 34.

然後將為即將建造的西部油庫建造一個。還有一個已經開始建設，將處理剩下的 20%，他們將其視為高放射性廢棄物。如果我沒記錯的話，高放射性廢棄物應該在36或34年調試或啟動。

And that's a whole different ballgame. We're not sure how much we're participating in anything you can do with that yet. It's premature to speculate. So those three plants, the tri-party agreement, or excuse me, the Settlement Agreement which was just approved changes that three vitrification plant approach to two and they take 40% or 50% just about of the West tanks and grout those.

這是一場完全不同的比賽。我們還不確定我們在多大程度上參與了您可以用它做的任何事情。現在猜測還為時過早。因此，這三個工廠，三方協議，或者對不起，剛剛批准的和解協議將三個玻璃化工廠改為兩個，他們佔用了西方儲罐的 40% 或 50% 並將其灌漿。

So effectively, if I understand, high-level waste is about 6 million to 8 million gallons and business split between the balance 24 million gallons to be rectified and 24 million gallons to be grounded, or is that a correct understanding ?

因此，如果我理解的話，高放射性廢棄物約為 600 萬至 800 萬加侖，業務分配在餘額 2400 萬加侖待整頓和 2400 萬加侖待停飛之間，或者這是正確的理解？

That's pretty darn close. That's right Howard.

這非常接近了。沒錯，霍華德。

So if there's 24 million gallons of low level, plus possibly the high-level waste, this effectively will go on for the next 30, 40 years?

那麼，如果有 2,400 萬加侖的低放射性廢棄物，再加上可能還有高放射性廢棄物，這種情況實際上會持續未來 30 年、40 年嗎？

That's right.

這是正確的。

That's all I have. Thank you. Best of luck again, everybody.

這就是我的全部。謝謝。再次祝大家好運。

Thanks Howard.

謝謝霍華德。

Ross Taylor, ARS investments.

羅斯泰勒，ARS 投資。

Thank you. And Mark, I would second Howard's comment about setting up a tremendous array of opportunities pushing forward. A couple of things I get into. You've mentioned Central Europe there are the opportunities there. We all know that Germany basically I think pulled down their fleet of nuclear reactors.

謝謝。馬克，我同意霍華德關於建立一系列巨大機會的評論。我涉及到一些事情。你提到中歐那裡有機會。我們都知道，我認為德國基本上拆除了他們的核反應爐。

Can you give us an idea of both timing and thus magnitude both size dollar wise, but also time horizon that you expect to see those programs run ? And when do we start to see money revenue come from them and how long once it starts, ow long do you think that lasts?

您能否告訴我們時間安排以及美元規模的大小，以及您期望看到這些程式運行的時間範圍？我們什麼時候開始看到他們帶來金錢收入？

The way they're working things in Germany, Ross, and thanks for the kind words. But the way it works in Germany is one central organization is managing the waste that's generated from the decommissioning process. And that's who we're working -- one of the entities we're working with over there is to provide the treatment technologies we have here in the US to reduce the volumes of waste they generate by a significant amount, 75% to 90% and put them in a position where they can be stored in the new Germany or German storage facility called the Konrad facility.

他們在德國的工作方式，羅斯，謝謝你的好話。但在德國，它的運作方式是由一個中央組織來管理退役過程中產生的廢棄物。這就是我們正在合作的實體 - 我們在那裡合作的實體之一是提供我們在美國擁有的處理技術，以減少他們產生的廢物量，減少 75% 到 90%並將它們放在可以儲存在新的德國或稱為康拉德設施的德國儲存設施中的位置。

And the Konrad facility is going to provide radioactive waste storage for the whole country. It's going to be very large and what they're basically doing is defining the waste acceptance criteria or the criteria to store there now and everybody who would plan to ship to them has to meet that criteria now.

康拉德設施將為全國提供放射性廢棄物儲存服務。它將非常大，他們基本上所做的就是定義廢物接收標準或現在儲存在那裡的標準，每個計劃運送給他們的人現在都必須滿足該標準。

We've already been through this process with a larger client in Europe -- in Germany, which requires a review of the -- by the German regulators of our facilities and the way we treat waste and they do walk-downs. There's all kinds of paperwork and permits and plans. It's all been approved. We're applying for the same things for these -- for the decommissioning program as well. So that's where we are in the process.

