U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-Q
x QUARTERLY
REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the quarterly period ended December 31, 2021
o TRANSITION
REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the transition period from _______ to _________
Commission File No. 000-19333
Bion Environmental Technologies, Inc.
(Name of registrant in its charter)
Colorado
84-1176672
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or formation)
(I.R.S. employer identification number)
9 East Park Court
Old Bethpage , New York 11804
(Address of principal executive offices)
516 - 586-5643
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area
code)
Not Applicable
(Former name, former address and former fiscal year,
if changed since last report)
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Securities Act:
Title of each class
Trading Symbol(s)
Name of each exchange on which registered
Common Stock
BNET
OTCQB
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1)
has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months
(or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements
for the past 90 days.
x Yes
o No
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has
submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of
this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). x
Yes o No
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a
large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company.
See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,”
and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Large accelerated filer o
Accelerated filer o
Non-accelerated filer o
Smaller reporting company x
Emerging growth company o
If an emerging
growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any
new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. o
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a
shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). o Yes x
No
APPLICABLE
ONLY TO ISSUERS INVOLVED IN BANKRUPTCY
PROCEEDINGS DURING
THE PRECEDING FIVE YEARS: Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed all documents and reports required to be filed by Sections
12, 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 subsequent to the distribution of securities under a plan confirmed by a court.
Not applicable.
APPLICABLE
ONLY TO CORPORATE ISSUERS:
Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each
of the issuer’s classes of common stock, as of the latest practicable date. On February 1, 2022, there were 43,733,820 Common Shares
issued and 43,209,511 Common Shares outstanding.
2
BION ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
FORM 10-Q
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION
Page
Item 1.
Financial Statements
4
Consolidated financial statements (unaudited):
Balance sheets
4
Statements of operations
5
Statement of changes in equity (deficit)
6
Statements of cash flows
7
Notes to unaudited consolidated financial statements
8-27
Item 2.
Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
28
Item 3.
Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk
46
Item 4.
Controls and Procedures
46
PART II. OTHER INFORMATION
Item 1.
Legal Proceedings
47
Item 1A.
Risk Factors
48
Item 2.
Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds
48
Item 3.
Defaults Upon Senior Securities
48
Item 4.
Mine Safety Disclosures
48
Item 5.
Other Information
48
Item 6.
Exhibits
48
Signatures
49
FORWARD-LOOKING
STATEMENTS
This Quarterly
Report on Form 10-Q contains forward-looking statements, within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking
statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "may," "will," "expect,"
"intend," "estimate," "anticipate," "project," "predict," "plan," "believe"
or "continue" or the negative thereof or variations thereon or similar terminology. The expectations reflected in forward-looking
statements may prove to be incorrect.
3
BION ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
December 31,
June 30,
2021
2021
(unaudited)
ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash
$ 4,948,282
$ 4,216,321
Prepaid expenses
46,723
124,049
Deposits
1,000
1,000
Total current assets
4,996,005
4,341,370
Operating lease use- of- asset
171,835
—
Property and equipment, net (Note 3)
146,895
541
Total assets
$ 5,314,735
$ 4,341,911
LIABILITIES AND EQUITY (DEFICIT)
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable and accrued expenses
$ 513,070
$ 570,050
Series B Redeemable Convertible Preferred stock, $ 0.01 par value, 50,000 shares authorized; 0 and 200 shares issued and outstanding, liquidation preference of $ 0 and $ 40,000 , respectively (Note 7)
—
37,400
Deferred compensation (Note 4)
477,374
479,208
Loan payable and accrued interest (Note 5)
—
9,868,495
Total current liabilities
990,444
10,955,153
Operating lease liability
122,605
—
Convertible notes payable - affiliates (Note 6)
5,075,586
4,793,097
Total liabilities
6,188,635
15,748,250
Deficit:
Bion's stockholders' equity (deficit):
Series A Preferred stock, $ 0.01 par value, 50,000 shares authorized, no shares issued and outstanding
—
—
Series C Convertible Preferred stock, $ 0.01 par value, 60,000 shares authorized; no shares issued and outstanding
—
—
Common stock, no par
value, 100,000,000 shares authorized, 43,733,820 and 41,315,986
shares issued, respectively; 43,029,511 and 40,611,677 shares
outstanding, respectively
—
—
Additional paid-in capital
123,150,676
121,399,067
Subscription receivable - affiliates (Note 8)
( 504,650 )
( 504,650 )
Accumulated deficit
( 123,558,048 )
( 132,339,873 )
Total Bion's stockholders’ deficit
( 912,022 )
( 11,445,456 )
Noncontrolling interest
38,122
39,117
Total deficit
( 873,900 )
( 11,406,339 )
Total liabilities and deficit
$ 5,314,735
$ 4,341,911
See notes to consolidated
financial statements
4
BION ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
THREE AND SIX MONTHS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2021 AND
2020
(UNAUDITED)
Three months ended
December 31,
Six months ended
December
31,
2021
2020
2021
2020
Revenue
$ —
$ —
$ —
$ —
Operating expenses:
General and administrative
(including stock-based compensation (Note 7))
617,963
291,682
1,109,096
594,559
Depreciation
332
207
580
414
Research
and development (including stock-based compensation (Note 7))
54,404
155,385
116,213
246,373
Total operating expenses
672,699
447,274
1,225,889
841,346
Loss from operations
( 672,699 )
( 447,274 )
( 1,225,889 )
( 841,346 )
Other (income) expense:
Interest income
( 1,269 )
( 47 )
( 2,763 )
( 126 )
Interest expense
118,365
303,218
230,545
407,637
Gain on legal dissolution of
subsidiary
( 10,234,501 )
—
( 10,234,501 )
—
Total other expense
( 10,117,405 )
303,171
( 10,006,719 )
407,511
Net income (loss)
9,444,706
( 750,445 )
8,780,830
( 1,248,857 )
Net loss attributable to the noncontrolling interest
489
524
995
1,039
Net income (loss) applicable to Bion's common stockholders
$ 9,445,195
$ ( 749,921 )
$ 8,781,825
$ ( 1,247,818 )
Net income
(loss) applicable to Bion's common stockholders per basic and diluted common share
$ 0.23
$ ( 0.02 )
$ 0.21
$ ( 0.04 )
Weighted-average number of common shares outstanding:
Basic and diluted
41,088,992
31,187,645
40,904,342
30,990,639
See notes to consolidated financial statements
5
BION ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDERS'
EQUITY (DEFICIT)
SIX MONTHS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2021 AND 2020
(UNAUDITED)
Six months ended December
31, 2021
Bion's Shareholders'
Series A Preferred Stock
Series C Preferred Stock
Common Stock
Additional
Subscription Receivables
Accumulated
Noncontrolling
Total
Shares
Amount
Shares
Amount
Shares
Amount
paid-in capital
for Shares
deficit
interest
equity/(deficit)
Balance at July 1, 2020
—
$
—
$
31,409,005
$
114,266,683
$ ( 504,650 )
$ ( 128,891,893 )
$ 41,902
$ ( 15,087,958 )
Sale of units
720,000
360,000
360,000
Commissions on sale of units
( 31,000 )
( 31,000 )
Modification of options
8,775
8,775
Modification of warrants
188,890
188,890
Issuance of warrants
2,500
2,500
Conversion of debt and liabilities
141,589
70,794
70,794
Net loss
( 1,247,818 )
( 1,039 )
( 1,248,857 )
Balance at December 31, 2020
—
$
—
$
32,270,594
$
$ 114,866,642
$ ( 504,650 )
$ ( 130,139,711 )
$ 40,863
$ ( 15,736,856 )
Six months ended December 31, 2021
Bion's Shareholders'
Series A Preferred Stock
Series C Preferred Stock
Common Stock
Additional paid-in
Subscription Receivables
Accumulated
Noncontrolling
Total
Shares
Amount
Shares
Amount
Shares
Amount
capital
for Shares
deficit
interest
equity/(deficit)
Balance at July 1, 2021
—
$ —
—
$ —
41,315,986
$ —
$ 121,399,067
$ ( 504,650 )
$ ( 132,339,873 )
$ 39,117
$ ( 11,406,339 )
Warrants exercised for common shares
—
—
—
—
2,315,550
—
1,736,662
—
—
—
1,736,662
Commissions on warrant exercises
—
—
—
—
66,860
—
( 18,601 )
—
—
—
( 18,601 )
Conversion of debt and liabilities
—
—
—
—
35,424
—
17,711
—
—
—
17,711
Modification of warrants
—
—
—
—
—
—
8,337
—
—
—
8,337
Issuance of warrants
—
—
—
—
—
—
7,500
—
—
—
7,500
Net income (loss)
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
8,781,825
( 995 )
8,780,830
Balance at December 31, 2021
—
$ —
—
$ —
43,733,820
$ —
$ 123,150,676
$ ( 504,650 )
$ ( 123,558,048 )
$ 38,122
$ ( 873,900 )
See notes to consolidated financial statements
6
BION ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
SIX MONTHS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2021 AND 2020
(UNAUDITED)
2021
2020
CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES
Net income (loss)
$ 8,780,830
$ ( 1,248,857 )
Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash used in operating activities:
Gain on legal dissolution of subsidiary
( 10,234,501 )
—
Depreciation expense
580
414
Accrued interest on loans payable, deferred compensation and other
248,409
425,499
Stock-based compensation
13,125
36,781
Decrease in prepaid expenses
77,326
3,615
Decrease in operating lease assets and liabilities
( 49,230 )
—
Increase in accounts payable and accrued expenses
130,628
8,162
Increase in deferred compensation
179,867
245,742
Net cash used in operating activities
( 852,966 )
( 528,644 )
CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES
Purchase of property and equipment
( 92,134 )
—
Net cash used in investing activities
( 92,134 )
—
CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES
Proceeds from exercise of warrants
1,736,662
—
Commissions on exercise of warrants
( 18,601 )
—
Redemption of Preferred Series B shares and interest
( 41,000 )
Proceeds from sale of units
—
360,000
Commissions on sale of units
—
( 31,000 )
Net cash provided by financing activities
1,677,061
329,000
Net decrease in cash
731,961
( 199,644 )
Cash at beginning of period
4,216,321
560,828
Cash at end of period
$ 4,948,282
$ 361,184
Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information:
Cash paid for interest
$ —
$ 28
Non-cash investing and financing transactions:
Conversion of debt and liabilities into common units
$ 17,711
$ 70,794
Shares issued for warrant exercise commissions
$ 50,145
$ —
Conversion of deferred compensation to note payable
$ 190,000
$ —
Purchase of property and equipment for accounts payable
$ 54,800
$ —
See notes to consolidated
financial statements
7
BION ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
SIX MONTHS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2021 AND 2020
1. ORGANIZATION,
NATURE OF BUSINESS, GOING CONCERN AND MANAGEMENT’S PLANS :
Organization and nature of business:
Bion Environmental Technologies, Inc.'s ("Bion,"
"Company," "We," "Us," or "Our") was incorporated in 1987 in the State of Colorado. Our patented
and proprietary technology provides comprehensive environmental solutions to one of the greatest water air and water quality problems
in the U.S. today: pollution from large-scale livestock production facilities (also known as “Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations”
or “CAFOs"). Application of our technology and technology platform can simultaneously remediate environmental problems
and improve operational/resource efficiencies by recovering value high-value co-products from the CAFOs’ waste stream that have
traditionally been wasted or underutilized, including renewable energy, nutrients (including ammonia nitrogen) and water.
From 2016 to 2021 fiscal years, the Company has focused
a large portion of its activities on developing, testing and demonstrating the 3rd generation of its technology and technology platform
(“3G Tech”) with emphasis on increasing the efficiency of production of valuable co-products from the waste treatment process,
including ammonia nitrogen in the form of organic ammonium bicarbonate products. The Company’s initial ammonium bicarbonate liquid
product completed its Organic Materials Review Institute (“OMRI”) application and review process with approval during May
2020. An application for our first solid ammonium bicarbonate product – AD Nitrogen – has been filed and is in the review
process (which is likely to require an extended period of time and multiple procedural steps due to the novel nature of Bion’s 3G
Tech in the context of organic certifications) See “Organic Fertilizer Listing/Certification Process” below.
Bion is now focused primarily on: i) development/construction
of its initial commercial-scale 3G Tech installation (see below and Note 10, “Subsequent Events”), ii) developing applications
and markets for its organic fertilizer products and its sustainable (conventional and organic) animal protein products, and iii) initiation
and development of joint ventures (“JVs” as discussed below) (and related projects) based on the augmented capabilities of
our 3G Tech, while (iv) continuing to pursue development opportunities related to large retrofit projects (such as the Kreider poultry
project JV described below) and ongoing R&D activities.
The $175 billion U.S. livestock industry is under
intense scrutiny for its environmental and public health impacts – its ‘environmental sustainability’-- at the same
time it is struggling with declining revenues and margins (derived in part from clinging to its historic practices and resulting limitations
and impacts) which threaten its ‘economic sustainability’. Its failure to adequately respond to consumer concerns ranging
including food safety, environmental impacts, and humane treatment of animals have provided impetus for plant-based alternatives such
as Beyond Meat and Impossible Burger (and many others) being marketed as “sustainable” alternatives for this growing consumer
segment of the market.
The Company believes that its 3G Tech, in addition
to providing superior environmental remediation, creates opportunities for large scale production of i) verifiably sustainable-branded
livestock products and ii) verifiably sustainable organic-branded livestock products, both of which will command premium pricing (in part
due to ongoing monitoring and third-party verification of environmental performance which will provide meaningful assurances to both consumers
and regulatory agencies). Each of these two distinct market segments (which the Company intends to pursue in parallel) presents a large
production/marketing opportunity for Bion. Our 3G Tech will also produce (as co-products) biogas and valuable organic fertilizer products,
which can be utilized in the production of organic grains for use as feed for raising organic livestock (some of which may be utilized
in the Company’s JV projects) and/or marketed to the growing organic fertilizer market.
