Monthly Archives: March 2020

TORONTO, March 23, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- iSIGN Media Solutions Inc. (iSIGN or Company) (TSX-V: ISD) (OTC: ISDSF), a leading provider of interactive mobile proximity marketing and public security alert solutions, today announced the offer of free use of its Safety Alert Messaging (SAM) solution to all levels of medical, health and emergency responders across Canada for the next six months.

SAM is a technology based mobile messaging system that enables the controlled broadcast of critical information to registered recipients. Registered recipients can be as broad as the general public, or as narrow as salaried and contract employees and can be assigned into various sub-groups, allowing for messages to be directed only to specific groups or to everyone, depending on needs. Due to SAMs message received alert function, SAM messages are more obvious to recipients when they are received than texts and email.

As an example, should a hospital administrator want to message individual groups of workers, such as doctors, nurses, cleaning staff, etc., iSIGNs backend dashboard can be used to assign all registrants into their respective groups. Then the administrator would simply select who they wished the message to be sent to one group, multiple groups or all groups.

As SAM supports iOS and Android in-app messaging, the SAM app is available in both the Google Play and Apple app stores. Broadcasters log into the SAM dashboard via their web browser, create and then send messages to their registered recipients in a matter of minutes. Sent messages are stored within the dashboard for later reference as required until the sender deletes them.

iSIGN is pleased to announce that the Abington Court Retirement Residence, located in Hamilton has accepted our offer for no charge SAM messaging.

iSIGN has been requested to contact a major health facility located in iSIGNs home city of Richmond Hill, Ontario, who recently honoured iSIGN as one of the Citys four recipients of the 2019 Innovators of the Year.

iSIGN has made the same no charge offer to Hi-Tek Media and its sister company Omni Veil Inc., located in Las Vegas, Nevada, who has gladly accepted. They will be reaching out to their various contacts to extend the same offer.

The goal of iSIGN and Hi-Tek Media/Omni Veil Inc. is to help our respective medical services, governments, schools and communities combat the spread of COVID-19 and aid in the return of normalcy to everyday life.

About iSIGN MediaiSIGN, a Canadian company based in Toronto (Richmond Hill), Ontario is a data-focused, software-as-a-service (SaaS) company that is a pioneering leader in the areas of location-based security alert messaging and proximity marketing utilizing Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity in complete privacy. Creators of the Smart suite of products, a patented interactive proximity marketing technology, iSIGN enables the delivery of messages to mobile devices in proximity, with real-time reporting and analytics on a variety of metrics. 2019 winner of Richmond Hills Innovator of the Year award. Partners include IBM, Keyser Retail Solutions, Baylor University, Verizon Wireless, TELUS and Mtrex Network Solutions. http://www.isignmedia.com

About Hi-Tek MediaHi-Tek Media is a full-service digital advertising and marketing company with 21 years of experience in marketing. Hi-Tek is uniquely positioned to provide cutting edge marketing, digital production and media management Hi-Tek is certified with Google and Facebook and the expansion of our Omni Veil Digital Platform will set us apart from our competitors. http://www.Hi-TekMedia.com

About Omni Veil Inc.The Omni Veil is a 24/7 Digital Network based in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Network sends out instant traffic notifications, safety messages and branded content for all mobile users. The revolution of the mobile machines Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and Application technologies was developed to keep the public notified, consider first responders safety and modernize the way businesses advertise in real time. http://www.theomniveil.com

Forward-Looking StatementsThis news release may include certain forward-looking statements that are based upon current expectations, which involve risks and uncertainties associated with iSIGN Medias business and the environment in which the business operates. Any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical facts may be deemed to be forward-looking, including those identified by the expressions anticipate, believe, plan, estimate, expect, intend and similar expressions to the extent they relate to the Company or its management. The forward-looking statements are not historical facts but reflect iSIGN Medias current expectations regarding future results or events. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations. iSIGN Media assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements.

