An independent group valued the company’s fuel cell IP in the range of $800 million to $1.6 billion, but we scaled this back using conservative assumptions to a range of $46.9 million to $117.7 million. That same research group estimates that stationary fuel cell markets will grow from $1.2 billion in 2013 to $14.3 billion in 2020.
Intellectual Property – 2013 Acquisition of Tekion Assets Over the years the company has amassed a substantial stable of 14 patents, and various pending patents and patent applications. In late 2011, an independent, professional IP evaluation company, Dolcera Corp., assessed Neah Power’s patent portfolio and determined a valuation range of approximately $800 million to $1.6 billion. This valuation was based on the projected growth rates in various markets, the ability of the company to garner market share, and the types of royalty arrangements that can be reasonably expected. All this is contingent upon the uniqueness of the company’s proprietary technology. The company’s patents are slated to expire in the years 2020 - 2030. The acquisition of Tekion’s assets in November, 2013 brought to Neah Power several of the above mentioned patents and the capability to build upon its silicon and formic acid technologies. It is upon these new and innovative technologies that the promise of long-term growth has been based. It stands to reason that the value of the assets from the Tekion acquisition reinforces the overall valuation of the company. Three Main Market Areas of Value The Dolcera evaluation focused on three major markets, the military, transportation and stationary fuel cell markets. In addition, because of the company’s strong links to the Indian government, that government’s potential spending on military applications was also included. We believe Dolcera’s valuation parameters are overly optimistic relative to the status of the company’s current commercialization efforts. Projecting royalties is indeed a viable method by which to assess a company’s value, but much verification will still be needed of the company’s technology before major manufacturers or large-scale power generation entities are likely to step forward and embrace Neah Power.