During late September 2021, Bion entered into a lease
for the development site of its initial commercial scale 3G Tech project in September 2021(“Initial Project”), which Initial
Project will be located on approximately four (4) acres of leased land near Fair Oaks, Indiana, and a related agreement regarding disposal
of certain manure effluent with the Curtis Creek Dairy unit of Fair Oaks Farms (“FOF”). Design and pre-development work commenced
during August 2021 and preliminary surveying, site engineering and other work is now underway along with site-specific engineering and
design work. The Initial Project will be an environmentally sustainable beef cattle feeding facility, equipped with state-of-the-art housing
and Bion’s 3G-Tech platform to provide waste treatment and resource recovery. Bion has designed the project to house and feed approximately
300 head of beef cattle. The facility will include Bion’s 3G Tech platform including: i) covered barns (possibly including roof
top solar photovoltaic generation), ii) anaerobic digestion for renewable energy recovery, iii) livestock waste treatment and resource
recovery technology, iv) Bion’s ammonium bicarbonate recovery and crystallization technology and iv) data collection software to
document system efficiencies and environmental benefits (with the Bion 3G Tech facilities capable of treating the waste from approximately
1,500 head). The facility will be large enough to demonstrate engineering capabilities of Bion’s 3G Tech at commercial scale, but
small enough that it can be constructed and commissioned relatively quickly, with operations targeted to commence sometime late in 2022.
3G1 has been moving forward with the development process of the Initial Project. See Note 10 “Subsequent Events” for activities
since the start of the 2022 calendar year.
8
The Initial Project is not being developed at economic
commercial scale or with an expectation of profitability due to its limited scale. However, successful installation, commissioning, and
operations will demonstrate scalability, determine operating parameters at scale, and provide ongoing production and engineering capabilities,
all being critical steps that must be accomplished before developing large projects with JV partners.
Specifically, the Initial Project is being developed
to provide and/or accomplish the following:
i.
Proof of 3G Tech platform scalability
-
Document system efficiency and environmental benefits and enable final engineering modifications to optimize each unit process within the Bion 3G technology platform.
-
Environmental benefits will include (without limitation) renewable energy production (natural gas recovery from AD and solar electric from integrated roof top photovoltaic generation); nutrient recovery and conversion to stable organic fertilizer; pathogen destruction; water recovery and reuse; air emission reductions.
ii.
Use Bion’s data collection system to support 3rd party verified system efficiency requirement to qualify for USDA Process-Verified-Program (PVP): certification of sustainable branded beef (and potentially pork) product metrics.
iii.
Produce sufficient ammonium bicarbonate nitrogen fertilizer (“AD Nitrogen”) for commercial testing by potential joint venture partners and/or purchasers and for university growth trials.
iv.
Produce sustainable beef products for initial test marketing efforts.
Upon achieving optimized and steady-state operations
at the Initial Project (and especially of the core modules of our 3G Tech platform), coupled with obtaining organic certifications(s)
( OMRI listing and/or other organic listings/certifications) for its AD Nitrogen product, Bion expects to be ready to move forward with
its plans for development of much larger facilities. The Company anticipates that discussions and negotiations regarding potential JVs
with strategic partners in the financial, livestock and food distribution industries to develop large scale projects will commence during
the construction of the Initial Project with the goal of establishing JV’s for large scale projects that will produce sustainable
and/or sustainable-organic corn-fed beef during 2023. These products will be supported by a USDA PVP-certified sustainable brand that
will, initially, highlight reductions in carbon and nutrient footprint, as well as pathogen reductions associated with foodborne illness
and antibiotic resistance, along with the organic designation where appropriate. Bion has successfully navigated the USDA PVP application
process previously, having received conditional approval of its 2G Tech platform (pending resubmission and final site audits), and is
confident it will be successful in qualifying its 3G Tech platform.
Additionally, the Company believes there will
also be opportunities to proceed with selected ‘retrofit projects’ of existing facilities (see ‘ 3G Tech Kreider
2 Poultry Project’ below as an example).
Bion believes that substantial unmet demand currently
exists– potentially very large – for ‘real’ meat/ dairy/ egg products that offer the verifiable/believable sustainability
consumers seek, but with the taste and texture they have come to expect from American beef and pork, dairy and poultry. Numerous studies
demonstrate the U.S. consumers’ preferences for sustainability. For example, 2019 NYU Stern’s Center for Sustainable Business
study found that ‘products marketed as sustainable grew 5.6 times faster than those that were not…’ and that ‘…in
more than 90 percent of consumer-packaged-goods (CPG) categories, sustainability-marketed products grew faster than their conventional
counterparts.’ Sales growth of plant-based alternatives, including both dairy and more recently ground meat (Beyond Meat, Impossible
Foods, etc.) have shown that a certain segment of consumers are choosing seemingly sustainable offering, and are also willing to pay a
premium for it. Numerous studies also support the consumers’ ‘willingness-to-pay’ (WTP) for sustainable choices, including
a recent meta-analysis of 80 worldwide studies with results that calculate the overall WTP premium for sustainability is 29.5 percent
on average.
As one of the largest contributors to some of the
greatest air and water quality problems in America, it is clear that livestock waste cleanup, at scale, represents one of the greatest
opportunities we have to reduce negative environmental impacts of the food supply chain on air and water quality. Bion’s 3G Tech
platform, along with its business model, enables the cleanup of the ‘dirtiest’ part of the food supply chain: animal protein
production and creates the opportunity to produce and market verifiably sustainable organic and conventional ‘real meat’ products
that can participate in the growth and premium pricing that appears to be readily available for the ‘right’ products.
Bion believes that at least a premium segment of the
U.S. beef industry (and potentially other livestock industry groups) is at the doorstep of a transformative opportunity to address the
growing demand for sustainable food product offerings, while pushing back against today’s anti-meat messaging. At $66 billion/year
(2021 retail value), the beef industry is a fragmented, commodity industry whose practices date back decades. In 1935 inflation-adjusted
terms, beef is 63% more expensive today, while pork and chicken, which are now primarily raised in covered barns, at CAFOs with highly
integrated supply chains, are 12% and 62% cheaper, respectively. In recent years, the beef industry has come under increasing fire
from advocacy groups, regulatory agencies, institutional investors, and ultimately, their own consumers, over concerns that include climate
change, water pollution, food safety, and the treatment of animals and workers.
9
Advocacy groups targeting livestock and the beef industry
have recently been joined by competitors that produce animal protein alternatives in seeking to exploit the industry’s environmental
and economic weaknesses. Their global anti-meat messaging has had a substantial chilling effect on the relationships the beef industry
has with its institutional investors; retail distributors, such as fast-food restaurants; and mostly, its consumers. Led by the United
Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, a coordinated anti-meat messaging campaign has targeted consumers worldwide, primarily focused
on the industry’s impacts on climate change. Meat alternatives, especially plant-based protein producers like Beyond Meat and Impossible
Foods, are being heavily promoted by themselves and the media, and have enjoyed steady sales growth. A 2018 NielsenIQ Homescan survey
last year found that 39% of Americans are actively trying to eat more plant-based foods. Some of the recent growth in plant-based proteins
results from increasing lactose intolerance and other health concerns; however, most of that growth is attributed to consumers’
growing concerns for the environmental impacts of real meat and dairy. Several large US companies that have traditionally focused on livestock
production, including Cargill, ADM, Perdue Foods, and Tyson, have recently entered the plant protein space. In terms of changing customer
preferences, ‘saving the planet’ has proven to be a more compelling argument than the traditional animal activism/ welfare
pitch. To date, the only ‘industry response’ to this has been grass-fed beef, which is regarded as a generally more sustainable
offering than grain-fed (largely without empirical evidence). However grass-fed beef has had only limited acceptance in U.S. markets,
because it is less flavorful and tougher than the traditional corn-fed beef consumers have grown to enjoy.
It should be noted that these plant-based protein
producers are primarily expected to be able to serve the ground/ processed meat market, which represents approximately 10 percent of the
overall animal protein market. Further, there has recently been pushback to these plant-based products, focusing on their highly processed
nature and unproven health benefits, scalability/ pricing, and their uncertain carbon footprint. There have also been several companies
recently enter the cellular and 3D-printed meat arena. While facing myriad challenges and further out on the development timeline, some
people believe cellular agriculture (aka cultured, clean, lab-grown, cultivated) meat may have the potential to service a much larger
percentage of the market than plant-based protein, including cuts like steaks, chops and roasts, but the likely cost remains very uncertain
at this point.
Each of these items supports Bion’s belief that
there is a potentially very large opportunity to supply premium sustainable beef products that satisfy these concerns. We believe that
the real meat/beef products that can be cost-effectively produced today using our 3G Tech platform, both sustainable and/or organic, can
provide an affordable product that satisfies the consumer’s desire for sustainability, but with the superior taste and texture those
consumers have grown to prefer.
Sustainable Beef
Bion’s goal is to be first to market with meaningfully
sustainable, and verified, beef products that can be produced at sufficient scale to service national market demand. The cattle produced
at a Bion facility will enjoy a substantially lower carbon footprint, dramatically reduced nutrient impacts to water, and an almost total
pathogen kill in the waste stream. A Bion sustainable beef facility will be comprised of covered barns with slotted floors, which allow
the waste to pass through and be collected quickly and frequently to reduce ammonia volatilization and loss, as well as odors. Covered
barns will reduce weather impacts on the livestock and have been demonstrated to promote improved general health and weight gain in the
cattle housed in them. The barns represent a very large roof surface area, which will be utilized in appropriate geographical locations
for the installation of photovoltaic solar generation systems to produce electricity for the facility, as well as export to the grid.
Waste treatment and resource recovery will be provided by Bion’s advanced 3G Tech platform, which Bion believes offers the most
comprehensive solution for livestock waste available today. In addition to direct environmental benefits every pound of nitrogen that
is captured, upcycled, and returned to the agricultural nitrogen cycle as high-quality fertilizer (vs lost to contaminate downstream waters),
is also a pound of nitrogen that will not have to be produced as synthetic urea or anhydrous ammonia, with their tremendous carbon cost.
System performance and environmental benefits will be monitored and verified through third parties, with USDA PVP certification of the
sustainable brand that Bion also believes will be the most comprehensive available in the market.
Recently there have been efforts to establish sustainable
brands (including USDA PVP certification) for a number of small scale livestock producers (largely in the grass fed beef category). The
reach and extent of such efforts is limited to date and it is difficult to determine their effectiveness. Additionally, there have
been public announcements of initiatives related to beef sustainability (largely focused on the ’cow-calf’ segment of the
livestock chain) in procurement by major beef processing companies, but a closer look finds that most consist largely of ‘green
washing’ public proclamations in the wake of environmental and social criticism that re-package prior initiatives and lack any significant
new substance.
Sustainable Organic Beef
Bion believes it has a unique opportunity to produce,
at scale, affordable corn-fed organic beef that is certified as sustainable. In addition to the sustainable practices described above,
organic-sourced beef cows would be finished on organic corn, which would be produced using the ammonium bicarbonate fertilizer captured
by the 3G Tech platform. Bion believes its meat products will meet consumer demands with respect to sustainability and safety (organic)
and provide the tenderness and taste American consumers have come to expect from premium conventional American beef. Such products are
largely unavailable in the market today. We believe Bion’s unique ability to produce the fertilizer needed to grow a supply of low-cost
organic corn, and the resulting opportunity to produce organic beef, will dramatically differentiate us from potential competitors. This
organic opportunity is dependent on successfully establishing Bion’s fertilizer products as acceptable for use in organic grain
production.
10
Today, organic beef demand is limited and mostly supplied
with grass-fed cattle. While organic ground/ chopped meat has enjoyed success in U.S. markets, grass-fed steaks have seen limited acceptance,
mostly resulting from consumer issues with taste and texture. Stated directly, it’s tough. Regardless, such steaks sell for a significant
premium over conventional beef. A grain-finished organic beef product is largely unavailable in the marketplace today due to the higher
costs of producing organic corn and grain. The exception is offerings that are very expensive from small ‘boutique’ beef producers.
Like all plants, corn requires nitrogen to grow. Corn is especially sensitive to a late-season application of readily available nitrogen
– the key to maximizing yields. With non-organic field corn, this nitrogen is supplied by an application of a low-cost synthetic
fertilizer, such as urea or anhydrous ammonia. However, the cost for suitable nitrogen fertilizer that can be applied late-season in organic
corn production is so high that the late-season application becomes uneconomical, resulting in substantially lower yields – a widely
recognized phenomena known as the ‘yield gap’ in organic production. The yield gap results in higher costs for organic corn
that, in turn, make it uneconomical to feed that corn to livestock. As is the case for sustainable but not organic beef, Bion believes
there is a potentially large unmet demand for affordable beef products that are both sustainable AND organic, but with the taste and texture
consumers have come to expect from American beef. Bion’s ability to produce the low-cost nitrogen fertilizer that can close the
organic yield (and affordability) gap will put the Company in a unique, if not exclusive at this time, position to participate in JV’s
that will benefit from this opportunity starting next year.
The demonstrated willingness of consumers to purchase
sustainable products (along with numerous research and marketing studies confirming consumers are seeking, and are willing to pay a premium
for, sustainable products)---in combination with the threat to the livestock industry market (primarily beef and pork) posed by plant-based
alternatives (heightened by pandemic conditions)--- has succeeded in focusing the large scale livestock industry on how to meet the plant-based
market challenge by addressing the consumer sustainability issues. The consumer demand for sustainability appears to be a real and lasting
trend, but consumers remain skeptical of generalized claims of ‘sustainability’. To date, a large portion of the industry
responses have been at a superficial level or consist of ‘green washing’, a deceptive marketing practice where companies promote
non-substantive initiatives. Real sustainability for the livestock industry will require implementation of advanced waste treatment technology
at or near the CAFOs – where most of the negative environmental impacts take place.
Organic Fertilizer Listing/Certification Process
The Company has focused a large portion of its activities
on developing, testing and demonstrating the 3rd generation of its technology and technology platform (“3G Tech”) with emphasis
on increasing the efficiency of production of valuable co-products from the waste treatment process, including ammonia nitrogen in the
form of organically listed ammonium bicarbonate products. The Company’s initial ammonium bicarbonate liquid product completed its
Organic Materials Review Institute (“OMRI”) application and review process with approval during May 2020.