2020 iSIGN Media Solutions Inc. All Rights Reserved. All other trademarks and trade names are the property of their respective owners.

Company contacts:

Alex RomanovPresidentiSIGN Media Solutions Inc.alex@isignmedia.com

Hi-Tek Mediasales@hi-tekmedia.com

Lacy RamonDirector of Digital TechnologyOmni Veil Inc.lacy@theomniveil.com

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor Its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the accuracy of this release.

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iSIGN Media Contributes its Safety Alert Messaging (SAM) Technology Solution to Provide the Public with Instant Mobile Alerts for COVID-19 at No...

Environmental technology company Bygen is taking technology out of University of Adelaide labs and using it to give agricultural waste a higher purpose. Brent Balinski spoke to co-founder and CEO Dr Lewis Dunnigan about using almond shells and other ingredients to supply the growing activated carbon market.

It is hard to find a business with plans unaffected by the unfolding COVID-19 crisis. Startup technology companies, which face a generally complicated life, are seeing things become more complicated still.

But the show, as they say, must go on.

This is the case for Bygen, a University of Adelaide spin-out that recently went through the Startmate accelerators climate cohort. (It is the case for Startmate, too, which is preparing to host its demo day by live stream next month.)

Bygen is commercialising chemical engineering work spun out of the University of Adelaide. This promises a process for low-cost activated carbon out of agricultural waste, following pyrolysis.

According to one market research firm, the global market for activated carbon was $US 4.7 billion in 2015, and will grow 9.4 per cent annually to reach $US 8.1 billion in 2021, or 5,400 kilotons by volume. It is widely used in filtration in the food and beverage industry, in metal extraction, sewage treatment, cleaning up industrial gas produced and many other applications. Prices are roughly $2,000 a tonne currently.

Bygen believes theres a niche in there for a bespoke product, and are targeting an unmet demand for purpose-specific products, where their process allows for the control of pore size.

Bygen has completed an initial $300,000 seed funding round, and is in the middle of a $600,000 second seed round to fund a first full-scale plant. Further, in November last year they announced they had seen early success adapting their process to plastics, turning these into activated carbon and possibly one much-needed answer to Australias acknowledged plastics crisis. It is seeking industrial partners to take this work further.

Late last week @AuManufacturing spoke to CEO Dr Lewis Dunnigan, who founded the company in 2018 with CTO Ben Morton and chemistry senior lecturer Dr Philip Kwong.

@AuManufacturing: Whats the businesss origin story?

Lewis Dunnigan: Im originally from Scotland. I did my chemical engineering degree at the University of Edinburgh. And I came over to Adelaide for six months during my masters degree. Essentially after I finished my masters degree I was offered a scholarship to come do a PhD at the university of Adelaide. So I did that. Six months before I finished my PhD, we actually started the company. As soon as I finished my PhD, I went straight into full-time work. Which was good. We managed to raise some money in between starting the company and me becoming a full time staff member. Ive been in Australia ever since.

@AuManufacturing: Whats the secret sauce that allows you to turn ag waste, and more recently, plastic into activated carbon?

Lewis Dunnigan: Our technology allows us to avoid the hugely energy-intensive nature of conventional means to make activated carbons. So theres two main ways to do it, currently. You either do something called physical activation, which requires temperatures around 1000 degrees, or you have another option which is called chemical activation and involves the use of really strong acids or bases. Both have their negatives. And what we are focused on is the physical activation. What weve developed is an alternative to those extremely high-temperature methods of making activated carbon. Our methods can operate at much lower temperatures. We can use cheaper gas mixtures. Our reaction times are quicker and also because of our lower temperatures we also have a reduction in the capital costs as well, because we dont need to use the same types of steel that conventional producers need to use.

@AuManufacturing: Roughly speaking, is the Bygen process building on your PhD work or related to it?