我們已經與歐洲（德國）的一個大客戶經歷過這個過程，這需要德國監管機構對我們的設施、我們處理廢物的方式以及他們進行巡查的方式進行審查。有各種各樣的文書工作、許可證和計劃。都已經被批准了。我們正在為這些項目申請同樣的事情——以及退役計劃。這就是我們目前所處的階段。

So to answer your question, I think it will start off slow. Everyone's moving very slowly over there as we're getting through this permitting process and everything goes along with that and the agreements we have to get in place. So we anticipate starting to see a reasonable increase in German waste to the tune of about $5 million or $6 million a year in the late '24 time frame.

因此，為了回答你的問題，我認為一開始會很慢。當我們完成這個許可程序時，每個人的行動都非常緩慢，一切都按照這個程序以及我們必須達成的協議進行。因此，我們預計在 24 世紀後期，德國垃圾量將開始合理成長，每年增加約 500 萬至 600 萬美元。

And once we get the plant that we're proposing in the UK up and running, we see that number at least doubling and because it's so much more efficient and economical with the plant over there. So it's really difficult to define since we don't have hard and fast contracts in our hands at this point, but we know the ways they've got.

一旦我們提議在英國建立並運作工廠，我們發現這個數字至少會增加一倍，因為那裡的工廠效率更高、更經濟。因此，這確實很難定義，因為我們目前手中還沒有硬性且快速的合同，但我們知道他們的方式。

We know the volumes they have. They're very, very large volumes. They have very fast or accelerated timelines. They have to implement to remove their waste from storage, put it in stable forms and then get it in the Konrad facility when it's up and running, which I think is '28 or '29 time frame and there's a real sense of urgency for that. So we see that really increasing in Q4 and through '25.

我們知道他們擁有的數量。它們的體積非常非常大。他們的時間表非常快或加速。他們必須採取措施，將廢物從儲存中移出，以穩定的形式存放，然後在康拉德設施啟動並運行時將其送入康拉德設施，我認為這是「28」或「29」的時間框架，對此有真正的迫切感。所以我們看到第四季和整個 25 年確實有所增加。

Aaron Warwick, Breakout Investors. (Operator Instructions)

亞倫·沃里克，突破投資者。（操作員說明）

Hey, good morning, guys. Thanks for taking the call. And I wanted to ask a little bit more about this PFAS opportunity. I wanted to begin just by I mean, I've been seeing a lot about it lately in the news, some other companies I've been talking about it as well. Just just wanted to get a sense of and obviously you mentioned the enormous TAM. What is the competition out there for you guys in that market ?

嘿，早上好，夥計們。感謝您接聽電話。我想多問一些有關 PFAS 機會的問題。我想開始，我的意思是，我最近在新聞中看到了很多關於它的內容，我也一直在談論其他一些公司。只是想了解一下，顯然您提到了巨大的 TAM。你們在那個市場上的競爭是什麼？

Right now, there are competitors out there. We've seen press releases from some of the big firms that are going to do incineration which does not necessarily destroy everything and is not preferable for a lot of organizations, particularly the DOE and DOD, which have said they are not allowed to or prohibit consideration as a treatment method.

現在，有競爭對手。我們已經看到一些大公司的新聞稿，這些公司將進行焚燒，這並不一定會摧毀所有東西，而且對於許多組織來說並不可取，特別是美國能源部和國防部，他們表示不允許或禁止考慮作為一種治療方法。

And there's deep well injection, which is largely Texas, which are deep or injecting very, very large quantities, millions of gallons a year into 4,000, 5,000 feet into the ground, into the bedrock. Those are both in play and our options now. There's also filtration, which does not apply to a lot of different waste streams because your filters get gummed up too fast.

還有深井注入，主要是德州的深井注入，或註入非常非常大的量，每年數百萬加侖到地下 4,000、5,000 英尺的基岩中。這些都在發揮作用，也是我們現在的選擇。還有過濾，它不適用於許多不同的廢物流，因為您的過濾器粘得太快。

But those are the kind of the existing technologies now that are in place. The ones that are coming up that are total destruction technologies, we've been -- been able to identify about a half dozen that are coming up that you can see on the Internet plus other colleagues we know.