An application for our first solid ammonium bicarbonate
product – AD Nitrogen – was filed during May 2021 and is currently actively proceeding through OMRI’s multi-stage review
process ---which process has taken an extended period of time and multiple procedural steps due to the novel nature of Bion’s 3G
Tech in the context of organic listings/certifications. OMRI’s Review Panel ‘…. voted to temporarily assign it to “Unresolved”
status. This means that OMRI does not currently have the clarity necessary to decide whether the product meets OMRI standards which are
based on the USDA National Organic Program regulations (NOP).’ Subsequently the application has gone through ‘Rebuttal’
(OMRI Review Panel) and ‘Appeal’ (Appeals Review Committee) stages which affirmed the “Unresolved” status. The
Company has been informed that ‘…the product will remain Unresolved until July 22, 2022 or until resolution is reached by
OMRI though consultation with the OMRI Advisory Council.’ The application is now beginning review by OMRI’s Advisory Council.
The Company’s product is novel in part due to the fact that OMRI does not have a listing category for a solid form of concentrated
and soluble nitrogen fertilizers and there is no clear guidance at present from OMRI internal policy on how to categorize this product
and the process that produced it. There is also no clear guidance at present from either the NOP or the National Organic Standards Board
(“NOSB”) (which is currently involved in a related review and recommendations process regarding ‘high nitrogen liquid
fertilizers’ derived from ammonia from manure). The Company and its representatives are involved in discussions regarding resolution
of these matters at all three levels. The Company anticipates positive resolution of this manner well prior to operational dates for the
Company’s initial large scale JV 3G projects.
11
3 Tech Kreider 2 Poultry Project
Bion has done extensive pre-development work related
to a waste treatment/renewable energy production facility to treat the waste from KF’s approximately 6+ million chickens (planned
to expand to approximately 9-10 million) (and potentially other poultry operations and/or other waste streams) ('Kreider Renewable Energy
Facility' or ‘Kreider 2 Project’). On May 5, 2016, the Company executed a stand-alone joint venture agreement with Kreider
Farms covering all matters related to development and operation of Kreider 2 system to treat the waste streams from Kreider’s poultry
facilities in Bion PA2 LLC (“PA2”). During May 2011 the PADEP certified a smaller version of the Kreider 2 Project (utilizing
our 3G Tech) for 559,457 nutrient credits under the old EPA’s Chesapeake Bay model. The Company has been in ongoing discussions
with the PADEP regarding the appropriate credit calculation methodology for large-scale technology-based nutrient reduction installations
such as the KF2 Project utilizing our 3G Tech platform. Based on these discussions and the size of the Kreider 2 Project, we anticipate
that if and when designs are finalized, the Kreider 2 Project will be re-certified for a far larger number of credits (management’s
current estimates are between 2-4 million (or more) nutrient reduction credits for treatment of the waste stream from Kreider’s
poultry pursuant to the amended EPA Chesapeake Bay model and agreements between the EPA and PA . Note that this Project may also be expanded
in the future to treat wastes from other local and regional CAFOs (poultry and/or dairy---including the Kreider Dairy) and/or additional
Kreider poultry expansion (some of which may not qualify for nutrient reduction credits). A review process to clarify certain issues related
to credit calculation and verification commenced during 2014 based on Bion’s 2G Tech but was been placed on hold. The Company anticipates
if and when PA2 re-commences work on the Kreider 2 Project, it will submit a new application based on our 3G Tech. Site specific design
and engineering work for this facility have not commenced, and the Company does not yet have financing in place for the Kreider 2 Project.
This opportunity is being pursued through PA2. If there are positive developments related to the market for nutrient reductions in Pennsylvania,
of which there is no assurance, the Company intends to pursue development, design and construction of the Kreider 2 Project with a goal
of achieving operational status for its initial modules during the following calendar year. The economics (potential revenues and profitability)
of the Kreider 2 Project, despite its proposed use of Bion’s 3G Tech for increased recovery of marketable by-products, are based
in material part the long-term sale of nutrient (nitrogen and/or phosphorus) reduction credits to meet the requirements of the Chesapeake
Bay environmental clean-up. However, liquidity in the Pennsylvania nutrient credit market has not yet developed significant breadth and
depth, which lack of liquidity has negatively impacted Bion’s business plans and will most likely delay PA2’s Kreider 2 Project
and other proposed projects in Pennsylvania.
Note that while Bion believes that the Kreider 2 Project
and/or subsequent Bion Projects in PA and the Chesapeake Bay Watershed will eventually generate revenue from the sale of: a) nutrient
reductions (credits or in other form), b) renewable energy (and related credits), c) sales of fertilizer products, and/or d) potentially,
in time, credits for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, plus e) license fees related to a ‘sustainable brand’, the
Covid-19 pandemic has delayed legislative efforts needed to commence its development. We believe that the potential market is very large,
but it is not possible to predict the exact timing and/or magnitude of these potential markets at this time.
Technology Deployment: Bion 3G Tech
Widespread deployment of waste treatment technology,
and the sustainability it enables, is largely dependent upon generating sufficient additional revenues to offset the capital and operating
costs associated with technology adoption. Bion’s 3G Tech has been developed to create opportunities for such augmented revenue
streams, while providing third party verification of sustainability claims. The 3G Tech platform has been designed to maximize the value
of co-products produced during the waste treatment/recovery processes, including pipeline-quality renewable natural gas (biogas) and commercial
fertilizer products approved for organic production. All processes will be verifiable by third parties (including regulatory authorities
and certifying boards) to comply with environmental regulations and trading programs and meet the requirements for: a) renewable energy
and carbon credits, b) organic certification of the fertilizer coproducts (see below and Note 10, “Subsequent Events”). and
c) USDA PVP certification of an ‘Environmentally Sustainable’ brand (see discussion below), and d) payment for verified ecosystem
services. The Company’s first patent on its 3G Tech was issued during 2018. In August 2020, the Company received a Notice of Allowance
on its third patent which significantly expands the breadth and depth of the Company’s 3G Tech coverage, and the Company has additional
applications pending and/or planned.
Bion’s business model and technology platform
can create the opportunity for JVs (in various contractual forms) between the Company and large livestock/food/fertilizer industry participants,
based upon the supplemental cash flow generated by implementation of our 3G Tech business model, which will support the costs of technology
implementation (including related debt). We anticipate this will result in long term value for Bion. In the context of such JVs, we believe
that the verifiable sustainable branding opportunities (conventional and organic) may expand to represent the single largest enhanced
revenue contributor provided by Bion to the JVs (and Bion licensees). The Company believes that the largest portion of its business with
be conducted through such JVs, but a material portion may involve licensing and or other approaches.
12
In parallel with technology development, Bion has
worked (which work continues) to implement market-driven strategies designed to stimulate private-sector participation in the overall
U.S. nutrient and carbon reduction strategy. These market-driven strategies can generate “payment for ecosystem services”,
in which farmers or landowners are rewarded for managing their land and operations to provide environmental benefits, that will generate
additional revenues. Existing renewable energy credits for the production and use of biogas are an example of payment for ecosystem services.
Another such strategy is nutrient trading (or water quality trading), which will potentially create markets (in Pennsylvania and other
states) that will utilize taxpayer funding for the purchase of verified pollution reductions from agriculture (“nutrient credits”)
by the state (or others) through competitively-bid procurement programs. Such credits can then be used as a ‘qualified offset’
by an individual state (or municipality) to meet its federal clean water mandates at significantly lower cost to the taxpayer. Market-driven
strategies, including competitive procurement of verified credits, is supported by U.S. EPA, the Chesapeake Bay Commission, national livestock
interests, and other key stakeholders. Legislation in Pennsylvania to establish the first such state competitive procurement program passed
the Pennsylvania Senate by a bi-partisan majority during March 2019. However, the Covid-19 pandemic and related financial/budgetary crises
have slowed progress for this and other policy initiatives and, as a result, it is not currently possible to project the timeline for
completion (or meaningful progress) of this and other similar initiatives (see discussion below).
The livestock industry and its markets are already
changing; with a commercial-ready technology and business model, Bion believes it has a ‘first-mover advantage’ over others
that will seek to exploit the opportunities that will arise from the industry’s inevitable transformation. Bion anticipates moving
forward with the development process of its initial commercial installations utilizing its 3G Tech, during the current 2023 fiscal year.
We believe that Bion’s 3G Tech platform and business model can provide a pathway to true economic and environmental sustainability
with ‘win-win’ benefits for at least a premium sector of the livestock industry, the environment, and the consumer, an opportunity
which the Company intends to pursue.
The Livestock Problem
The livestock industry is under tremendous pressure
from regulatory agencies, a wide range of advocacy groups, institutional investors and the industry’s own consumers, to adopt sustainable
practices. Environmental cleanup is inevitable and has already begun - and policies have already begun to change, as well. Bion’s
3G Tech was developed for implementation on large scale livestock production facilities, where scale drives both lower treatment costs
and efficient co-products production, as well as dramatic environmental improvements. We believe that scale, coupled with Bion’s
verifiable treatment technology platform, will create a transformational opportunity to integrate clean production practices at (or close
to) the point of production—the primary source of the industry’s environmental impacts. Bion intends to assist the forward-looking
segment of the livestock industry to bring animal protein production in line with 21st Century consumer demands for meaningful sustainability.
In the U.S. (according to the USDA’s 2017 agricultural
census) there are over 9 million dairy cows, 90 million beef cattle, 60 million swine and more than 2 billion poultry which provides an
indication of both the scope of the problem addressed by Bion’s technology, as well as the size of Bion’s opportunity. Environmental
impacts from livestock production include surface and groundwater pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, ammonia, and other air pollution,
excess water use, and pathogens related to foodborne illnesses and antibiotic resistance. While the most visible and immediate problems
are related to nutrient runoff and its effects on water quality, the industry has recently been targeted by various stakeholder groups
for its impacts on climate change.
Estimates of total annual U.S. livestock manure waste
vary widely, but start around a billion tons, between 100 and 130 times greater than human waste. However, while human waste is generally
treated by septic or municipal wastewater plants, livestock waste – raw manure – is spread on our nation’s croplands
for its fertilizer value. Large portions of U.S. feed crop production (and most organic crop production) are fertilized, in part, in this
manner. Under current manure management practices, 80% or more of total nitrogen from manure, much of it in the form of ammonia, escapes
during storage, transportation, and during and after soil application, representing both substantial lost value and environmental costs.
More than half of the nitrogen impacts from livestock
waste come from airborne ammonia emissions, which are extremely volatile, reactive and mobile. Airborne ammonia nitrogen eventually settles
back to the ground through atmospheric deposition - it ‘rains’ everywhere. While some of this nitrogen is captured and used
by plants, most of it runs off and enters surface waters or percolates down to groundwater. It is now well-established that most of the
voluntary conservation practices, such as vegetated buffers that ‘filter’ runoff (often referred to as “BMPs”
or “Best Management Practices” that have traditionally been implemented to attempt to mitigate nutrient runoff), are considerably
less effective than was previously believed to be the case. This is especially true with regard to addressing the volatile and mobile
nitrogen from ammonia emissions, because BMPs are primarily focused on surface water runoff, directly from farm fields in current production,
versus the re-deposition that takes place everywhere or groundwater flow.
13
Runoff from livestock waste has been identified in
most of our major watersheds as a primary source of excess nutrients that fuel algae blooms in both fresh and saltwater. Over the last
several years, algae blooms have become increasingly toxic to both humans and animals, such as the Red Tides on the Florida and California
coasts, and the Lake Erie algae bloom that cut off the water supply to Toledo, Ohio, residents in 2014. When the nutrient runoff subsides,
it leaves the algae blooms with no more ‘food’ and the blooms die. The algae’s decomposition takes oxygen from the water,
leading to ‘dead zones’ in local ponds, lakes, and ultimately, the Great Lakes, as well as the Chesapeake Bay, Gulf of Mexico,
and other estuary waters. Both the toxic algae blooms and the low/no-oxygen dead zones devastate marine life, from shrimp and fish to
higher mammals, including dolphins and manatees. U.S. EPA already considers excess nutrients “one of America’s most widespread,
costly and challenging environmental problems”. Nutrient runoff is expected to worsen dramatically in the coming decades due to
rising temperatures and increasing rainstorm intensity as a result of climate change.
Nitrate-contaminated groundwater is of growing concern
in agricultural regions nationwide, where it has been directly correlated with nutrient runoff from upstream agricultural operations using
raw manure as fertilizer. Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, California and Washington, and others, now have regions where groundwater nitrate levels
exceed EPA standards for safe drinking water. High levels of nitrate can cause blue baby syndrome (methemoglobinemia) in infants and affect
women who are or may become pregnant, and it has been linked to thyroid disease and colon cancer. EPA has set an enforceable standard
called a maximum contaminant level (MCL) in water for nitrates at 10 parts per million (ppm) (10 mg/L) and for nitrites at 1 ppm (1 mg/L).
Federal regulations require expensive pretreatment for community water sources that exceed the MCL; however, private drinking water
wells are not regulated, and it is the owners’ responsibility to test and treat their wells. Additionally, groundwater flows also
transport this volatile nitrogen downstream where, along its way, it intermixes with surface water, further exacerbating the runoff problem.
Like atmospheric deposition, the current conservation practices we rely on to reduce agricultural runoff are largely bypassed by this
subsurface flow.
Additionally, in arid climates, such as California,
airborne ammonia emissions from livestock manure contribute to air pollution as a precursor to PM2.5 formation, small inhalable particulate
matter that is a regulated air pollutant with significant public health risks. Whether airborne or dissolved in water, ammonia can only
be cost-effectively controlled and treated at the source-- before it has a chance to escape into the environment where it becomes extremely
expensive to ‘chase’, capture and treat.
High phosphorus concentrations in soils fertilized
with raw manure are another growing problem. The ratio of nitrogen to phosphorus in livestock waste is fixed, and because manure application
rates are calculated based on nitrogen requirements, often phosphorus is overapplied as an unintended consequence. Phosphorus accumulation
in agricultural soils reduces its productivity, increases the risk of phosphorus runoff, and represents a waste of a finite resource.
Decoupling the nitrogen from the phosphorus would allow them to be precision-applied, independently of each other, when and where needed.
The livestock industry has recently come under heavy
fire for its impacts on climate change, which has become a rallying cry for the anti-meat campaign discussed above. Estimates of the magnitude
of those impacts vary widely, but the general consensus is that globally, livestock account for 14.5 percent of greenhouse emissions.