Lewis Dunnigan: Basically myself and my co-founder, Ben Morton, we were both PhD students in the same group at Adelaide Uni. And we basically felt like we had two complimentary research projects that we were doing. And if we combine them together we had quite a promising technology for the activated carbon market, which we knew at the time was a large market and the technology has potential commercial implications.

So basically the way the company was founded was while Ben and I were talking about starting a company, independently of that our supervisor actually got us into a waste and recycling accelerator run by Innovyz down at Tonsley and we basically just took off from there.

@AuManufacturing: Tell us about inputs and outputs. I read that youre producing activated carbon from agricultural waste at about 10 kilograms per hour. You might have scaled up since that article. What goes in and what comes out?

Lewis Dunnigan: The first pilot plant we built, like you said, can produce 10 kilograms an hour. We are just finishing off a new machine that can do about four times that, about 40 kilograms an hour. Our ultimate intention is to produce about 500 kilograms an hour or more. The first plant was very much about proving the technology could work. This one is about getting to that first level of commercialisation.

Essentially for every tonne you put in of weight agricultural waste, you get about 200 to 250 kilograms an hour out. So its about 20 to 25 per cent yield.

@AuManufacturing: And the rest escapes as gas slash heat?

Lewis Dunnigan: Yes, correct. We produce quite a lot of heat as a byproduct. The rest comes out and is turned into a gas that we can burn and we can re-circulate that gas internally for heating.

@AuManufacturing: How have you found the transition from engineer and scientist to entrepreneur? Has it been enjoyable or a headache? Do you miss the lab at all?

Lewis Dunnigan: Ive enjoyed it a lot and Ben has enjoyed it a lot. We have had to learn very, very quickly. But I think that the skills you learn when youre doing a PhD [are useful] in terms of having to be inquisitive about things, having to be really strict in how you use your time and your resources to achieve what you want to achieve. I think that mindset has helped us.

The other stuff that comes with running a company in terms of talking to customers, strategy, marketing, and all those other things weve had to learn really quickly. And our policy has always been that we need to surround ourselves with people with experience and skillsets that we dont have.

@AuManufacturing: Is grape marc a focus as an ag waste feedstock? Youve got plenty of it around Adelaide and its a waste stream in need of higher-value purposes.

Lewis Dunnigan: Thats one of them for sure. We also deal a lot with nutshells, specifically almond shells in the Riverland, as well as with people who produce large quantities of waste wood as well. Each feedstock stock makes a product that has slightly different properties, and therefore is suitable for different activated carbon markets. It really comes down to, whats our first target, and which feedstock should we use for that first market segment that were trying to get into.

@AuManufacturing: I see. I saw more recently that you started looking at plastics. Was there a Eureka moment? How does your process lend itself to processing various types of plastics?

Lewis Dunnigan: This was kind of around the time there were a lot of issues coming up with Australias ability to handle its own recycling, around the time when some countries stopped taking waste from us. And we felt like there was an abundance of plastics without the processing capabilities internally to deal with all that waste. We felt like theoretically we should be able to achieve a good quality activated carbon with some of the plastics that are available. We literally took some waste PET and applied some pre-processing to it, ran it through our process. Obviously there was a bit of optimisation involved in that. There were a few trials. But we managed to prove we could make high-quality activated carbon from it. We produce a lot of heat at the same time, so the plastics [application is] has the potential to have co-generation of activated carbon and electricity. And the good thing about our process is its durable enough to actually take mixed plastics as well. Although theres different qualities of activated carbon from different types of plastics, PET being the best that we found, it can certainly handle mixtures as well.

@AuManufacturing: Thats very handy, as sorting is a massive headache for plastics recycling, and a stray plastic bag in the mix can be a major issue.

Lewis Dunnigan: Yes, absolutely.

@AuManufacturing: What about the mass processed versus activated carbon coming out? Is it a similar sort of situation to wood waste or almond shells?

