ME2C® Environmental Announces Technologies under Development in the Rare Earth Market

Rhea-AI Summary

Midwest Energy Emissions Corp. (OTCQB: MEEC) announced advanced technologies aimed at improving rare earth element (REE) production in North America. The global REE market was valued at approximately $13.2 billion in 2019, projected to grow at 10.7% annually through 2026. Currently, the U.S. relies on imports for all REEs, predominantly from China. The company's innovative extraction process is designed to enhance efficiency and reduce environmental impact, with pilot testing expected soon, which could revolutionize the industry.

Positive

• Development of new technologies to improve REE processing.
• Potential to significantly lower production costs and environmental impact.
• Pilot scale testing phase anticipated soon, indicating progress.

Negative

• None.

Anticipated to Dramatically Improve Production of REEs in North America

CORSICANA, TX, March 23, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Midwest Energy Emissions Corp. (OTCQB: MEEC) ("ME₂C Environmental" or the “Company”), a leading environmental technologies firm, today announced new technologies under development intended to improve the processing of rare earth elements (REEs) in North America. The Department of Energy has reported a global market for REEs valued at approximately $13.2 billion in 2019 with a growth expectation of 10.7% annually (between 2020 to 2026).

According to the Department of Energy, the U.S. currently imports all of the rare earth elements it consumes, of which approximately 80% are imported from China, the global leader in the rare earth industry. In 2018, the Department of Energy reported that the global demand for rare earth elements was approximately 150,000 tons with the U.S. demand at approximately 11%, or about 16,500 tons. Rare earth elements today are commonly used in automobile catalysts and petroleum refining catalysts, televisions, magnets, batteries, and medical devices.

“These new technologies under development in conjunction with our collaboration with Dr. Scott A. Drummond are focused on the extraction process of obtaining rare earth elements abundantly available from coal mining and the coal-fired power industry, along with mining operations. Our technologies focus on improving the cost of extracting rare earth minerals along with improving the environmental footprint of extracting those rare earth elements from their solvent state,” stated Richard MacPherson, President and CEO of ME2C Environmental. “Our technologies can be reused multiple times to isolate higher concentrations of the rare earth elements, which significantly reduces costs and limits the amount of harmful acids both used and disposed of during the extraction process. We strongly believe, after continued research and development, that this new sorbent technology will dramatically improve rare earth element production in North America. Our recovery process under development will offer significant improvements compared to technologies currently available across the industry, which now use either a liquid or heat-based approach. This more efficient manufacturing process of extracting these highly valuable elements can be used across all present major market segments and will allow the USA to better compete with China economically with significantly reduced environmental impacts.”

Continued MacPherson, “Our rare earth element technologies could be adopted by all companies involved in this field providing a lower cost production and with greater environmental benefits – regardless of the type of process and operations in place. These technologies will also allow us to perform our own rare earth extraction processes – while licensing others with this new method.”

“We are entering the pilot scale testing phase in the near future after consistently achieving very impressive test data. We look forward to bringing the results from upcoming pilot scale testing to the industry as we continue to develop what we anticipate will become a game-changing technology,” concluded MacPherson.

About ME₂C^® Environmental

ME₂C Environmental (OTCQB: MEEC), is a leading environmental technologies company developing and delivering patented and proprietary solutions to the global power industry. ME₂C’s leading-edge services have been shown to achieve emissions removal at a significantly lower cost and with less operational impact than currently used methods, while maintaining and/or increasing power plant output and preserving the marketability of byproducts for beneficial use. ME₂C Environmental is a trade name of Midwest Energy Emissions Corp. For more information, please visit http://www.me2cenvironmental.com/.

Safe Harbor Statement

With the exception of historical information contained in this press release, content herein may contain "forward-looking statements" that are made pursuant to the Safe Harbor Provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are generally identified by using words such as "anticipate," "believe," "plan," "expect," "intend," "will," and similar expressions, but these words are not the exclusive means of identifying forward-looking statements. These statements are based on management's current expectations and are subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made. Matters that may cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include, among other factors, the gain or loss of a major customer, change in environmental regulations, disruption in supply of materials, capacity factor fluctuations of power plant operations and power demands, a significant change in general economic conditions in any of the regions where our customer utilities might experience significant changes in electric demand, a significant disruption in the supply of coal to our customer units, the loss of key management personnel, availability of capital and any major litigation regarding ME₂C Environmental. In addition, this release contains time-sensitive information that reflects management's best analysis only as of the date of this release. ME₂C Environmental does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect future events, information or circumstances that arise after the date of this release. Further information concerning issues that could materially affect financial performance related to forward-looking statements contained in this release can be found in ME₂C Environmental’s periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

ME₂C Environmental Contact:
Stacey Hyatt
Corporate Communications
ME₂C Environmental
Main: 614-505-6115 x-1001
Direct: 404-226-4217
shyatt@me2cenvironmental.com

Investor Relations Contact:
Greg Falesnik or Brooks Hamilton
MZ Group - MZ North America
949-546-6326
MEEC@mzgroup.us
www.mzgroup.us

FAQ

What technologies is Midwest Energy Emissions Corp. developing related to rare earth elements?

Midwest Energy Emissions Corp. is developing new technologies aimed at improving the extraction and processing of rare earth elements from coal mining and the coal-fired power industry.

What is the market value of rare earth elements and growth rate?

The global market for rare earth elements was valued at approximately $13.2 billion in 2019, with an expected growth rate of 10.7% annually from 2020 to 2026.

How much of the rare earth elements consumed does the U.S. import?

The U.S. currently imports all of the rare earth elements it consumes, with about 80% of these imports coming from China.

When is the pilot scale testing for MEEC's new technologies expected to begin?

Pilot scale testing for MEEC's new technologies is expected to begin in the near future.

What benefits do the new rare earth element technologies offer?

The new technologies aim to improve extraction efficiency, reduce costs, and limit environmental harm compared to existing methods.