In the U.S. however, that number drops to 4.2 percent, due to the increased efficiencies of American beef production. The greatest impacts
come from direct emissions of methane from enteric fermentation (belches), methane and nitrous oxide emissions from the manure, with arguably
the largest being the massive carbon footprint of the synthetic nitrogen fertilizers used to grow the grains to feed the livestock.
For decades the livestock industry has overlooked
and/or socialized its environmental problems and costs. Today, the impacts of livestock production on public health and the environment
can no longer be ignored and are coming under increasing scrutiny from environmental groups and health organizations, regulatory agencies
and the courts, the media, consumers, and activist institutional investors. The result has been a significant and alarming loss of market
share to plant-based protein and other alternative products. Bion’s 3G Tech platform was designed to resolve these environmental
issues and bring the industry in line with twenty-first century consumer expectations.
Going concern and management’s plans:
The consolidated financial statements have been
prepared assuming the Company will continue as a going concern. The Company has not generated significant revenues and has incurred
net losses (including significant non-cash expenses) of approximately $ 3,451,000
and $ 4,553,000
during the years ended June 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively, and a net income of approximately $ 8,781,000
during the six months ended December 31, 2021. The net income for the six months is due to a one-time, non-cash event of the
dissolution of PA-1 and a gain of approximately $ 10,235,000 .
There was an operating loss of approximately $ 1,226,000
for the six months ended December 31, 2021. At December 31, 2021, the Company has working capital and a stockholders’ deficit
of approximately $ 4,006,000 and 912,022
$912,000,
respectively. These factors raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. The
accompanying consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments relating to the recoverability or classification of
assets or the amounts and classification of liabilities that may result should the Company be unable to continue as a going concern.
The following paragraphs describe management’s plans with regard to these conditions.
The Company continues to explore sources of additional
financing (including potential agreements with strategic partners – both financial and ag-industry) to satisfy its current and future
operating and capital expenditure requirements as it is not currently generating any significant revenues.
14
During the years ended June 30, 2021 and 2020, the
Company received gross proceeds of approximately $ 5,209,000 and $ 1,584,000 , respectively, from the sale of its debt and equity securities.
During the six months ended December 31, 2021, the Company received total
proceeds of approximately $ 1,737,000 from the sale of its equity securities and paid approximately $ 18,600 in cash commissions.
During fiscal years 2021 and 2020, the Company has
faced progressively less difficulty in raising equity funding (but substantial equity dilution has gone along with the larger amounts
of equity financing during the periods) than was experienced in the prior 3 years. Note, however, that during the first six months of
the current fiscal year, the Company raised equity funds at a rate less than the average rate during fiscal year 2021. The Company anticipates
substantial increases in demands for capital and operating expenditures as it moves toward commercial implementation of its 3G Tech and
development of JVs and, therefore, is likely to continue to face, significant cash flow management challenges due to limited capital resources
and working capital constraints which have only recently begun to be alleviated. To partially mitigate these working capital constraints,
the Company’s core senior management and several key employees and consultants have been deferring (and continue to defer) part
of their cash compensation and/or are accepting compensation in the form of securities of the Company and/or converting portions of their
compensation and deferred compensation to securities of the Company (Notes 5 and 7) and members of the Company’s senior management
have made loans to the Company from time to time. During the year ended June 30, 2018, senior management and certain core employees and
consultants agreed to a one-time extinguishment of liabilities owed by the Company which in aggregate totaled $ 2,404,000 . Additionally,
the Company made reductions in its personnel during the years ended June 30, 2014 and 2015 and again during the year ended June 30, 2018.
The constraint on available resources has had, and continues to have, negative effects on the pace and scope of the Company’s efforts
to develop its business. The Company has had to delay payment of trade obligations and has had to economize in many ways that have potentially
negative consequences. If the Company is able to continue its recent success in its efforts to raise needed funds during the remainder
of the current fiscal year (and subsequent periods), of which there is no assurance, management will not need to consider deeper cuts
(including additional personnel cuts) and curtailment of ongoing activities including research and development activities.
The Company will need to obtain additional capital
to fund its operations and technology development, to satisfy existing creditors, to develop Projects (including the Initial Project,
JV Projects, Integrated Projects and the Kreider 2 facility) and CAFO Retrofit waste remediation systems. The Company anticipates that
it will seek to raise from $ 10,000,000 to $ 50,000,000 or more debt and/or equity through joint ventures, strategic partnerships and/or
sale of its equity securities (common, preferred and/or hybrid) and/or debt (including convertible) securities, and/or through use of
‘rights’ and/or warrants (new and/or existing) and or through other means during the next twelve months. However, as discussed
above, there is no assurance, especially in light of the difficulties the Company has experienced in many recent years and the extremely
unsettled capital markets that presently exist for small companies like us), that the Company will be able to obtain the funds that it
needs to stay in business, complete its technology development or to successfully develop its business and Projects.
There is no realistic likelihood that funds required
during the next twelve months (or in the periods immediately thereafter) for the Company’s basic operations, the Initial Project
and/or proposed JVs and/or Projects will be generated from operations. Therefore, the Company will need to raise sufficient funds from
external sources such as debt or equity financings or other potential sources. The lack of sufficient additional capital resulting from
the inability to generate cash flow from operations and/or to raise capital from external sources would force the Company to substantially
curtail or cease operations and would, therefore, have a material adverse effect on its business. Further, there can be no assurance that
any such required funds, if available, will be available on attractive terms or that they will not have a significantly dilutive effect
on the Company’s existing shareholders. All of these factors have been exacerbated by the extremely limited and unsettled credit
and capital markets presently existing for small companies like Bion.
Covid-19 pandemic related matters:
The Company faces risks and uncertainties and factors
beyond our control that are magnified during the current Covid-19 pandemic and the unique economic, financial, governmental and health-related
conditions in which the Company, the country and the entire world now reside. To date the Company has experienced direct impacts in various
areas including but without limitation: i) government ordered shutdowns which have slowed the Company’s research and development
projects and other initiatives, ii) shifted focus of state and federal governments which is likely to negatively impact the Company’s
legislative initiatives in Pennsylvania and Washington D. C., iii) strains and uncertainties in both the equity and debt markets which
have made discussion and planning of funding of the Company and its initiatives and projects with investment bankers, banks and potential
strategic partners more tenuous, iv) strains and uncertainties in the agricultural sector and markets have made discussion and planning
more difficult as future industry conditions are now more difficult to assess and predict, v) constraints due to problems experienced
in the global industrial supply chain since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, which have delayed certain research and development testing
and are likely to delay and/or increase the cost of construction of the Company’s initial 3G Tech installation if equipment remains
difficult to acquire in a timely manner, vi) due to the age and health of our core management team, all of whom are age 70 or older and
have had one or more existing health issues, the Covid-19 pandemic places the Company at greater risk than was previously the case (to
a higher degree than would be the case if the Company had a larger, deeper and/or younger core management team), and vii) there almost
certainly will be other unanticipated consequences for the Company as a result of the current pandemic emergency and its aftermath.
15
2. SIGNIFICANT
ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Principles of consolidation :
The consolidated financial statements include the
accounts of the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Bion Integrated Projects Group, Inc. (“Projects Group”), Bion Technologies,
Inc., BionSoil, Inc., Bion Services, Bion PA2 LLC and Bion 3G-1 LLC; and its 58.9 % owned subsidiary, Centerpoint Corporation (“Centerpoint”).
All significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.
Bion PA1 LLC was dissolved on December 29, 2021 (See
Note 5). The operating loss are included in the consolidation through December 29, 2021.
The accompanying consolidated financial statements
have been prepared without audit pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).
The consolidated financial statements reflect all adjustments (consisting of only normal recurring entries) that, in the opinion of management,
are necessary to present fairly the financial position at December 31, 2021, and the results of operations of the Company for the three
and six months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 and the cash flows of the Company for the six months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020.
Operating results for the three and six months ended December 31, 2021 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected
for the year ending June 30, 2022.
Cash and cash equivalents :
The Company considers all highly liquid investments purchased with an original
maturity of three months or less to be cash and cash equivalents.
Property and equipment :
Property and equipment are stated at cost and are
depreciated, when placed into service, using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the related assets, generally
three to twenty years. The Company capitalizes all direct costs and all indirect incrementally identifiable costs related to the design
and construction of its Integrated Projects. The Company reviews its property and equipment for impairment whenever events or changes
in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. An impairment loss would be recognized based on
the amount by which the carrying value of the assets or asset group exceeds its estimated fair value, and is recognized as a loss from
operations.
Patents :
The Company has elected to expense all costs and
filing fees related to obtaining patents (resulting in no related asset being recognized in the Company’s consolidated balance sheets)
because the Company believes such costs and fees are immaterial (in the context of the Company’s total costs/expenses) and have
no direct relationship to the value of the Company’s patents.
Stock-based compensation :
The Company follows the provisions of Accounting Standards
Codification (“ASC”) 718, which generally requires that share-based compensation transactions be accounted and recognized
in the statement of operations based upon their grant date fair values.
Derivative Financial Instruments :
Pursuant to ASC Topic 815 “Derivatives and Hedging”
(“Topic 815”), the Company reviews all financial instruments for the existence of features which may require fair value accounting
and a related mark-to-market adjustment at each reporting period end. Once determined, the Company assesses these instruments as derivative
liabilities. The fair value of these instruments is adjusted to reflect the fair value at each reporting period end, with any increase
or decrease in the fair value being recorded in results of operations as an adjustment to fair value of derivatives.
Warrants :
The Company has issued warrants to purchase common
shares of the Company. Warrants are valued using a fair value based method, whereby the fair value of the warrant is determined at the
warrant issue date using a market-based option valuation model based on factors including an evaluation of the Company’s value as
of the date of the issuance, consideration of the Company’s limited liquid resources and business prospects, the market price of
the Company’s stock in its mostly inactive public market and the historical valuations and purchases of the Company’s warrants.
When warrants are issued in combination with debt or equity securities, the warrants are valued and accounted for based on the relative
fair value of the warrants in relation to the total value assigned to the debt or equity securities and warrants combined.
16
Concentrations of credit risk :
The Company's financial instruments that are exposed
to concentrations of credit risk consist of cash. The Company's cash is in demand deposit accounts placed with federally insured financial
institutions and selected brokerage accounts. Such deposit accounts at times may exceed federally insured limits. The Company has not
experienced any losses on such accounts.
Noncontrolling interests :
In accordance with ASC 810, “Consolidation”,
the Company separately classifies noncontrolling interests within the equity section of the consolidated balance sheets and separately
reports the amounts attributable to controlling and noncontrolling interests in the consolidated statements of operations. In addition,
the noncontrolling interest continues to be attributed its share of losses even if that attribution results in a deficit noncontrolling
interest balance.
Fair value measurements :
Fair value is defined as the price that would be received
to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date in the
principal or most advantageous market. The Company uses a fair value hierarchy that has three levels of inputs, both observable and unobservable,
with use of the lowest possible level of input to determine fair value.
Level 1 – quoted prices (unadjusted) in active
markets for identical assets or liabilities;
Level 2 – observable inputs other than Level
1, quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in active markets, quoted prices for identical or similar assets and liabilities in
markets that are not active, and model-derived prices whose inputs are observable or whose significant value drivers are observable; and
Level 3 – assets and liabilities whose significant
value drivers are unobservable.
Observable inputs are based on market data obtained
from independent sources, while unobservable inputs are based on the Company’s market assumptions. Unobservable inputs require significant
management judgment or estimation. In some cases, the inputs used to measure an asset or liability may fall into different levels of the
fair value hierarchy. In those instances, the fair value measurement is required to be classified using the lowest level of input that
is significant to the fair value measurement. Such determination requires significant management judgment.
The fair value of cash and accounts payable approximates
their carrying amounts due to their short-term maturities. The fair value of the loan payable is indeterminable at this time due to the
nature of the arrangement with a state agency and the fact that it is in default. The fair value of the redeemable preferred stock approximates
its carrying value due to the dividends accrued on the preferred stock which are reflected as part of the redemption value. The fair value
of the deferred compensation and convertible notes payable - affiliates are not practicable to estimate due to the related party nature
of the underlying transactions.
Lease Accounting :
The Company accounts for leases under ASC 842, Leases (“ASC
842”). Accordingly, the Company will determine whether an arrangement contains a lease at the inception of the arrangement. If a
lease is determined to exist, the term of such lease is assessed based on the date on which the underlying asset is made available for
the Company’s use by the lessor. The Company’s assessment of the lease term reflects the non-cancelable term of the lease,
inclusive of any rent-free periods and/or periods covered by early-termination options which the Company is reasonably certain of not
exercising, as well as periods covered by renewal options which the Company is reasonably certain of exercising. The Company also determines
lease classification as either operating or finance at lease commencement, which governs the pattern of expense recognition and the presentation
reflected in the consolidated statements of operations over the lease term.
For leases with a term exceeding 12 months,
a lease liability is recorded on the Company’s consolidated balance sheet at lease commencement reflecting the present value of
its fixed minimum payment obligations over the lease term. A corresponding right-of-use (“ROU”) asset equal to the initial
lease liability is also recorded, adjusted for any prepaid rent and/or initial direct costs incurred in connection with execution of the
lease and reduced by any lease incentives received. For purposes of measuring the present value of its fixed payment obligations for a
given lease, the Company uses its incremental borrowing rate, determined based on information available at lease commencement, as rates
implicit in its leasing arrangements are typically not readily determinable. The Company's incremental borrowing rate reflects the rate
it would pay to borrow on a secured basis and incorporates the term and economic environment of the associated lease.
17
Revenue Recognition :
The Company currently does not generate revenue and
if and when the Company begins to generate revenue the Company will comply with the provisions of ASC 606 “Revenue from Contracts
with Customers”.
Loss per share :
Basic loss per share amounts are calculated using
the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the period. Diluted loss per share assumes the conversion, exercise
or issuance of all potential common stock instruments, such as options or warrants, unless the effect is to reduce the loss per share
or increase the earnings per share. During the three and six months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, the basic and diluted loss per share
was the same, as the impact of potential dilutive common shares was anti-dilutive.