Lewis Dunnigan: It varies widely across different plastics. For some plastics you can have much more heat and less carbon coming out. Some are okay, PET for example is comparable yield-wise to the agricultural waste that we use. But some plastics give much lower yields of solids than PET does. At the same time theres some plastics that get slightly higher yields than PET. It varies widely and compared to agricultural waste. Generally theyre quite similar, but theres a much wider range.

Our current attitude with the plastics is were very much on the lookout for a partner who can bring the resources to actually commercialise this successfully. Our top priority right now is agricultural, because weve built up a lot of market knowledge around product quality, whereas with the plastics we have less experience with that. So its very much a case of we want to find the right partner to work with us and then use the technology to, to actually get into the markets.

@AuManufacturing: How is the second seed funding round progressing? Obviously there are some complications out there right now.

Lewis Dunnigan: Obviously we are trying to keep on top of the current situation. At the moment it seems to be okay. Were not raising any red red flags right now. Like for most companies, most startups, its a pretty tricky time. We are considering raising a bit more money than we initially planned to give us that security, longer term. But thats just a discussion that we are having with investors right now. But touch wood, it seems to be going quite well right now.

On the technical side there are two things that maybe I could mention please. When I was talking about the technology that we developed, in terms of lower energy, lower cost, um, theres a couple of other things I just wanted to add.

The companys reactor.

The first one is what weve found from doing analysis of the activated carbon on the market as well as market research and talking to customers one of the problems that we found is that the activated carbon thats available is almost like a one-size-fits-all approach. Theres little variation between products, despite their very wide range of applications that activated carbon is used in. What often happens is that customers have to buy different types of carbon, blend it together, do their own in-house R&D and figure out what the right ratio of different products is. Thats not great. What weve moved towards quite lately with our technology is becoming what we term a bespoke activated carbon producer. If you look at environmental remediation, which is probably the area we focus most heavily on, the pollutants that are out there vary widely in terms of their size, their chemistry, their structure. And we can design carbons that are tailored for these differences.

Usually what people look at is the surface area. Theres sort of the attitude that if you have a higher surface area, then that is better. And thats not necessarily always the case.

For PFAS, the firefighting foam, activated carbon is used for that. For remediating it from soil and water. PFAS is actually a very large chemical. Its a family of chemicals. But theyre generally quite large. And with the activated carbon thats out there, most of the pores which are the small holes that give the surface area to the carbon are actually not suited to PFAS in terms of their size and the structure. What we are doing right now is developing something that takes those unique properties of PFS into account, and this is something that were really excited about. Because that same model can be used for essentially any pollutant or any kind of water treatment process, and thats something that I think were very interested in. And weve kind of made it our mission now to become the bespoke activated carbon producer in the world.

And the other thing is, and which is why we got into [accelerator program] Startmate, is by using agricultural waste, our process is actually carbon negative, and that actually results in a net reduction of carbon.

The ag waste would become methane, a really bad green greenhouse gas, as it decomposes.

Absolutely. So either the agricultural waste would decompose into methane and CO2. We stop them from doing that. The other advantage is that the majority of the worlds activated carbon is made from coal. So that is certainly not a carbon negative process. Its about us finding a sustainable and climate-friendly alternative to coal-based activated carbon. To us, that sustainability, low-cost and tailoring approach is what we sell as our unique unique point.

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.

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In the black: startup pushing ahead commercialising waste-to-activated-carbon technology - @AuManufacturing

Updated: May 25, 2018:

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PTAB Strategies and Insights - March 2020: Another Patent Ineligible Technology - Adding to the Growing List - JD Supra

Lauren Dudley is a research associate in Asia Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.

China has worked aggressively in recent years to upgrade its domestic innovation system as technology plays an increasingly significant role in great power competition. These measures, including a range of industrial policies to develop industries like artificial intelligence (AI), biotechnology, high-end manufacturing, new-energy vehicles, and 5G, seek to establish China as the global technological superpower by 2049. But while China is beginning to lead in some of these industries, misguided research incentives in Chinas innovation ecosystem have limited its innovation potential to date. Quantity crowds out quality.