但這些都是現有的技術。即將出現的技術是徹底破壞技術，我們已經能夠識別出大約六種即將出現的技術，您可以在網路上以及我們認識的其他同事上看到這些技術。

They all have very innovative approaches. We have not seen anything that has our discriminators, which are specifically lower temperature processing with lower pressures. Also with the speed, we can do that, but most importantly, the simplicity of our unit. Our unit is so simple that relies on chemistry and some engineering in the process, but is an inexpensive unit.

他們都有非常創新的方法。我們還沒有看到任何有我們的鑑別器的東西，它們特別是較低溫度和較低壓力的處理。憑藉速度，我們可以做到這一點，但最重要的是，我們單位的簡單性。我們的裝置非常簡單，依賴化學和過程中的一些工程，但裝置價格便宜。

Once we get this thing fine-tuned, we can have it mobilized and to be operated at much higher levels than we're starting with and also, as I said before earlier, will translate to soil. So as far as the competition goes, there are several start-ups that you can read about out there, but each one describes their technology has something that we don't have in regards to economic and simplification of process. Louis, do you have anything you want to add to that

一旦我們對這個東西進行了微調，我們就可以將其動員起來，並在比我們開始時更高的水平上進行操作，而且，正如我之前所說，它將轉化為土壤。就競爭而言，有幾家新創公司可供您閱讀，但每家都描述了他們的技術，在經濟性和流程簡化方面我們沒有。路易斯，你還有什麼要補充的嗎

Yes, we haven't seen anything that economically, one, that has really destroys the PFAS, just doesn't separate it and does it in such a simple system that we have. So we're very optimistic of where we can go with this process in terms of competition.

是的，我們還沒有看到任何經濟上真正破壞 PFAS 的東西，只是沒有將其分離並在我們擁有的如此簡單的系統中進行。因此，我們對這個過程在競爭方面的進展非常樂觀。

As I mentioned, Aaron, the real -- our competitors -- and we've talked to most of them or a lot of them. The significance of the EPA press release we had yesterday and the EPA announcements from last week are really significant in that it sets the foundation for the market and the timing of the market, not just that everyone's got PFAS knows what's going on or at least has a sense.

正如我所提到的，亞倫，真正的——我們的競爭對手——我們已經與他們中的大多數人或很多人進行了交談。我們昨天收到的 EPA 新聞稿和上週的 EPA 公告的意義確實重大，因為它為市場和市場時機奠定了基礎，而不僅僅是每個人都知道 PFAS 發生了什麼，或者至少知道發生了什麼一種感覺。

But now with -- it's on the doorstep of being promulgated into regulation that will include time-critical requirements as well as acceptance by EPA and more importantly than anything else enforcement. And once that starts, then the fire will be lit under everyone to get moving and we see the market really taken off and it's going to be critical for us to have our systems deployed so we can start handling the volumes that come out from that.

但現在，它即將被頒佈為法規，其中包括時間緊迫的要求以及美國環保署的接受，最重要的是執行。一旦開始，每個人都會被點燃，開始行動，我們看到市場真正起飛，部署我們的系統對我們來說至關重要，這樣我們就可以開始處理由此產生的數量。

What sort of independent entities, if any, have verified that your process works besides just what you've mentioned on the call yourself?

除了您自己在電話會議中提到的內容之外，還有哪些類型的獨立實體（如果有）已驗證您的流程有效？

Well, we've used two universities for testing and a variety of private companies. Now again, because of the proprietary nature of the technology being so unique, we haven't had white papers done on how it works and what's going on here. So we have filed a variety of patents and we'll be filing a lot more because the further we go with this technology, we see a variety of markets where it could be of value.

嗯，我們已經使用了兩所大學和各種私人公司進行測試。現在，由於該技術的專有性質如此獨特，我們還沒有完成關於它如何運作以及這裡發生的事情的白皮書。因此，我們已經申請了各種專利，也將申請更多專利，因為我們對這項技術的進一步研究，我們看到了它可能有價值的各種市場。

So what is the expected timeline on when those would be granted those patents before you start trading in September, October time frame?

那麼，在 9 月、10 月開始交易之前，預計獲得這些專利的時間表是怎樣的呢？

Well, no. We filed the patents. Patents are pending. At this point, patent review, especially on this -- these are very fundamental chemistry patents and they will take some time. Our experience with patents or we could see a year or two of review on these patents, especially because of their significance.