The following table represents the warrants, options
and convertible securities excluded from the calculation of basic loss per share:
Schedule of anti dilutive securities
December 31,
2021
December 31,
2020
Warrants
19,726,777
21,270,102
Options
10,471,600
9,511,600
Convertible debt
10,673,722
11,215,175
Convertible preferred stock
—
19,500
The following is a reconciliation of the denominators
of the basic and diluted loss per share computations for the three and six months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020:
Schedule of earnings per share, basic and diluted
Three months
ended
December 31,
2021
Three months
ended
December 31,
2020
Six months
ended
December 31,
2021
Six months
ended
December 31,
2020
Shares issued – beginning of period
41,475,573
31,575,656
41,315,986
31,409,005
Shares held by subsidiaries (Note 7)
( 704,309 )
( 704,309 )
( 704,309 )
( 704,309 )
Shares outstanding – beginning of period
40,771,264
30,871,347
40,611,677
30,704,696
Weighted average shares issued
during the period
317,728
316,298
292,665
285,943
Diluted weighted average shares –
end of period
41,088,992
31,187,645
40,904,342
30,990,639
Use of estimates :
In preparing the Company’s consolidated financial
statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, management is required to make
estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities
at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results
could differ from those estimates.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements :
The Company continually assesses any new accounting
pronouncements to determine their applicability. When it is determined that a new accounting pronouncement affects the Company’s
financial reporting, the Company undertakes a study to determine the consequences of the change to its financial statements and assures
that there are proper controls in place to ascertain that the Company’s financial statements properly reflect the change.
18
3. PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT :
Property and equipment consist of the following:
Schedule of property and equipment
December 31,
2021
June 30,
2021
Machinery and equipment
$ —
$ 2,222,670
Buildings and structures
—
401,470
Computers and office equipment
11,137
171,485
3G project construction in process
145,439
—
Property and equipment, gross
156,576
2,795,625
Less accumulated depreciation
( 9,681 )
( 2,795,084 )
Property and equipment,
net
$ 146,895
$ 541
Management has reviewed the remaining property and
equipment for impairment as of December 31, 2021 and believes that no impairment exists.
Depreciation expense was $ 332 and $ 207 for the three
months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, and $ 580 and $ 414 for the six months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.
On December 29, 2021 Bion PA1 LLC was dissolved which removed all
items which were listed under ‘Machinery and equipment’ and Buildings and structures’ plus almost all of the items which
were listed under ‘Computers and office equipment’ at June 30, 2021 resulting in the elimination of almost the entire balance
of ‘accumulated depreciation’. See Note 5, “LOANS PAYABLE: Pennvest Loan and Bion PA1 LLC (“PA1”) Dissolution”
below.
4. DEFERRED
COMPENSATION :
The Company owes deferred compensation to various
employees, former employees and consultants totaling $ 477,374 and $ 998,474 as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Included in
the deferred compensation balances as of December 31, 2021, are $ 374,015 and nil owed Dominic Bassani (“Bassani”), the Company’s
Chief Executive Officer, and Mark A. Smith (“Smith”), the Company’s President ,
respectively, pursuant to extension agreements effective January 1, 2015, whereby unpaid compensation earned after January 1, 2015,
accrues interest at 4 % per annum and can be converted into shares of the Company’s common stock at the election of the employee
during the first five calendar days of any month. The conversion price shall be the average closing price of the Company’s common
stock for the last 10 trading days of the immediately preceding month. The deferred compensation owed Bassani and Smith as of December
31, 2020 was $ 307,260 and $ 71,699 , respectively. The Company also owes various consultants and an employee, pursuant to various agreements,
for deferred compensation of $ 30,859 and $ 512,432 as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, with similar conversion terms as those
described above for Bassani and Smith, with the exception that the interest accrues at 3 % per annum. The Company also owes a former employee
$ 72,500 , which is not convertible and is non-interest bearing.
Bassani and Smith have each been granted the right
to convert up to $ 300,000 of deferred compensation balances at a price of $ 0.75 per share until December 31, 2022 (to be issued pursuant
to the 2006 Plan). Smith also has the right to convert all or part of his deferred compensation balance into the Company’s securities
(to be issued pursuant to the 2006 Plan) “at market” and/or on the same terms as the Company is selling or has sold its securities
in its then current (or most recent if there is no current) private placement. Smith also received the right to transfer future deferred
compensation to his 2020 Convertible Obligation at his election.
The Company recorded interest expense of $ 4,268
($ 4,095 with related parties) and $ 6,693 ($ 2,950 with related parties) for the three months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively,
and $ 8,300 ($ 8,044 with related parties) and $ 12,476 ($ 5,159 with related parties) for the six months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020,
respectively.
19
5. LOANS PAYABLE :
Pennvest Loan and Bion PA1 LLC (“PA1”) Dissolution
PA1, the Company’s wholly-owned subsidiary,
was dissolved on December 29, 2021 on which date it owed $ 10,009,802 under the terms of the Pennvest Loan related to the construction
of the Kreider 1 System including accrued interest and late charges totaling $ 2,255,802 as of that date. The terms of the Pennvest Loan
provided for funding of up to $ 7,754,000 which was to be repaid by interest-only payments for three years, followed by an additional ten-year
amortization of principal. The Pennvest Loan accrued interest at 2.547 % per annum for years 1 through 5 and 3.184 % per annum for years
6 through maturity. The Pennvest Loan required minimum annual principal payments of approximately $ 5,886,000 in fiscal years 2013 through
2021, and $ 846,000 in fiscal year 2022, $ 873,000 in fiscal year 2023 and $ 149,000 in fiscal year 2024. The Pennvest Loan is collateralized
by PA1’s Kreider 1 System and by a pledge of all revenues generated from Kreider 1 including, but not limited to, revenues generated
from nutrient reduction credit sales and by-product sales. In addition, in consideration for the excess credit risk associated with the
project, Pennvest was entitled to participate in the profits from Kreider 1 calculated on a net cash flow basis, as defined. The Company
has incurred interest expense related to the Pennvest Loan of $ 61,722 for both the three months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively,
and $ 123,444 for both the six months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Based on the limited development of the depth and
breadth of the Pennsylvania nutrient reduction credit market, PA1 commenced discussions and negotiations with Pennvest related to forbearance
and/or re-structuring the obligations under the Pennvest Loan during 2013. In the context of such negotiations, PA1 elected not to make
interest payments to Pennvest on the Pennvest Loan since January 2013. Additionally, the PA1 has not made any principal payments, which
were to begin in fiscal 2013, and, therefore, the Company classified the Pennvest Loan as a current liability through the dissolution
of PA1 on December 29, 2021.
During August 2012, the Company provided Pennvest
(and the PADEP) with data demonstrating that the Kreider 1 system met the ‘technology guaranty’ standards which were incorporated
in the Pennvest financing documents and, as a result, the Pennvest Loan has been solely an obligation of PA1 since that date.
On September 25, 2014, the Pennsylvania Infrastructure
Investment Authority (“Pennvest”) exercised its right to declare the PA1’s Pennvest Loan in default, accelerated the
Pennvest Loan and demanded that PA1 pay $ 8,137,117 (principal, interest plus late charges) on or before October 24, 2014. PA1 did not
make the payment and did/does not have the resources to make the payments demanded by Pennvest. PA1 commenced discussions and negotiations
with Pennvest concerning this matter but Pennvest rejected PA1’s proposal made during the fall of 2014. PA1 made a final proposal
to Pennvest during September 2021 which proposal was also rejected by Pennvest. PA1 provided Pennvest with its financial statements (which
include a description of system status) annually. During the 2021 fiscal year, Pennvest’s auditors requested a ‘corrective
action plan’ and PA1 informed Pennvest that “… there is no viable corrective action plan for the Pennvest Loan (‘Loan’).
The facility funded by the Loan has been shut down for many years (which has been disclosed in the annual financial reports to Pennvest
and in public filings by the parent of Bion PA 1, LLC) and the technology utilized in the facility is now obsolete. The facility has not
been commercially operated for approximately six years and has generated zero income. We recommend that Pennvest take appropriate steps
to remove and sell the equipment.” Pennvest responded favorably to the approach of selling the equipment.
On December 29, 2021, the Company approved and executed
a ‘Consent of the Sole Member of Bion PA 1’ (the “Consent to Dissolution”) that authorized the complete liquidation
and dissolution of PA1. A Statement of Dissolution was filed by PA1 with the Colorado Secretary of State on December 29, 2021. The Company
is of the understanding that the liquidation value of Bion PA 1’s property is substantially below the current amount outstanding
under the Funding Agreement dated October 27, 2010 by and between PA1 and Pennvest, the only known secured creditor of PA1. Post-dissolution,
PA1’s activities will be limited entirely to activities required to properly distribute its net assets to creditors and wind down
its business. PA 1 is prepared to transfer to Pennvest all of PA1’s right, title and interest in its property (by a bill of sale
or other acceptable agreement) or alternatively, with Pennvest’s approval and direction, arrange for the sale of its property and
deliver all proceeds (net of commissions and customary costs of sale) to Pennvest. PA1 and Pennvest have entered into communication/exchanges
to determine how Pennvest would like PA1 to proceed with this process. The Company’s personnel will assist PA1 with this process
as needed at no cost to PA1.
Upon the complete distribution of all assets of PA1,
whether by transfer or sale and distribution of net proceeds as provided above, PA1 will use commercially reasonable efforts to cause
the cessation of all activities. No distributions of PA1’s assets will be made to the Company or its affiliates. The Consent to
Dissolution authorized Mark A. Smith, the Company’s President and the sole manager of PA1, to cause to be delivered for filing the
Statement of Dissolution, to give notice of the dissolution, and to take any other act necessary to wind up and liquidate the business.
PA 1 has made no payments to vendors or other creditors
in connection with the dissolution. No distributions or payments of any kind have ever been made to the Company, the sole member of PA1
since inception and no payment will be made to the Company or any affiliate in connection with the dissolution.
20
Through the date of the dissolution, PA1 was a wholly-owned
subsidiary of the Company and its assets and liabilities were included on the Company’s consolidated balance sheet. At September
30, 2021, PA1’s total assets were $ 297 and its total liabilities were $ 10,154,334 (including the Pennvest Loan in the aggregate
amount of $ 9,939,148 , accounts payable of $ 214,235 and accrued liabilities of $ 950 ) which sums were included in the Company’s consolidated
balance sheet in its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2021. Subsequent to the dissolution of PA1, its assets and liabilities
will no longer be consolidated and included in the Company’s balance sheet. As of December 29, 2021, PA1’s total assets were
nil and its total liabilities were $ 10,234,501 (including the Pennvest Loan in the aggregate amount of $ 10,009,802 , accounts payable of
$ 212,263 and accrued liabilities of $ 12,436 . The net amount of $ 10,234,501 was recognized as a gain on the legal dissolution of a subsidiary
in other (income) expense.
6. CONVERTIBLE NOTES PAYABLE
- AFFILIATES :
2020 Convertible Obligations
The 2020 Convertible Obligations, which accrue interest
at either 4 % per annum or 4 % compounded quarterly and effective January 1, 2020 are due and payable on July 1, 2024. The 2020 Convertible
Obligations (including accrued interest, plus all future deferred compensation added subsequently), are convertible, at the sole election
of the holder, into Units consisting of one share of the Company’s common stock and one half to one warrant to purchase a share
of the Company’s common stock, at a price of $ 0.50 per Unit until July 1, 2024. The warrant contained in the Unit was originally
exercisable at $ 1.00 per unit but was modified to $ 0.75 during the year ended June 30, 2020 and is exercisable until a date three years
after the date of the conversion. During the year ended June 30, 2021, the Company approved the increase of warrants by one-third to be
received by the noteholder if a conversion takes place. The original conversion price of $0.50 per Unit approximated the fair value of
the Units at the date of the agreements; therefore, no beneficial conversion feature exists. Management evaluated the terms and conditions
of the embedded conversion features based on the guidance of ASC 815-15 “Embedded Derivatives” to determine if there was an
embedded derivative requiring bifurcation. An embedded derivative instrument (such as a conversion option embedded in the deferred compensation)
must be bifurcated from its host instruments and accounted for separately as a derivative instrument only if the “risks and rewards”
of the embedded derivative instrument are not “clearly and closely related” to the risks and rewards of the host instrument
in which it is embedded. Management concluded that the embedded conversion feature of the deferred compensation was not required to be
bifurcated because the conversion feature is clearly and closely related to the host instrument, and because of the Company’s limited
trading volume that indicates the feature is not readily convertible to cash in accordance with ASC 815-10, “Derivatives and Hedging”.
As of December 31, 2021, the 2020 Convertible Obligation
balances, including accrued interest, owed Bassani (and his donees), Smith and Edward Schafer (“Schafer”), the Company’s
Vice Chairman, were $ 2,550,104 , $ 1,302,049 and $ 490,197 , respectively. As of December 31, 2020, the 2020 Convertible Obligation balances,
including accrued interest, owed Bassani, Smith and Schafer were $ 2,455,656 , $ 1,163,862 and $ 472,041 , respectively.
During the six months ended December 31, 2021, Smith
elected to add $ 90,000 of his salary to his 2020 Convertible Obligations.
The Company recorded interest expense of $ 40,864 and
$ 65,468 for the three months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. The Company recorded interest expense of $ 81,424 and $ 96,428
for the six months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.
September 2015 Convertible Notes
During the year ended June 30, 2016, the Company entered
into September 2015 Convertible Notes with Bassani, Schafer and a Shareholder which replaced previously issued promissory notes. The September
2015 Convertible Notes bear interest at 4 % per annum, have maturity dates of July 1, 2024, and may be converted at the sole election of
the noteholders into restricted common shares of the Company at a conversion price of $ 0.60 per share. As the conversion price of $0.60
approximated the fair value of the common shares at the date of the September 2015 Convertible Notes, no beneficial conversion feature
exists.
The balances of the September 2015 Convertible Notes
as of December 31, 2021, including accrued interest owed Bassani, Schafer and Shareholder, are $ 274,521 , $ 20,517 and $ 438,198 , respectively.
The balances of the September 2015 Convertible Notes as of December 31, 2020, including accrued interest, were $ 168,498 , $ 19,862 and $ 423,081 ,
respectively.
During the six months ended December 31, 2021, Bassani
elected to transfer $ 100,000 from deferred compensation to his 2015 convertible note.