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China

Technology and Innovation

The Chinese innovation ecosystem suffers from its quantity-based evaluation system, which informs how research grants, promotions, bonuses, and other professional awards are distributed. Researchers are judged on the quantity of papers they publish, SCI credits and impact factors (which measure the impact of scientific work based on the number of citations) they receive, and patents theyre awarded. These are imperfect measures of creativity and originality, and the focus on output consequently discourages researchers from taking on risky projects that are more likely to lead to significant technological breakthroughs.

Digital and Cyberspace Update

A bimonthly newsletter featuring expert commentary from the Digital and Cyberspace Policy program on cybersecurity, digital trade, internet governance, and online privacy.

Chinese patent application data clearly represents this phenomenon. Because Chinas evaluation system rewards researchers who have the most patents, researchers are incentivized to submit patent applications for slightly modified versions of existing technologies or processes, known in China as utility patents. These modifications often only reflect small changes in the product but take less time, have a faster patent application processing time, and are more likely to receive a patent than more innovativeand time-consumingresearch projects. Domestic patent data for basic electric elements, processes that involve a single technical step like drying or coating, reflects this. In 2018, 79 percent of scientists who applied for a utility patent in basic electric elements received a patent. On the other hand, only 30 percent of applicants received invention patents in the same category.

Quantity-over-quality research incentives also explains why China lacks strong results in basic researchthe pursuit of discoveries that radically change our understanding of existing scientific conceptsdespite the Chinese governments recognition that basic research has become central to international competition, opened new fields, and led to many new innovations. Researchers who must publish or perish are unlikely to take on high risk, high reward basic research projects. As a result, only 5 percent of Chinas R&D funds are spent on basic research.

The Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) and Ministry of Education (MOE) have found that in part as a result of these incentives in Chinas research system, there is a lower level of innovation in China than in other countries. This presents a major problem for China as it seeks technological supremacy in strategic industries. In response, the MOST, MOE, and other science-related Chinese government offices have released a series of policies in the past two months to realign research incentives and improve Chinas innovation ecosystem.

In February, the Chinese government published a plan to begin a one-year trial to improve the science and technology research evaluation system. This policy aims to shift the emphasis away from the quantity of researchers achievements and reorient it towards the quality, contribution, and impact of their findings. It will also reward researchers who contribute to Chinas strategic goals. While the policys language is broad and its proposed system unclear, it states that evaluation systems should be adjusted so that projects with important applications gain 10 percent relative to other projects, projects with strong academic impact gain 30 percent, and projects that make important contributions to Chinas economic and social development or national security gain 50 percent. And if universities do not reverse their tendency to focus on essays, job titles, academic qualifications, and awards when evaluating people and teams, the Chinese government threatens to suspend their access to national science and technology project funds.

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China

Technology and Innovation

Authorities also laid out similar changes to the patent evaluation system. Noting the tendency of Chinese researchers to submit many patent applications for insignificant changes to existing technologies or processes, the Chinese government has instructed universities to continually evaluate projects throughout their lifecycle so that their results are oriented towards outstanding transformations and changing capabilities.

Finally, for researchers to achieve these outstanding results, the Chinese government has called on universities to better encourage basic research. A work plan released by a group of Chinese government departments calls on universities to increase their support of scientists that have the courage to challenge the most cutting-edge scientific problems [and] come up with their own unique innovations. Beyond promoting basic research, the policy also calls on universities to encourage free exploration, give researchers more academic autonomy, and create a research environment that is brave enough to tolerate failure. With this mantra in mind, the Chinese government will expand financial support for research in basic disciplines such as mathematics and physics and strategic technologies including AI and smart manufacturing.