嗯，不。我們申請了專利。專利正在申請中。目前，專利審查，特別是在這方面——這些是非常基礎的化學專利，需要一些時間。我們在專利方面的經驗或我們可以看到對這些專利進行一兩年的審查，特別是因為它們的重要性。

So I mean you mentioned there is some competition even though they can't do what you say you can do. But my understanding was that kind of what got you on this track to begin with of the R&D on this PFAS treatment is that you already have some customers. Is that an accurate statement that you already have some people that you -- that are ready for this treatment to proceed once you get the plant up and running?

所以我的意思是你提到存在一些競爭，即使他們不能做你說你能做的事情。但我的理解是，讓您開始進行 PFAS 治療研發的原因是您已經擁有了一些客戶。這是一個準確的說法，表明您已經有一些人準備好在工廠啟動並運行後進行這種處理了嗎？

We do, Aaron. We don't have contracts for significant volumes in place is what we have several clients that we deal with on a regular monthly basis that have very defined inventories and are waiting for us to get the system up and running.

我們願意，亞倫。我們沒有大量的合同，我們每月定期與幾個客戶打交道，他們有非常明確的庫存，正在等待我們啟動和運行系統。

So when we get closer to operations, we'll be moving towards those contracts. Some of them were actually taking samples from now to make sure that we can perform the way we say we are and that's been strategic for us.

因此，當我們接近營運時，我們將轉向這些合約。他們中的一些人實際上正在從現在開始取樣，以確保我們能夠按照我們所說的方式行事，這對我們來說具有戰略意義。

And some of the larger folks that have bigger inventories, they're shooting us or sending us a liquid samples for us to run in our pilot scale testing. So yes, we do have some locked in. We shouldn't say locked in. We have some defined that will be locked in, in the next couple of weeks and some that we're also pursuing grants with to do demonstrations as well.

一些擁有更多庫存的大公司，他們正在向我們射擊或向我們發送液體樣品，供我們進行中試規模測試。所以，是的，我們確實有一些鎖定。我們不應該說鎖定。我們有一些定義將在接下來的幾週內鎖定，還有一些我們也在尋求撥款來進行演示。

Last thing, I guess, for me would be any sort of partnership or licensing interest from any of these larger players in the space that you think could be additional source of revenue for you besides your own plant?

我想，對我來說，最後一件事是來自該領域任何較大參與者的任何形式的合作夥伴關係或許可利益，您認為除了您自己的工廠之外，這可能是您的額外收入來源？

We see licensing to be an option. We have not pursued that we really had discussions about this specifically yet until we can show performance of our operational system. But we've talked to several companies that would align very well with that and have very far reach in regards to entering the market and have clients that have significant volumes or clients themselves that have the volumes, and that will be a step that we'll be looking to address in the January time frame.

我們認為許可是一種選擇。在我們能夠展示我們作業系統的效能之前，我們還沒有真正對此進行過具體討論。但我們已經與幾家公司進行了交談，這些公司對此非常配合，並且在進入市場方面具有非常深遠的影響力，並且擁有大量的客戶或客戶本身也有大量的客戶，這將是我們邁出的一步。

Okay. Thank you, guys. Appreciate it.

好的。感謝你們。欣賞它。

Thanks Aaron.

謝謝亞倫。

There are no further questions in queue at this time. I would now like to turn the floor back over to management for any closing.

目前隊列中沒有其他問題。我現在想將發言權交還給管理層以進行任何結束。

All right. I'd like to thank everyone for participating in our first quarter conference call. As you can see, hopefully, we are quite confident in the outlook for the business over the next few years. We look forward to providing further updates as we continue to execute our strategy. We appreciate the continued support and patient patience of our shareholders, and we look forward to providing further updates as developments unfold.

好的。我要感謝大家參加我們第一季的電話會議。正如您所看到的，我們對未來幾年的業務前景充滿信心。我們期待在繼續執行我們的策略時提供進一步的更新。我們感謝股東的持續支持和耐心等待，我們期待隨著事態發展提供進一步的更新。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Thank you. This does conclude today's conference call. You may disconnect your phone lines at this time and have a wonderful day. Thank you for your participation.

謝謝。今天的電話會議到此結束。此時您可以斷開電話線並度過美好的一天。感謝您的參與。