The Company recorded interest expense of $ 5,698 and
$ 5,365 for the three months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. The Company recorded interest expense of $ 11,064 and $ 10,731
for both the six months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.
21
7. STOCKHOLDERS'
EQUITY :
Series B Preferred stock:
Since July 1, 2014, the Company had 200 shares of
Series B redeemable convertible Preferred stock outstanding with a par value of $ 0.01 per share, convertible at the option of the holder
at $ 2.00 per share, with dividends accrued and payable at 2.5 % per quarter. The Series B Preferred stock is mandatorily redeemable at
$ 100 per share by the Company three years after issuance and accordingly was classified as a liability. The 200 shares have reached their
maturity date and the Company approved the redemption of the Series B preferred stock during the quarter ended December 31, 2021. 200
shares of Series B redeemable convertible Preferred stock were redeemed for $ 41,000 , which included the $ 21,000 in accrued dividend payable.
During the years ended June 30, 2021, and 2020, the
Company declared dividends of $ 2,000 and $ 2,000 respectively. The dividends are classified as a component of operations as the Series
B Preferred stock is presented as a liability in these financial statement.
Common stock:
Holders of common stock are entitled to one vote per
share on all matters to be voted on by common stockholders. In the event of liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Company, the
holders of common stock are entitled to share in all assets remaining after liabilities have been paid in full or set aside and the rights
of any outstanding preferred stock have been satisfied. Common stock has no preemptive, redemption or conversion rights. The rights of
holders of common stock are subject to, and may be adversely affected by, the rights of the holders of any outstanding series of preferred
stock or any series of preferred stock the Company may designate in the future.
Centerpoint holds 704,309 shares of the Company’s
common stock. These shares of the Company’s common stock held by Centerpoint are for the benefit of its shareholders without any
beneficial interest.
During the six months ended December 31, 2021, Smith
elected to convert accounts payable (based on his unreimbursed expenses) of $ 17,711 into 35,424 units at $ 0.50 per unit, with each unit
consisting of one share of the Company’s restricted common stock and one warrant to purchase one share of the Company’s restricted
common stock for $ 0.75 per share until December 31, 2024.
During the six months ended December 31, 2021,
2,315,550 warrants were exercised to purchase 2,315,550 shares of the Company’s common stock at $ 0.75 per share for total proceeds
of $ 1,736,662 .
During the six months ended December 31, 2021, the Company issued 66,860
shares of the Company’s common stock to three FINRA brokers as commissions for the warrant exercises. As the issuance was both a
reduction and addition to additional paid in capital there was no impact to the financial statements. The Company also paid a FINRA broker
$ 18,601 in commissions for the warrant exercises.
Warrants:
As of December 31, 2021, the Company had approximately
19.7 million warrants outstanding, with exercise prices from $ 0.60 to $ 1.50 and expiring on various dates through June 30, 2025.
The weighted-average exercise price for the outstanding
warrants is $ 0.73 , and the weighted-average remaining contractual life as of December 31, 2021 is 2.7 years.
During the six months ended December 31, 2021, Smith
elected to convert accounts payable of $ 17,711 into 35,424 units at $ 0.50 per unit, with each unit consisting of one share of the Company’s
restricted common stock and one warrant to purchase one share of the Company’s restricted common stock for $ 0.75 per share until
December 31, 2024.
During the six months ended December 31, 2021, the Company approved the
issuance of 75,000 warrants for two consultants for consulting services of $ 7,500 . The warrants are exercisable at $ 1.50 and expire in
November 2026.
During the six months ended December 31, 2020,
the Company approved the modification of existing warrants held by one former consultants and four investors, which extended certain expiration
dates. The modifications resulted in incremental non-cash compensation of $ 5,625 and interest expenses of $ 2,712 .
During the six months ended December 31, 2021,
2,315,550 warrants were exercised to purchase 2,315,550 shares of the Company’s common stock at $0.75 per share for total proceeds
of $ 1,736,662 .
22
During the 2021 calendar year, 6,431,538
warrants scheduled to expire on December 31, 2021, in aggregate, were exercised by their holders at an exercise price of $ .75 per share
of which 2,176,216 warrants were exercised during the quarter ended December 31, 2021. The Company issued, in aggregate, 6,431,538 share
of its restricted and legended common stock in connection with these warrant exercises, of which 2,226,216 shares were issued during
the quarter ended December 31, 2021. The Company received, in aggregate, $ 4,823,651 of gross processed from such warrant exercises, of
which $ 1,632,162 was received in the quarter ended December 31, 2021 (these sums do not reflect expenses and commissions related to these
warrant exercises). In aggregate, 648,142 warrants expired unexercised on December 31. 2021.
During the six months ended December 31, 2021, the Company issued 66,860
shares of the Company’s common stock to three FINRA brokers as commissions for the warrant exercises. As the issuance was both a
reduction and addition to additional paid in capital there was no impact to the financial statements. The Company also paid a FINRA broker
$ 18,601 in commissions for the warrant exercises.
Stock options:
The Company’s 2006 Consolidated Incentive Plan,
as amended during the year ended June 30, 2021 (the “2006 Plan”), provides for the issuance of options (and/or other securities)
to purchase up to 36,000,000 shares of the Company’s common stock. Terms of exercise and expiration of options/securities granted
under the 2006 Plan may be established at the discretion of the Board of Directors, but no option may be exercisable for more than ten
10 years.
The Company recorded compensation expense
related to employee stock options of nil 0 for both the three and six months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. The
Company granted nil 0 options during both the three and six months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.
A summary of option activity under the 2006 Plan for the six
months ended December 31, 2021 is as follows:
Schedule of option activity
Options
Weighted-
Average
Exercise
Price
Weighted-
Average
Remaining
Contractual
Life
Aggregate
Intrinsic
Value
Outstanding at July 1, 2021
10,471,600
$ 0.77
3.7
$ 6,064,335
Granted
—
—
Exercised
—
—
Forfeited
—
—
Expired
—
—
Outstanding at December 31, 2021
10,471,600
$ 0.77
3.2
$ 9,624,679
Exercisable at December 31, 2021
10,471,600
$ 0.77
3.2
$ 9,624,679
The following table presents information relating
to nonvested stock options as of December 31, 2021:
Schedule of non vested stock options
Options
Weighted Average
Grant-Date Fair
Value
Nonvested at July 1, 2021
—
$
—
Granted
—
—
Vested
—
—
Nonvested at December 31, 2021
—
$
—
The total fair value of stock options that vested
during both the three and six months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 was nil. As of December 31, 2021, the Company had no unrecognized
compensation cost related to stock options.
23
Stock-based employee compensation charges in operating expenses
in the Company’s financial statements for the three and six months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 are as follows:
Condensed Financial Statement
Three
months
ended
December 31,
2021
Three
months
ended
December 31,
2020
Six months
ended
December 31,
2021
Six months
ended
December 31,
2020
General and administrative:
Change in fair value from modification of
option terms
$ —
$ 8,775
$ —
$ 8,775
Change in fair value from modification of
warrant terms
5,625
25,506
5,625
25,506
Fair value of stock options expensed
—
—
—
—
Total
$ 5,625
$ 34,281
$ 5,625
$ 34,281
Research and development:
Fair value of stock options expensed
$ —
$ —
$ —
$ —
Total
$ —
$ —
$ —
$ —
8. SUBSCRIPTION
RECEIVABLE - AFFILIATES :
As of December 31, 2021, the Company has three interest
bearing, secured promissory notes with an aggregate principal amount of $ 428,250 ($ 491,975 , including interest) from Bassani which were
received as consideration for purchases of warrants to purchase 5,565,000 shares, in aggregate, of the Company’s restricted common
stock, which warrants have an exercise price of $ 0.75 and have expiry dates ranging from December 31, 2024 to December 31, 2025. The promissory
notes bear interest at 4% per annum, and are secured by portions of Bassani’s 2020 Convertible Obligation and Bassani’s September
2015 Convertible Notes. The secured promissory notes are payable July 1, 2024.
As of December 31, 2021, the Company has an interest
bearing, secured promissory note for $ 30,000 ($ 34,093 including interest) from Smith as consideration to purchase warrants to purchase
300,000 shares of the Company’s restricted common stock, which warrants are exercisable at $ 0.60 and have expiry dates of December
31, 2024. The warrants have a 75% exercise bonus and the promissory note bears interest at 4 % per annum, and is secured by $ 30,000 ($ 34,093 ,
including interest) of Smith’s 2020 Convertible Obligations. The secured promissory note is payable on July 1, 2024.
As of December 31, 2021, the Company has two interest
bearing, secured promissory notes with an aggregate principal amount of $ 46,400 ($ 54,088 including interest) from two former employees
as consideration to purchase warrants to purchase 928,000 shares of the Company’s restricted common stock, which warrants are exercisable
at $ 0.75 and have expiry dates of December 31, 2024. These warrants have a 90 % exercise bonus. The promissory notes bear interest at 4 %
per annum, are secured by a perfected security interest in the warrants, and are payable on July 1, 2024.
9. COMMITMENTS
AND CONTINGENCIES :
Employment and consulting agreements:
Smith has held the positions of Director, President
and General Counsel of Company and its subsidiaries under various agreements (and extensions) and terms since March 2003. On October 10,
2016, the Company approved a month to month contract extension with Smith which includes provisions for i) a monthly salary of $ 18,000
until the Board of Directors re-instates cash payments to all employees and consultants who are deferring compensation, ii) the right
to convert up to $ 300,000 of his deferred compensation, at his sole election, at $ 0.75 per share, until December 31, 2022), and iii) the
right to convert his deferred compensation in whole or in part, at his sole election, at any time in any amount at “market”
or into securities sold in the Company’s current/most recent private offering at the price of such offering to third parties. Smith
agreed effective July 29, 2018 to continue to serve the Company under the same basic terms on a month-to-month basis.
24
Since March 31, 2005, the Company has had various
agreements with Brightcap and/or Bassani, through which the services of Bassani are provided (any reference to Brightcap or Bassani for
all purposes are the same individual). The Board appointed Bassani as the Company's CEO effective May 13, 2011. On February 10, 2015,
the Company executed an Extension Agreement with Bassani pursuant to which Bassani extended the term of his service to the Company to
December 31, 2017, (with the Company having an option to extend the term an additional six months.) Pursuant to the Extension Agreement,
Bassani continued to defer his cash compensation ($ 31,000 per month) until the Board of Directors re-instates cash payments to all employees
and consultants who are deferring their compensation. During October 2016 Bassani was granted the right to convert up to $ 125,000 of his
deferred compensation, at his sole election, at $ 0.75 per share, until March 15, 2018 (which was expanded on April 27, 2017 to the right
to convert up to $ 300,000 of his deferred compensation, at his sole election, at $ 0.75 per share, and subsequently extended until December
31, 2022). During February 2018, the Company agreed to the material terms for a binding two-year extension agreement for Bassani’s
services as CEO. Bassani’s salary remained $ 31,000 per month, which sum would continue to be accrued until the Company there is
adequate cash available at which point re-instatement of a least a partial cash payment would be instituted. Additionally, the Company
has agreed to pay him $ 2,000 per month to be applied to life insurance premiums (which sums have been accrued as liabilities). On August
1, 2018, in the context of extending his agreement to provide services to the Company on a full-time basis through December 31, 2022)
plus 2 years after that on a part-time basis, the Company received an interest bearing secured promissory note for $ 300,000 from Bassani
as consideration to purchase warrants to purchase 3,000,000 shares of the Company’s restricted common stock, which warrants are
exercisable at $0.60 and have expiry dates of June 30, 2025 . The promissory note is secured by a portion of Bassani’s 2020 Convertible
Obligations and as of December 31, 2021, the principal and accrued interest was $ 340,093 . For the six months ended December 31, 2021 and
2020, Brightcap was paid $ 120,000 and $ 55,000 , respectively, of cash compensation earned during the period. For the last 2 years, portions
of Bassani’s compensation (determined by the Company’s President and the Board of Directors from time to time) has been paid
in cash with the balance of his compensation accrued.
Execution/exercise bonuses:
As part of agreements the Company entered into with
Bassani and Smith effective May 15, 2013, they were each granted the following: a) a 50% execution/exercise bonus which shall be applied
upon the effective date of the notice of intent to exercise (for options and warrants) or issuance event, as applicable, of any currently
outstanding and/or subsequently acquired options, warrants and/or contingent stock bonuses owned by each (and/or their donees) as follows:
i) in the case of exercise by payment of cash, the bonus shall take the form of reduction of the exercise price; ii) in the case of cashless
exercise, the bonus shall be applied to reduce the exercise price prior to the cashless exercise calculations; and iii) with regard to
contingent stock bonuses, issuance shall be triggered upon the Company’s common stock reaching a closing price equal to 50% of currently
specified price; and b) the right to extend the exercise period of all or part of the applicable options and warrants for up to five years
(one year at a time) by annual payments of $.05 per option or warrant to the Company on or before a date during the three months prior
to expiration of the exercise period at least three business days before the end of the expiration period. Effective January 1, 2016 such
annual payments to extend warrant exercise periods have been reduced to $.01 per option or warrant.
During the year ended June 30, 2021, the Company added
a 75 % execution/exercise bonus to the terms of 3,000,000 warrants held by a trust owned by Bassani.
As of December 31, 2021, the execution/exercise bonuses
ranging from 50 - 90 % were applicable to 10,326,600 of the Company’s outstanding options and 16,778,213 of the Company’s outstanding
warrants.
Litigation:
A: Website
As previously reported, on Saturday morning, July 17, 2021, our historical
website domain – biontech.com – and email services were compromised and disabled. Research indicated that an unknown party
had ‘hijacked’ the domain in a theft attempt. On September 10, 2021, the Company filed a federal lawsuit ‘in rem’
to recover the <biontech.com> domain and the unknown ‘John Doe’ who hacked and attempted to steal the website. The litigation
was filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria Division under the heading ‘Bion
Environmental Technologies, Inc., Plaintiff, vs John Doe and <biontech.com>, Defendants’ (Case No. 1:21-cv-01034), seeking
recovery of the domain name and other relief as set forth therein.