In effect, the Chinese government is realigning incentives so that more researchers will contribute to Chinas plan to develop core technologies, meet national strategic needs, and form first-mover advantage in emerging industries. If implemented as planned, China will be a step closer to becoming the global leader in emerging technologies, posing a significant challenge to the United States continued commercial success and national security.

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Brave Enough to Tolerate Failure: China Realigns Research Incentives In Pursuit of Technological Supremacy - Council on Foreign Relations

Her message is clear: We are not alone. Its important to social distance, but that doesnt mean were isolated and alone. God is with us, and God has not abandoned us, just as we havent abandoned each other, she said.

At First Congregational Church in Waterloo, the Rev. Scott Spence said Sunday services are being streamed online and posted on Facebook. On Wednesdays, a live streaming prayer service takes place. For most pastors Ive talked to, were all learning as we go and trying to figure it out day by day and using all the different social media platforms. With nursing homes and hospitals restricting access, were also checking in with folks on the phone.

Equally as important, Spence said, is reminding church members that while our buildings are beautiful and beloved, and we take a lot of pride and joy in being there, church is not just the building. The congregation extends beyond the walls and into the community.

The Rev. John Fuller, pastor at Prairie Lakes Church in Cedar Falls, said the church has been streaming sermons and conducting online services, as well as texting and using Facebook for a number of years. Employees use Zoom remote conferencing services so theyre all on the same page, but not in the same room.

We want to keep our focus on how we can serve others during this season. So many vulnerable people need our help, and were texting and Facebooking each of our local partners House of Hope, the Northeast Iowa Food Bank to find out their specific needs and where we can help. We have a hotline so if someone has a need, we will help if we can, Fuller said.

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Church leaders put their faith in technology to serve their congregations - WCF Courier

A particular neuronal circuit in the brains of bats controls their vocalisations. This was recently discovered by biologists at Goethe University Frankfurt. Based on the rhythm with which the circuit oscillated, the Frankfurt researchers were able to predict the kind of sounds the bats were about to make. These research results could contribute to a better understanding of human diseases in which language is impaired such as Parkinsons or Tourette syndrome.

Bats are famous for their sonar-based navigation. They use their extremely sensitive hearing for orientation, emitting ultrasound noises and receiving an image of their surroundings based on the echo. Sebas short-tailed bat (Carollia perspicillata), for example, finds the fruits that are its preferred food using this echolocation system. At the same time, bats also use their voices in a somewhat deeper frequency range to communicate with other members of their species. Sebas short-tailed bats employ a vocal range for this purpose that is otherwise only found among songbirds and humans. Like humans, they produce sound through the larynx.

Together with his team, neuroscientist Julio C. Hechavarria from the Institute for Cell Biology and Neuroscience at Goethe University investigated brain activity preceding vocalisation in Sebas short-tailed bats. The scientists were able to identify a group of nerve cells that create a circuitry from the frontal lobe to the corpus striatum in the interior of the brain. When this neural circuit fires off rhythmic signals, the bat emits a vocalisation about half a second later. The type of rhythm seemed to determine whether the bats were about to utter echolocation or communication vocalisations.

Since it is nearly impossible to make a prediction within half a second, the Frankfurt researchers trained a computer to test their hypothesis: The computer analysed the recorded sounds and the neural rhythm separately and attempted to make prognoses using the various rhythms. The result: in its predictions of echolocation versus communication vocalisations, the computer was correct about 80 percent of the time. Predictions were particularly accurate when considering signals from the frontal lobe, an area that in humans has been linked to action planning, among other functions.

The Frankfurt scientists argue that the rhythms they observed in the bat brain are similar to neural rhythms often recorded from the human scalp, and concluded that brain rhythms could be linked to sound production in mammals in general.

