Quantum Dot Material Supply Agreement

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                            28 May 2020

Nanoco Group PLC

("Nanoco, the "Group", or the "Company")

Quantum Dot Material Supply Agreement

 

Agreement with STMicroelectronics further underpins cash runway to 2021

 

Nanoco Group plc (LSE: NANO), a world leader in the development and manufacture of cadmium-free quantum dots and other nanomaterials emanating from its technology platform, today announces that it has signed a Quantum Dot Material Supply Agreement ('QDMSA' or 'Agreement') with STMicroelectronics International NV ('ST').

The QDMSA is a framework agreement that covers both development work and commercial supply of nano-materials for use in various infra-red sensing applications over an initial five-year period. The Agreement extends the collaboration that was in place while both companies were working for our mutual significant US Customer.

Orders for development work on material for a new application and small scale volumes of an existing material have already been received. The first phase of the development work which started in April is scheduled to last until December 2020.

The new purchase orders are material in size for Nanoco and underpin the extended operational cash runway to Q2 2021, as recently announced in our Interim Results on 30 April 2020. Any further purchase orders will improve that position. The QDMSA also commits ST to certain minimum volumes in the event that future commercial production orders are required.

Dr Michael Edelman, Nanoco's CEO, commented:

"We are very pleased with this latest development in our collaboration with ST. Both companies have been working actively to generate value from our previous two years of investments in developing new materials, devices, and mass production capabilities for use in infra-red sensing. The Agreement now enables us find new routes to market in the short term, and potential new applications in the medium term.

"ST's deep knowledge of the sensing markets and multiple potential applications and customers makes them an ideal strategic customer for Nanoco. Nanoco's materials deliver a very significant performance enhancement to ST's silicon based infra-red sensors. A medium term roadmap to commercial production volumes, enabled by our newly developed materials, is taking shape. This will allow us to leverage the value from our recent investment in our new Runcorn electronics materials production facility."

- Ends -

For further information, please contact:

Nanoco Group PLC:

Michael Edelman, CEO                                                                                                        +44 (0) 161 603 7900

Brian Tenner, COO & CFO                                                                                                    +44 (0) 161 603 7900

Caroline Watson, Investor Relations Manager                                                                +44 (0) 7799 897 357

[email protected]

 

Peel Hunt:

Edward Knight                                                                                                                       +44 (0) 20 7418 8900

Nick Prowting

 

MHP Communications:                                                                                                       +44 (0) 203 128 8570

Reg Hoare

Giles Robinson

Pete Lambie

[email protected]

 

The person responsible for arranging for the release of this announcement on behalf of Nanoco is Brian Tenner, Chief Financial Officer.

MAR

The information contained within this announcement is considered by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014.  Upon the publication of this announcement via a Regulatory Information Service, this inside information will be considered to be in the public domain.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS                                                    

This announcement (including information incorporated by reference in this announcement) and other information published by Nanoco may contain statements about Nanoco that are or may be deemed to be forward looking statements.  Such statements are prospective in nature.  All statements other than historical statements of facts may be forward looking statements.  Without limitation, statements containing the words "targets", "plans", "believes", "expects", "aims", "intends", "will", "may", "anticipates", "estimates", "projects" or "considers" or other similar words may be forward looking statements.

Forward looking statements inherently contain risks and uncertainties as they relate to events or circumstances in the future.  Important factors such as business or economic cycles, the terms and conditions of Nanoco's financing arrangements, tax rates, or increased competition may cause Nanoco's actual financial results, performance or achievements to differ materially from any forward looking statements.  Due to such uncertainties and risks, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof.  Nanoco disclaims any obligation to update any forward looking or other statements contained herein, except as required by applicable law.

Notes for editors:

About Nanoco Group plc

Nanoco (LSE: NANO) harnesses the power of nano-materials. Nano-materials are materials with dimensions typically in the range 1 - 100 nm. Nano-materials have a range of useful properties, including optical and electronic. Quantum dots are a subclass of nano-material that have size-dependent optical and electronic properties. The Group produces quantum dots. Within the sphere of quantum dots, the Group exploits different characteristics of the quantum dots to target different performance criteria that are attractive to specific markets or end-user applications such as the Display and Electronics markets. One of the interesting properties of quantum dots is photoluminescence: the emission of longer wavelength light upon excitation by light of a shorter wavelength. The colour of light emitted depends on the particle size. Nanoco's CFQD^® quantum dots are free of cadmium and other toxic heavy metals and can be tuned to emit light at different wavelengths across the visible and infrared spectrum, rendering them useful for a wide range of applications including displays, lighting and biological imaging.

Nanoco was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Manchester, UK, with a US subsidiary, Nanoco Inc., in Concord, MA. Nanoco continues to build out a world-class, patent-protected IP portfolio generated both by its own innovation engine, as well as through acquisition.

Nanoco is listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange and trades under the ticker symbol NANO. For further information please visit: www.nanocotechnologies.com.

 

About STMicroelectronics

ST is a global semiconductor leader delivering intelligent and energy-efficient products and solutions that power the electronics at the heart of everyday life. ST's products are found everywhere today, and together with our customers, we are enabling smarter driving and smarter factories, cities and homes, along with the next generation of mobile and Internet of Things devices. By getting more from technology to get more from life, ST stands for life.augmented.

In 2019, the Company's net revenues were US$9.56 billion, serving more than 100,000 customers worldwide. Further information can be found at www.st.com.

For further information, please contact:

INVESTOR RELATIONS:

Céline Berthier

Group VP, Investor Relations

Tel: +41.22.929.58.12

[email protected]