On November 19, 2021, the United States District Court for the Eastern
District of Virginia, Alexandria Division issued an order stating that “… ORDERED, ADJUDGED and Decreed that plaintiff Bion
Environmental Technologies, Inc. (‘plaintiff) Is the lawful owner of domain name <biontech.com> ….” under the
heading ‘Bion Environmental Technologies, Inc., Plaintiff, vs John Doe and <biontech.com>, Defendants’ (Case No. 1:21-cv-01034).
The Company has moved the domain name <biontech.com> to a new registrar and reactivated it for the Company’s use (paired currently
with its current bionenviro.com website).
25
B: Dissolution of Bion PA1, LLC (“PA1”)
On September 25, 2014, the Pennsylvania Infrastructure
Investment Authority (“Pennvest”) exercised its right to declare the PA1’s Pennvest Loan in default, accelerated the
Pennvest Loan and demanded that PA1 pay $ 8,137,117 (principal, interest plus late charges) on or before October 24, 2014. PA1 did not
make the payment and did/does not have the resources to make the payments demanded by Pennvest. PA1 commenced discussions and negotiations
with Pennvest concerning this matter but Pennvest rejected PA1’s proposal made during the fall of 2014. PA1 made a final proposal
to Pennvest during September 2021 which proposal was also rejected by Pennvest. PA1 provided Pennvest with its financial statements (which
include a description of system status) annually. During the 2021 fiscal year, Pennvest’s auditors requested a ‘corrective
action plan’ and PA1 informed Pennvest that “… there is no viable corrective action plan for the Pennvest Loan (‘Loan’).
The facility funded by the Loan has been shut down for many years (which has been disclosed in the annual financial reports to Pennvest
and in public filings by the parent of Bion PA 1, LLC) and the technology utilized in the facility is now obsolete. The facility has not
been commercially operated for approximately six years and has generated zero income. We recommend that Pennvest take appropriate steps
to remove and sell the equipment.” Pennvest responded favorably to the approach of selling the equipment.
On December 29, 2021, the Company approved and executed
a Consent of the Sole Member of Bion PA 1 (the “Consent to Dissolution”) that authorized the complete liquidation and dissolution
of PA1. A Statement of Dissolution was filed by PA1 with the Colorado Secretary of State on December 29, 2021. The Company is of the understanding
that the liquidation value of Bion PA 1’s property is substantially below the current amount outstanding under the Funding Agreement
dated October 27, 2010 by and between PA1 and Pennvest, the only known secured creditor of PA1. Post-dissolution, PA1’s activities
will be limited entirely to activities required to properly distribute its net assets to creditors and wind down its business. PA 1 is
prepared to transfer to Pennvest all of PA1’s right, title and interest in its property (by a bill of sale or other acceptable agreement)
or alternatively, with Pennvest’s approval and direction, arrange for the sale of its property and deliver all proceeds (net of
commissions and customary costs of sale) to Pennvest. PA1 and Pennvest have entered into communication/exchanges to determine how Pennvest
would like PA1 to proceed with this process. The Company’s personnel will assist PA1 with this process as needed at no cost to PA1.
Upon the complete distribution of all assets of PA1,
whether by transfer or sale as provided above, PA1 will use commercially reasonable efforts to cause the cessation of all activities.
No distributions of PA1’s assets will be made to the Company or its affiliates. The Consent to Dissolution authorized Mark A. Smith,
the Company’s President and the sole manager of PA1, to cause to be delivered for filing the Statement of Dissolution, to give notice
of the dissolution, and to take any other act necessary to wind up and liquidate the business.
PA 1 has made no payments to vendors or other creditors
in connection with the dissolution. No distributions or payments of any kind have ever been made to the Company, the sole member of PA1
since inception and no payment will be made to the Company or any affiliate in connection with the dissolution.
Through the date of the dissolution, PA1 was a wholly-owned
subsidiary of the Company and its assets and liabilities were included on the Company’s consolidated balance sheet. At September
30, 2021, PA1’s total assets were $ 297 and its total liabilities were $ 10,154,334 (including the Pennvest Loan in the aggregate
amount of $ 9,939,148 , accounts payable of $ 214,235 and accrued liabilities of $ 950 ) which sums were included in the Company’s consolidated
balance sheet in its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2021. Subsequent to the dissolution of PA1, its assets and liabilities
will no longer be consolidated and included in the Company’s balance sheet. As of December 29, 2021, PA1’s total assets
where nil and its total liabilities were $ 10,234,501 (including the Pennvest Loan in the aggregate amount of $ 10,009,802 , accounts payable
of $ 212,263 and accrued liabilities of $ 12,436 . The net amount of $ 10,234,501 was recognized as a gain on the legal dissolution of a subsidiary
in other (income) expense.
The Company currently is not involved in any
other material litigation or similar events.
Lease:
The Company entered into an agreement on September
23, 2021, to lease approximately four acres of land near Fair Oaks, Indiana, for the development site of its Initial Project.
The following table summarized the supplemental cash
flow information for the six months ended December 31, 2021:
Schedule Of Cash Flow Supplemental Disclosure
December 31, 2021
Cash paid for noncancelable operating lease included in the operating cash flows
$
60,000
Right of use assets obtained in exchange for operating lease liabilities
$
180,586
26
The future minimum lease payment under noncancelable
operating lease with terms greater than one year as of December 31, 2022:
Schedule Of Future Minimum Lease Payment
From January 2022 to December 2022
$
—
From January 2023 to December 2023
75,000
From January 2024 to December 2024
75,000
Undiscounted cash flow
150,000
Less imputed interest
(27,395
)
Total
$
122,605
The weighted average remaining lease term and discounted
rate related to the Company’s lease liability as of December 31, 2022 were 3 years and 10%, respectively . The Company’s lease
discount rate is generally based on the estimates of its incremental borrowing rate as the discount rates implicit in the Company’s
lease cannot be readily determined.
10. SUBSEQUENT
EVENTS :
The Company has evaluated events that occurred subsequent
to December 31, 2021 for recognition and disclosure in the financial statements and notes to the financial statements.
On January 26, 2022 OMRI’s Appeals Review Committee
affirmed the prior “unresolved’ determination by OMRI’s Review Panel. The OMRI process has now moved to OMRI’s
Advisory Council. See Note 1 subsection “Organic Fertilizer Listing/Certification Process” above for related disclosure.
On January 28, 2022 Bion Environmental Technologies,
Inc. (‘Bion’), on behalf of Bion 3G1 LLC (‘3G1’), a wholly-owned subsidiary, entered into a Purchase Order Agreement
with Buflovak and Hebeler Process Solutions (collectively ‘Buflovak’) in the amount of $ 2,665,500 (and made the initial 25 %
payment ($ 665,375 )) for the core of the ‘Bion System’ portion (without the crystallization modules which will be ordered and
fabricated pursuant to subsequent agreements) of the previously announced 3G Tech Initial Project. This Purchase Order encompasses the
core of Bion’s 3G Technology. Buflovak has worked with the Company on design and testing of its 3G Tech over several years. The
basic design for the Initial Project’s Bion System is complete and procurement/fabrication has now been initiated. 3G1 is working
in concert with Integrated Engineering Services, the primary site engineering firm for the facility, on the integration of all project
components/modules at the Initial Project site. Additional agreements have been entered into various professional services providers (engineers,
surveyors, etc.) for work related to the Initial Project.
The Initial Project is designed to be installed primarily
in two targeted primary phases which approach has been adopted to enable more rapid deployment of our 3G technology given pandemic-induced
supply chain constraints. The first phase includes procurement and deployment of Bion’s core 3G technology. The modules in this
phase include evaporation, distillation, absorption and crystallization modules, along with supporting mechanical/electrical equipment,
controls, instrumentation, and facilities, many of which include components with ‘long lead times’ for manufacture and delivery.
These items have now been ordered and procurement/manufacturing, as applicable, is underway. This phase also includes installing
a process building to house the system components, full utility installation (electrical, water, internet, natural gas, etc.), tankage
to hold process and waste product liquids, facility access, and other items. The second phase, which will require additional permitting,
planning and logistics, will consist primarily of design and construction of a 300 head beef cattle feed barn and an anaerobic digester,
which items have shorter construction and fabrication/installation lead times than many of the components of the first phase. The
barn will include an innovative slatted floor livestock and an automated manure collection system. Support structures will include
manure collection basins, pumping stations, and automated controls integrated with the 3G system control system. The design and installation
for both phases will include adaptive spaces that allow the integration of Initial Project expansions and the refinement of equipment
operations that enhance system productivity and reduce energy demand.
27
ITEM 2. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF
FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS.
Statements made in this Form 10-Q that are not
historical or current facts, which represent the Company's expectations or beliefs including, but not limited to, statements concerning
the Company's operations, performance, financial condition, business strategies, and other information, involve substantial risks and
uncertainties. The Company's actual results of operations, most of which are beyond the Company's control, could differ materially. These
statements often can be identified by the use of terms such as "may," "will," "expect," "believe,"
anticipate," "estimate," or "continue" or the negative thereof. We wish to caution readers not to place undue
reliance on any such forward looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Any forward-looking statements represent management's
best judgment as to what may occur in the future. However, forward looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and important
factors beyond our control that could cause actual results and events to differ materially from historical results of operations and events
and those presently anticipated or projected.
These factors include adverse economic conditions,
entry of new and stronger competitors, inadequate capital, unexpected costs, failure (or delay) to gain product certifications and/or
regulatory approvals in the United States (or particular states) or foreign countries, loss (permanently or for any extended period of
time) of the services of members of the Company’s small core management team (all of whom are age 70 or older) and failure to capitalize
upon access to new markets. Additional risks and uncertainties that may affect forward looking statements about Bion's business and prospects
include: i) the possibility that markets for nutrient reduction credits (discussed below) and/or other ways to monetize nutrient reductions
and other environmental benefits will be slow to develop (or not develop at all), ii) PA1’s dissolution and its effect on how the
Company is viewed, (if any), iii) the possibility that competitors will develop more comprehensive and/or less expensive environmental
solution, iv) delays in market awareness of Bion and our Systems, v) uncertainties and costs increases related to research and development
efforts to update and improve Bion’s technologies and applications thereof, and/or vi) delays and/or costs exceeding expectations
relating to Bion's development of the Initial Project, JVs and/or Projects and vii) failure of marketing strategies, each of which could
have both immediate and long term material adverse effects by placing us behind our competitors and requiring expenditures of our limited
resources.
THESE RISKS, UNCERTAINTIES AND FACTORS BEYOND OUR
CONTROL ARE MAGNIFIED DURING THE CURRENT UNCERTAIN PERIOD RELATED TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND THE UNIQUE ECONOMIC, FINANCIAL, GOVERNMENTAL
AND HEALTH-RELATED CONDITIONS IN WHICH THE COMPANY, THE ENTIRE COUNTRY AND THE ENTIRE WORLD NOW RESIDE. TO DATE THE COMPANY HAS
EXPERIENCED DIRECT IMPACTS IN VARIOUS AREAS INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION: I) GOVERNMENT-ORDERED SHUTDOWNS WHICH HAVE SLOWED
THE COMPANY’S RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS AND OTHER INITIATIVES, II) SHIFTED FOCUS OF STATE AND FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WHICH IS
LIKELY TO NEGATIVELY IMPACT THE COMPANY’S LEGISLATIVE INITIATIVES IN PENNSYLVANIA AND WASHINGTON DC, III) STRAINS AND UNCERTAINTIES
IN BOTH THE EQUITY AND DEBT MARKETS HAVE MADE DISCUSSION AND PLANNING OF FUNDING OF THE COMPANY AND ITS INITIATIVES AND PROJECTS WITH
INVESTMENT BANKERS, BANKS AND POTENTIAL STRATEGIC PARTNERS MORE TENUOUS, IV) STRAINS AND UNCERTAINTIES IN THE AGRICULTURAL SECTOR AND
MARKETS HAVE MADE DISCUSSION AND PLANNING OF FUNDING OF THE COMPANY AND ITS INITIATIVES AND PROJECTS MORE DIFFICULT AS FUTURE INDUSTRY
CONDITIONS ARE NOW MORE DIFFICULT TO ASSESS/PREDICT, V) CONSTRAINTS DUE TO PROBLEMS EXPERIENCED IN THE GLOBAL INDUSTRIAL SUPPLY CHAIN
WHICH HAVE INCREASED ANTICIPATED PROJECT DEVELOPMENT COSTS, VI) DUE TO THE AGE AND HEALTH OF OUR CORE MANAGEMENT TEAM, ALL OF WHOM ARE
AGE 70 OR OLDER AND HAVE HAD ONE OR MORE EXISTING HEALTH ISSUES, THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC PLACES THE COMPANY AT GREATER RISK THAN WAS PREVIOUSLY
THE CASE (TO A HIGHER DEGREE THAN WOULD BE THE CASE IF THE COMPANY HAD A LARGER, DEEPER AND/OR YOUNGER CORE MANAGEMENT TEAM), AND VII)
THERE ALMOST CERTAINLY WILL BE OTHER UNANTICIPATED CONSEQUENCES FOR THE COMPANY AS A RESULT OF THE CURRENT PANDEMIC EMERGENCY AND ITS
AFTERMATH.
Bion disclaims any obligation subsequently to revise
any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated
or unanticipated events.
The following discussion and analysis should be
read in conjunction with the Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements filed with this Report.
28
BUSINESS OVERVIEW
Our patented and proprietary technology provides economically
sustainable comprehensive environmental solutions to one of the greatest water air and water quality problems in the U.S. today: pollution
from large-scale livestock production facilities (also known as “Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations” or “CAFOs”).
Application of our technology and technology platform can simultaneously mitigate environmental problems and improve operational/resource
efficiencies by recovering high-value co-products from the CAFOs’ waste stream that have traditionally been wasted or underutilized,
including renewable energy, nutrients (including ammonia nitrogen and phosphorus) and water.
From 2016 to 2021 fiscal years, the Company has focused
a large portion of its activities on developing, testing and demonstrating the 3rd generation of its technology and technology platform
(“3G Tech”) with emphasis on increasing the efficiency of production of valuable co-products from the waste treatment process,
including ammonia nitrogen in the form of organic ammonium bicarbonate products. The Company’s initial ammonium bicarbonate liquid
product completed its Organic Materials Review Institute (“OMRI”) application and review process with approval during May
2020. An application for our first solid ammonium bicarbonate product – AD Nitrogen – has been filed and is in the review
process (which is likely to require an extended period of time and multiple procedural steps due to the novel nature of Bion’s 3G
Tech in the context of organic certifications). See discussion of “Organic Fertilizer Products” below.
