Mr. Peter Pascali reports

PYROGENESIS ANNOUNCES THAT LAB STRENGTH TESTS ACHIEVE 45% ABOVE TARGET FOR GREEN CEMENT ADDITIVE PRODUCT

PyroGenesis Canada Inc. has received notice from its client, Progressive Planet, that the results from a series of tests reveal "superb" compressive strength for the PozPyro cement additive material produced by PyroGenesis's proprietary plasma process -- a result that indicates a major step toward commercial feasibility. This plasma-based process -- a collaboration with Progressive Planet -- explores the feasibility of converting widely available, high-grade, crystalline silica into amorphous silica. The resulting amorphous silica can be used to enhance the strength of concrete as a replacement for fly ash.

As indicated in Progressive Planet's news release of April 11, over the last month, Progressive Planet prepared four separate batches of cement mortar cubes to test, under the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) testing protocol, at both seven days and 28 days, for compressive strength, for different particle sizes. The average strength activity index (SAI) result for the four seven-day strength tests for PozPyro was 108.75 per cent, a 45-per-cent gain against the minimum target value.

"Mortar cubes need to possess 75 per cent of the strength of the control cube at seven days to pass this ASTM test, so we are delighted that the average strength was 108.75 per cent," stated Steve Harpur, chief executive officer of Progressive Planet.

The tests were conducted as a key milestone in the PozPyro project which is geared to develop supplementary cementing material (SCM) as an alternative to fly ash. The expectation is that this SCM could then be used to partially replace Portland cement while at the same time be derived from readily available materials which do not release CO2 (carbon dioxide). The material is produced using PyroGenesis's plasma torch reactor to convert quartz silica into an SCM.

"These results are impressive, and underscore yet again the transformative nature of plasma in producing materials, in both an economically and environmentally beneficial manner, key to heavy industry," said P. Peter Pascali, president and chief executive officer of PyroGenesis. "Our experience over the past few years in developing new ways to use plasma to process silica quartz into valuable end-products continues to lead to a variety of unique and interesting outputs, with PozPyro being the most recent example. The cement industry is a major target for us, and we have high expectations for the PozPyro green cement additive material we have developed with Progressive Planet."

All four batches of mortar cubes will also undergo 28-day SAI tests with the results being available sometime after April 29, 2024.

As further stated in Progressive Planet's news release, concrete producers want SCMs that (i) increase the compressive strength of their mix while (ii) lowering their carbon footprint without sacrificing workability. The workability of cement is measured by water demand. The water demand for PozPyro was between 99 per cent and 109 per cent, with the average water demand being 103.75 per cent.

The smaller the water demand number, the better the reading. A passing water demand number must be less than 115 per cent of the water demand of the control mix. As such, all four of the test batches also passed the water demand test.

"It is uncommon to see SCMs exceed the seven-day strength of the control Portland, so we are excited to see better strength while concurrently possessing excellent water demand numbers," said Steve Gurney, president of Progressive Planet.

Crystalline silica is one of the most abundant materials in the earth's crust and the ability to economically convert it into amorphous silica would offer a new supply of material to compensate for the diminishing supply of fly ash, as coal-fired power plants (which generate fly ash) are targeted for shut down in Canada by 2030.

PyroGenesis's involvement in developing PozPyro from quartz is part of PyroGenesis's three-tiered solution ecosystem that aligns with economic drivers that are key to global heavy industry. PozPyro is part of PyroGenesis's commodity security and optimization tier, where the recovery of viable metals and the optimization of production to increase output helps to maximize raw materials and improve the availability of critical minerals.

About PyroGenesis Canada Inc.

PyroGenesis, a high-tech company, is a proud leader in the design, development, manufacture and commercialization of advanced plasma processes and sustainable solutions that reduce greenhouse gases (GHG) and are economically attractive alternatives to conventional dirty processes. PyroGenesis has created proprietary, patented and advanced plasma technologies that are being vetted and adopted by multiple multibillion-dollar industry leaders in four massive markets: iron ore pelletization; aluminum; waste management; and additive manufacturing. With a team of experienced engineers, scientists and technicians working out of its Montreal office, and its 3,800-square-metre and 2,940-square-metre manufacturing facilities, PyroGenesis maintains its competitive advantage by remaining at the forefront of technology development and commercialization. The operations are ISO 9001:2015 and AS9100D certified, having been ISO certified since 1997.

About Progressive Planet Solutions Inc.

Progressive Planet is a clean-tech and manufacturing company with proven product lines based in Kamloops, B.C. The company's expertise lies in developing critical low-carbon and carbon sequestering solutions using its owned mineral assets and recycled materials to create planet-friendly products that fight climate change and protect the planet's health.

Progressive Planet products are in 10,000 plus retail stores across North America. Its innovations, created at the C-Quester centre of sustainable innovation, bring positive disruption to the cement, agricultural and animal care sectors.

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