Julio Hechavarria: For over 50 years, bats have served as an animal model for studying how the brain processes auditory stimuli and how human language develops. For the first time, we were able to show how distant brain regions in bats communicate with each other during vocalization. At the same time, we know that the corresponding brain networks are impaired in individuals who, for example, stutter as a result of Parkinsons disease or emit involuntary noises due to Tourette syndrome. We therefore hope that by continuing to study vocal behaviour in bats, we can contribute to a better understanding of these human diseases.

Reference:

Kristin Weineck, Francisco Garca-Rosales, Julio C. Hechavarra. Neural oscillations in the fronto-striatal network predict vocal output in bats. PLOS Biology, 2020; 18 (3): e3000658 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3000658

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New Insights to How the Brain Controls the Voice of Bats - Technology Networks

MARKHAM, ON, March 23, 2020 /CNW/ - Pond Technologies Holdings Inc. (the "Corporation" or "Pond")(TSX.V: POND), (OTCQB: PNDHF) an ESG company addressing global sustainability challenges of climate change and nutrition, announces that it has, through its subsidiary, Pond Technologies Inc., signed a non-exclusive licensing agreement with London based Remediiate (UK) Ltd. (https://www.remediiate.com/) who intends to develop projects and sell solutions and algae in the UK and Europe focused on the animal feed and aquaculture markets.

Under the terms of the licensing agreement, Remediiate will have the non-exclusive right to use Pond's patents and know-how related to the growth of microalgae and cyanobacteria and related biomass in connection with the development, manufacture, promotion, marketing, advertisement, sale and distribution of certain licensed products of Pond, including its gas management skid, dosing/harvesting/conditioning skid and PLC programming, in the countries and principalities of continental Europe as well as the United Kingdom. Remediiate will also have the right to provide consultancy, installation and support services in respect of such licensed products in such jurisdictions. In addition, Remediiate has the exclusive right in such jurisdictions to sell or otherwise supply the licensed products to certain identified companies.

The term of the license is 5 years (or upon the earlier expiration of all the patents and where there is no possibility of any applications in the patents proceeding to grant) and is automatically renewable thereafter for an additional 5 years provided Remediiate is in material compliance with the agreement at that time.

As consideration for granting the license, Pond shall be paid a fee to be agreed upon, on a case by case basis, related to the separate agreements to be entered into between Remediiate and the end users. Such fees will be based upon, among other things, an hourly rate for Pond's consulting, installation and servicing fees, a percentage of the licensing fee charged to the end user, and Pond's standard list price for its licensed products. In no event will the fee be less than $500,000 per annum, payable quarterly, until December 31, 2021, and thereafter not less than $2,000,000 per annum.

Steve Martin, Pond's CEO, commented, "Europe is a key market for Pond with its forward-looking industrial emitters, tightening regulations and large players in the protein markets. We are delighted to be working with the team at Remediiate who share our belief in the value of algae to profitably utilize carbon emissions while simultaneously dealing with issues of climate change and sustainable food security."

Carlos de Pommes, Remediiate's CEO added "Partnering with an established technology provider has been critical to us in convincing European greenhouse gas emitters and feed providers that algae-based alternative protein has come of age. We can now cost-effectively deploy technology at scale. We are delighted to be working with PondTech who share our values."

About Remediiate (UK) Ltd.Founded in 2017, Remediiate's mission is: Clean the Planet | Feed the World. Remediiate is a UK-based, European-focussed CO2 abatement firm leveraging the power of nature's rock stars - algae - to solve simultaneously two of the world's greatest challenges; carbon emissions from major industrial emitters and the supply of alternative protein for the feed industry. Remediiate's leadership in lighting technology and algae biology enables us to produce on an industrial scale.

