Superior Coating Technology, PLASMAfusion™, Expected to Strengthen Existing Applications and Enable New Verticals Including Battery Materials

HALIFAX, NS / ACCESSWIRE / April 4, 2022 / Meta Materials Inc. (the “Company” or “META®“) (NASDAQ:MMAT)(FSE:MMAT) a developer of high-performance functional materials and nanocomposites, announced today it has acquired Plasma App Ltd. (“PAL”), in a stock for stock transaction valued at $20 million. PAL is the developer of PLASMAfusion™, a first of its kind, proprietary manufacturing platform technology, which enables high speed coating of any solid material on any type of substrate. PAL’s team is located at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratories in Oxford, UK.

META expects to apply PLASMAfusion™ to the metallization step in its roll-to-roll production process for NANOWEB® films as well as KolourOptik® security films. This is expected to significantly accelerate line speed and increase annual capacity. Large scale and efficient metallization is a critical step for volume production of NANOWEB® and many other high volume potential applications such as battery materials, requiring hundreds of millions of square meters per year. Large scale metallization is expected to leverage capital equipment investment and substantially reduce cost per square meter of output.

“This is a strategic acquisition for META, pairing the best nanopatterning technologies with the best coating technology. PLASMAfusion™ is a versatile coating platform technology, which we believe will improve our existing manufacturing processes, expand our IP portfolio, and open new markets,” said George Palikaras, President and CEO of META. “As we scale our operations, META is committed to investing in more sustainable technologies that reduce cost and increase volumes of our metamaterial applications. We have had a great relationship with PAL since 2019, and I am excited to welcome its founder, Dr. Dmitry Yarmolich, to META. We expect PLASMAfusion™ to enable META to deliver new solutions at unprecedented scale and cost, with semiconductor accuracy and quality.”

PLASMAfusion™ uniquely combines the benefits of sputtering and evaporation, while using zero VOCs (volatile organic compounds). PAL’s technology works in a more sustainable, customizable, and efficient way, by producing new materials in vacuum at low substrate temperatures with higher adhesion. META intends to continue to industrialize and scale up PLASMAfusion™ including applications for META’s high volume factory in Thurso, Quebec. Additionally, PLASMAfusion™ will be available for licensing and co-development for strategic partners.

“I am excited to join the META team and support its vision to democratize nanotechnology, enabling the next generation of high-performance metamaterial applications,” said Dmitry Yarmolich, CEO of Plasma App Ltd. “There is a large opportunity to reduce cost, increase capacity, and enlarge the market for META’s platform technologies. There are also multiple other promising high-volume applications, such as battery components, for which we have already achieved successful prototypes and strategic relationships which complement META’s scale-up roadmap.”

PAL has been developing next generation battery materials for several years with partners. A prototype Li ion battery anode pictured here was fabricated by PLASMAfusion™ of CALIB anode active material on a standard battery separator followed by deposition of a thin copper current collector. Results were published in January 2021 in Nano Energy 83 (2021) 105816. PLASMAfusion™ shows promise to increase the safety of batteries while reducing weight and increasing energy density. The technology is described in this publication as virtual cathode deposition. PAL’s technology has also been used to develop next generation thermoelectric generators. Results were published in March 2019 in Scientific Reports (2019) 9:4393.

“PAL’s technology creates unprecedented new high-performance nanocomposites in real time, by using multiple, time sequenced targets. We believe this is a unique process enabler, likely to facilitate META’s entry into multiple high-growth markets,” said Jonathan Waldern, META’s Chief Technology Officer. “High energy beam deposition of materials, at low temperature, without solvents and other toxic chemicals is a major breakthrough. Compared to traditional coating technologies, we estimate PLASMAfusion™ is approximately 60x more energy efficient compared to Plasma Laser Deposition (PLD) and 8x more efficient compared to Magnetron Sputtering to produce each 100nm of coating on each square cm area of the substrate, while also offering higher adhesion, deposition rates, and overall coating uniformity.”

To learn more about applications of PLASMAfusion™ technology, including Semiconductors & Metamaterials, Printed Circuit Boards, Protective/Optical Coatings and Batteries please visit https://metamaterial.com/technologies/plasmafusion/.

Transaction Summary

META acquired 100% of the shares of Plasma App Ltd. in exchange for META common shares with a total value of $20 million, priced at $1.86, based on the VWAP for the ten trading days ending on March 31, 2022. The transaction closed on April 1st.

About Meta Materials Inc.

META® delivers previously unachievable performance, across a range of applications, by inventing, designing, developing, and manufacturing sustainable, highly functional materials. Our extensive technology platform enables leading global brands to deliver breakthrough products to their customers in consumer electronics, 5G communications, health and wellness, aerospace, automotive, and clean energy. Our nano-optic technology provides anti-counterfeiting security features for government documents and currencies and authentication for brands. Our achievements have been widely recognized, including being named a Lux Research Innovator of the Year in 2021. Learn more at www.metamaterial.com.