Loop Energy Inc.

Good afternoon. My name is Brianna, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the first quarter 2023 earnings conference call for Loop Energy. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speaker's remarks, there will be a question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question during this time, simply press star followed by the number one on your telephone keypad. If you would like to withdraw your question, again, press star one. Thank you. Loop Energy, you may begin your conference.

Hello and welcome everyone. Thank you for joining us this afternoon for the first quarter 2023 earnings conference call for Loop Energy. Joining me is our President and Chief Executive Officer, Ben Nyland, and our Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary, Paul Catford. We will be available for questions at the end of the presentation. Before we begin, I would like to clarify that our comments today will include statements and answers to questions that could imply future events and financial performance, and could include the use of non-GAAP and non-IFRS measures. These statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, and assumptions accordingly. Actual performance could differ materially from statements made today, so please do not place undue reliance upon them. We also disdain any obligation to update forward-looking statements except as required by law. I ask you that you read our legal disclaimer and refer to our risks and assumptions outlined in our public disclosures, in particular, the section entitled forward-looking statements and risk factors in our annual information form for the year ended 2022, and our filings, which are available on CDAR. First quarter results were released today after market. The press release, financial statements, and MD&A are available on CDAR and our website at loopenergy.com. I would now like to turn the call over to Ben Nyland.

Thank you, Natalie. In my prepared remarks today, I will provide comments on our first quarter of 2023 and the current conditions that we're seeing in the hydrogen fuel cell industry. I will also update you on the three key initiatives that we're focusing on during the first half of 2023, and then provide some brief comments on our strategic engagement with Credit Suisse, the company's financial advisor. Following that, I will pass the call over to Paul Catterford to provide a summary of our first quarter financial results. And Paul will also speak that we expect will provide Loop Energy with financial capacity and runway to the end of calendar 2023, with current cash and funding commitments. Following Paul's comments, we will open the lines for the Q&A session. As I mentioned during our last quarterly call about six weeks ago, the market for commercial fuel cell solutions has slowed down in early 2023. Given current macroeconomic conditions, most notably higher inflation and higher interest rates globally. We are seeing purchase orders placed by our OEM customers being pushed out as their end customers are delaying commercial ordering decisions. This is resulting in a general slowdown due to the prevailing economic headwinds and impacting demand formation across the value chain in our industry. We are continuing to work collaboratively with our customers and have made adjustments to our production and delivery schedules accordingly. As we said on our Q4 quarterly call, we expect that Loop Energy's full-year revenue in 2023 will be in line or slightly above that of 2022 on a year-over-year basis, with potential for growth resuming in 2024 when market conditions are expected to improve. So no change there from what we said on our prior call. In this environment, we remain focused on projects that provide clear near-term value creation and market opportunities, In this regard, let me update you on the three key initiatives that I mentioned on the last call. The first key initiative is completing the development of our low profile 60 kilowatt unit, which is targeted at the municipal bus market, primarily in Europe, where the vast majority of fuel cell systems are low profile and on the roof. As opposed to commercial operators, who are currently pushing out purchases, We are seeing municipal buyers making their decisions based on emission reduction plans and climate change mandates. So this is one of a few key markets where we are seeing growth activity despite current macro conditions. Our development program for the 60-kilowatt unit is on schedule. We presented a display unit in Germany at a fuel cell trade show in Hanover a few weeks ago and are seeing good interest from customers for this new product, SKU. The second key initiative is completing the vertical integration of the bipolar plate manufacturing process for our next generation products, including DS-1200. Bringing plate manufacturing for our next gen products in-house improves the pace of our product development process and provides our engineering team with greater agility. It is also one of the key pillars in reducing our cost of goods and improving our gross margins over time. As with the low-profile 60-kilowatt unit, the vertical integration of our bipolar plate is also on track. The third key initiative is sourcing a strategic partner for the development of an electrolyzer using Loop Energy's eFlow technology. There is certainly strong government interest for increased hydrogen production, and our test work with Fraunhofer ISE has demonstrated that Loop can deliver compelling value and greater efficiency in electrolyzer hydrogen production. Our chief science officer, Sean McKinnon, presented on this topic at Hanover Messe in Germany in April. And we are moving with pace in our conversations with potential strategic partners regarding the next phase of development for this technology. Finally, let me provide a brief update on the process with Credit Suisse and the initiative we are undertaking with them. We are pleased with both the level of interest and engagement from players in and around the hydrogen industry. Our management team is working very closely with the Credit Suisse bankers, and we are moving quickly on this program. Given the current economic climate, the Board of Directors will be examining all strategic options available which best serve the interests of our shareholders, customers, employees, and the company going forward. I will now turn the call over to Paul for his review of the first quarter financials for 2021.