About Pond Technologies Holdings Inc.:Located in Markham, Ontario, Pond is a technology company that provides profitable solutions to the global health and wellness challenges of climate change and nutrition. Pond's proprietary growth platform, including patented advanced photonics, optimizes key growth inputs in order to provide a controlled environment that maximizes the growth of algae and other organisms. This enables industrial emitters to generate new revenue streams from the transformation of underutilized CO2 to valuable algae-based products, such as protein for animal feed and nutraceutical products like Chlorella, Spirulina, and Astaxanthin for human consumption. For more information visit https://www.pondtech.com/.

Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE Pond Technologies Holdings Inc.

Canada Newswire, source Canada Newswire English

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Pond Technologies Holdings Inc :. enters into non-exclusive Technology Licence Agreement with UK-based Remediiate, providing Pond with minimum payment...

Raman Singh

As the novel Coronavirus becomes a global pandemic, organisations across the globe have been looking at innovative techniques to keep business going while ensuring the safety and well-being of their employees. Remote working, social distancing, and work from home have emerged as the new buzzwords that everyone is talking of and relying on for seamless operations in these distressing times.

Technology and creative tech products are actually making these concepts a reality by allowing employees to perform their daily duties from the safety of their homes. Heres a quick look at the technologies that are enabling remote working while we wait for the situation to mitigate.

Technology to the rescue: How Cloud-enabled tools can drive remote working

Even before the outbreak of COVID-19, the tech-driven paradigm shift towards new-age business communication models beyond email, calls, and text messaging were already in full swing. According to market research, with the emergence of Cloud-enabled and mobile-optimized communication tools, the global percentage of people preferring to work from a remote working environment is expected to rise by 38 percent.

Despite the advent of advanced cloud-based enterprise tools, a majority of organisations are still using generic voice-centric implements (such as premise-based PBXs) to enable easy interaction within their company. Hence, to effectively drive greater business communication experience, enterprises need to leverage the power of collaborative, mobile-first Unified Communication as a Service (UCaaS)-based tools. Such tools can empower businesses to shift the telecommute traffic entirely to the digital realm, enabling them to provide their employees with a safe and secure working facility that is free from location constraints.

Such an approach can make a huge difference during times of crisis such as the current Coronavirus pandemic when practicing social distancing ought to be everybodys utmost priority. As organisations are rapidly taking cognisance of this fact, the following are some of the tech-enabled strategies that they can utilise to activate a seamless remote working environment for the benefit and safety of their employees and society at large:

Video conferencing as compared to in-person interactions

When people are being advised to go into self-quarantine to avoid getting infected or further spreading the virus the option to attend in-person meetings naturally goes out of the window. One option that professionals then have is to conduct meetings over call or text messages. However, this method too can be easily snubbed in favor of video conferencing which undeniably offers a more immersive experience than a simple phone-centric interaction.

Facilitating mobile PBX connection

Leading market players can enable an organisation to begin their journey towards the Cloud destination. One of the salient features of such a transformation is the virtual phone system that is seamlessly integrated with the existing PBX phone system in an organisation. Such a tool can empower employees to communicate with each other via the PBX system but by using their own mobile phones, irrespective of where they are located.

Integrating customised interactive voice response (IVR) system

Using this feature, organisations can customize an appropriate voice response greeting for any incoming calls that they receive. Besides, tech-enabled supplements can even facilitate the option of capturing the number and voice mails of a caller in case the user is unable to respond. This frees a professional working from home from the unnecessary hassle and compulsion of answering every incoming call under duress.

Although the pandemic threat has caused the global economy to be in free fall, it doesnt mean that organisations have to pause their operations and wait for the storm to let up before businesses can get back on track. Thanks to the intervention of Cloud-based tech tools, professionals no longer need to visit their offices to engage in business transactions.

By adopting the aforementioned strategies, organisations can now enable their workforce to do it from a remote working environment, including their homes. And this, now more than before, has emerged as the most appropriate option available to business leaders to ensure the safety of their employees in the face of the unfortunate disruption while keeping their business processes in a sustained motion.

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Business in the time of Corona: Technologies that organisations can leverage to enable a remote working environment - Moneycontrol