Bion is now focused primarily on: i) development/construction
of its initial commercial-scale 3G Tech installation (see below and Financial Statement Note 10 “Subsequent Events”), ii)
developing applications and markets for its organic fertilizer products and its sustainable (conventional and organic) animal protein
products, and iii) initiation and development of joint ventures (“JVs”) (and related projects) based on the augmented capabilities
of our 3G Tech, while (iv) continuing to pursue development opportunities related to large retrofit projects (such as the Kreider poultry
project JV) and ongoing R&D activities. These matters are discussed in more detail in Item 1 of our Form 10-K for the year ended June
30, 2021 and in the Notes to the Financial Statements included herein.
The $175 billion U.S. livestock industry is under
intense scrutiny for its environmental and public health impacts – its ‘environmental sustainability’-- at the same
time it is struggling with declining revenues and margins (derived in part from clinging to its historic practices and resulting limitations
and impacts) which threaten its ‘economic sustainability’. Its failure to adequately respond to consumer concerns ranging
including food safety, environmental impacts, and humane treatment of animals have provided impetus for plant-based alternatives such
as Beyond Meat and Impossible Burger (and many others) being marketed as “sustainable” alternatives for this growing consumer
segment of the market.
The Company believes that its 3G Tech, in addition
to providing superior environmental remediation, creates opportunities for large scale production of i) verifiably sustainable-branded
livestock products and ii) verifiably sustainable organic-branded livestock products, both of which will command premium pricing (in part
due to ongoing monitoring and third-party verification of environmental performance which will provide meaningful assurances to both consumers
and regulatory agencies). Each of these two distinct market segments (which the Company intends to pursue in parallel) presents a large
production/marketing opportunity for Bion. Our 3G Tech will also produce (as co-products) biogas and valuable organic fertilizer products,
which can be utilized in the production of organic grains for use as feed for raising organic livestock (some of which may be utilized
in the Company’s JV projects) and/or marketed to the growing organic fertilizer market.
During the 2021 fiscal year, Bion completed a series
of core optimization trials of its 3G Tech platform that were required to move forward with its initial commercial scale 3G Tech project
(“Initial Project”). During late September 2021, Bion entered into a lease for the Initial Project will be located on approximately
four (4) acres of leased land near Fair Oaks, Indiana and executed an additional related agreement regarding disposal of certain manure
effluent have been agreed upon with the Curtis Creek Dairy unit of Fair Oaks Farms (“FOF”). Design and pre-development work
commenced during August 2021 and preliminary surveying, site engineering and other work is now underway along with site-specific engineering
and design work. The Initial Project will be an environmentally sustainable beef cattle feeding facility, equipped with state-of-the-art
housing and Bion’s 3G-Tech platform to provide waste treatment and resource recovery. Bion has designed the project to house and
feed approximately 300 head of beef cattle. The facility will include Bion’s 3G Tech platform including: i) covered barns (possibly
including solar photovoltaic generation, ii) anaerobic digestion for renewable energy recovery; iii) livestock waste treatment and resource
recovery technology; iv) Bion’s ammonium bicarbonate recovery and crystallization technology and iv) data collection software to
document system efficiencies and environmental benefits (with the Bion 3G Tech facilities capable of treating the waste from approximately
1,500 head). The facility will be large enough to demonstrate engineering capabilities of Bion’s 3G Tech at commercial scale, but
small enough that it can be permitted, constructed and commissioned relatively quickly, with operations targeted to commence sometime
during late2022. See Note 10 “Subsequent Events” for activities since the start of the 2022 calendar year.
29
The Initial Project is not being developed at economic
commercial scale or with an expectation of profitability due to its limited scale. However, successful installation, commissioning, and
operations will demonstrate scalability, determine operating parameters at scale, and provide ongoing production and engineering capabilities,
all being critical steps that must be accomplished before developing large projects with JV partners. Specifically, the Initial Project
is being developed to provide and/or accomplish the following:
i.
Proof of 3G Tech platform scalability
-
Document system efficiency and environmental benefits and enable final engineering modifications to optimize each unit process within the Bion 3G technology platform.
-
Environmental benefits will include (without limitation) renewable energy production (natural gas recovery from AD and solar electric from integrated roof top photovoltaic generation); nutrient recovery and conversion to stable organic fertilizer; pathogen destruction; water recovery and reuse; air emission reductions.
ii.
Use Bion’s data collection system to support 3rd party verified system efficiency requirement to qualify for USDA Process-Verified-Program (PVP): certification of sustainable branded beef (and potentially pork) product metrics.
iii.
Produce sufficient ammonium bicarbonate nitrogen fertilizer (“AD Nitrogen”) for commercial testing by potential joint venture partners and/or purchasers and for university growth trials.
iv.
Produce sustainable beef products for initial test marketing efforts.
Upon achieving optimized and steady-state operations
at the Initial Project, coupled with obtaining organic certification(s) (OMRI listing and/or other organic certifications/listings) for
its AD Nitrogen product, Bion expects to be ready to move forward with its plans for development of much larger facilities. The Company
anticipates that discussions and negotiations regarding potential JVs with strategic partners in the financial and livestock industries
to develop large scale projects will commence during the construction of the Initial Project with the goal of establishing JV’s
for large scale projects that will produce both sustainable and sustainable-organic corn-fed beef during 2023.
Additionally, the Company believes there will also
be opportunities to proceed with selected ‘retrofit projects’ of existing facilities (see ‘ 3G TECH KREIDER 2 POULTRY
PROJECT ’ below as an example).
We believe that Bion’s 3G Tech platform, coupled
with common-sense policy changes to U.S. clean water strategy that are already underway, will combine to provide a pathway to true economic
and environmental sustainability with ‘win-win’ benefits for at least a premium sector of the livestock industry, the environment,
and the consumer.
Bion’s business model and technology can open
up the opportunity for JVs (in various contractual forms) between the Company and large livestock/food/fertilizer industry participants,
based upon the supplemental cash flow generated by implementation our 3G Tech business model (described and discussed below) which will
support the costs of technology implementation (including related debt). We anticipate this will result in long term value for Bion. Long
term, Bion anticipates that the sustainable branding opportunity may expand to represent the single largest contributor to the economic
opportunity provided by Bion.
During 2018 the Company had its first patent issued
on its 3G Tech and has continued its work to expand its patent coverage for our 3G Tech. During October 2020, the Company the Company’s
third 3G patent, which patent significantly expands the breadth and depth of the Company’s 3G Tech coverage. The Company has filed
and anticipates filing additional patent applications (and/or continuations of existing patents) related to its technology developments
during the next 12 months. The 3G Tech platform has been designed to maximize the value of co-products produced during the waste treatment/recovery
processes, including pipeline-quality renewable natural gas and organic commercial fertilizer products. All processes will be verifiable
by third-parties (including regulatory authorities, certifying boards and consumers) to comply with environmental regulations and trading
programs and meet the requirements for: a) renewable energy credits, b) organic certification of the fertilizer coproducts and c) the
USDA PVP ‘Environmentally Sustainable’ branding program Bion anticipates moving forward with the development process of its
initial large scale commercial installations of its 3G technology during the 2023 calendar year.
In parallel, Bion has worked (which work continues)
to advance public policy initiatives that will potentially create markets (in Pennsylvania and other states) that will utilize taxpayer
funding for the purchase of verified pollution reductions from agriculture (“credits”) by the state (or others) through competitively-bid
procurement programs. Such credits can then be used as a ‘qualified offset’ by an individual state (or municipality) to meet
its federal clean water mandates at significantly lower cost to the taxpayer. Competitive procurement of verified credits is now supported
by US EPA, the Chesapeake Bay Commission, national livestock interests, and other key stakeholders. Legislation in Pennsylvania to establish
the first such state competitive procurement program passed the Pennsylvania Senate by a bi-partisan majority during March 2019. However,
the Covid-19 pandemic and related financial/budgetary crises have subsequently slowed progress for this and other policy initiatives and,
as a result, it is not currently possible to project the timeline for this and other similar initiatives (see discussion at Item 1 above
and below herein).
30
The livestock industry is under tremendous pressure
(from regulatory agencies, a wide range of advocacy groups, institutional investors and the industry’s own consumers) to adopt sustainable
practices. Environmental cleanup is inevitable - policies are already changing. Bion’s 3G technology was developed for implementation
on large scale livestock production facilities, where scale drives lower treatment costs and efficient production of co-products. We believe
that scale, coupled with Bion’s verifiable treatment technology platform, will create a transformational opportunity to integrate
clean production practices at (or close to) the point of production—the source from which most of the industry’s environmental
impacts are initiated. Bion intends to assist the forward-looking segment of the livestock industry in actually bringing animal protein
production in line with Twenty-first Century consumer demands for sustainability.
Bion’s 3G Tech and technology platform are designed
to capture four revenue streams under one umbrella and provide the basis for joint ventures between the Company and larger livestock producers
seeking to produce environmental/sustainable product lines. The revenue streams are: a) renewable energy and associated greenhouse gas
credits (including US Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and/or Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) credits)(the value and availability of which
will vary based on livestock type, geographical locations, and state regulatory programs), b) verified nutrient reductions (primarily
nitrogen and phosphorus) that can be used as qualified offsets to the federal Chesapeake Bay mandate and US EPA TMDL (‘total maximum
daily limit’) requirements (the value of which will vary based on livestock type, geographical locations, and state regulatory programs),
c) co-products consisting of high value fertilizer for use in organic food production for human consumption and/or to grow feed for use
by livestock in Projects, and d) an environmentally sustainable USDA certification that will be incorporated into a “brand”
that can address the consumer concerns regarding food safety and sustainability (based on incorporation of all of the third party verified
data for greenhouse gas reductions, nutrient reductions and fertilizer products into a digital register). The Company believes that the
“branding” opportunity will offer large scale livestock producer / processor / distributors of livestock products the opportunity
to differentiate and identify their products in the marketplace and, thereby creating the opportunity to achieve “premium pricing”
by addressing consumer concerns related to safety and sustainability in a manner similar to the premiums achieved by organic producers.
Operational results from the initial commercial
system (Kreider 1 utilizing our 2G Tech) confirmed the ability of Bion’s technologies to meet nutrient reduction goals at commercial
scale for an extended period of operation. Bion’s 3G Tech platform (and the new variations under development) center on its patented
and proprietary processes that separate and aggregate the various assets in the CAFO waste stream so they become benign, stable and/or
transportable. Bion systems can: a) remove up to 95% of the nutrients (primarily nitrogen and phosphorus) in the effluent, b) reduce greenhouse
gases by 90% (or more) including elimination of virtually all ammonia emissions, c) while materially reducing pathogens, antibiotics and
hormones in the livestock waste stream. Our core technology and its primary CAFO applications were proven in the Kreider 1 commercial
operations. It has been accepted by the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and other regulatory agencies and it is protected
by Bion’s portfolio of U.S. and international patents (both issued and applied for).
BION’S 3G TECH PLATFORM PROVIDES THE BASIS
FOR A JV BUSINESS MODEL WITH FOUR DISTINCT REVENUE STREAMS : 1) pipeline quality renewable natural gas and related carbon and other
environmental credits, 2) premium organic fertilizer products, 3) nutrient credits, and 4) premium pricing from USDA PVP-certified ‘Environmentally
Sustainable’ branding at the retail level. Carbon and nutrient credit revenues will be supported by third-party verification of
the waste treatment processes that simultaneously capture methane and nutrients, while producing renewable energy and fertilizer products
from them with relatively limited incremental cost to Bion. The same verified data will also provide the backbone for the USDA PVP-certified
sustainable brand, again with limited incremental cost.
1) Renewable energy- and carbon-related credits:
Bion’s 3G Tech platform utilizes
customized anaerobic digestion (“AD”) to recover biogas (methane) from the waste stream. At sufficient scale, methane produced
from AD can be cost-effectively conditioned, compressed and injected into a pipeline. The US Renewable Fuel Standard (“RFS”)
program and state programs in California and elsewhere provide ongoing renewable energy credits for the production of biogas and its subsequent
use as a renewable transportation fuel. Additional renewable energy-related credit programs are being developed that Bion believes will
impact these revenues, including a Carbon Intensity (CI) score that measures the amount of carbon produced per unit of energy produced.
2) Organic Fertilizer products:
The Company’s initial ammonium bicarbonate
liquid product of our 3G Tech completed its Organic Materials Review Institute (“OMRI”) application and review process with
approval during May 2020 when it was deemed non-synthetic (as discussed below). The 3G Tech platform has been designed to produce multiple
fertilizer products, including: i) ammonium bicarbonate liquid, ii) ammonium bicarbonate in solid crystal form – AD Nitrogen –
and iii) soil amendment products that will contain the remaining nitrogen, phosphorus and other micronutrients captured from the livestock
waste stream. Bion believes each product will qualify for organic certification/listing.
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Bion has developed solid ammonium bicarbonate
products containing 14-28 percent nitrogen in a crystalline form that is easily transported, is water soluble and provides a readily available
nitrogen source for crops. The products will contain virtually none of the other salt, iron and mineral constituents of the livestock
waste stream that often accompany other organic fertilizers. Ammonium bicarbonate (manufactured using chemical processes) has a long history
of use as a fertilizer. This product (produced without the use of synthetic processes and/or additives), is being developed to fertilizer
industry standards so that it that can be precision-applied to crops using existing equipment. Bion believes that this product will potentially
have broad applications in the production of organic grains for livestock feed, row crops, horticulture, greenhouse and hydroponic production,
and potentially retail lawn and garden products.
An application for our first solid ammonium
bicarbonate product – AD Nitrogen – was filed during May 2021 and is currently actively proceeding through OMRI’s multi-stage
review process ---which process has taken an extended period of time and multiple procedural steps due to the novel nature of Bion’s
3G Tech in the context of organic listings/certifications. OMRI’s Review Panel ‘…. voted to temporarily assign it to
“Unresolved” status. This means that OMRI does not currently have the clarity necessary to decide whether the product meets
OMRI standards which are based on the USDA National Organic Program regulations (NOP).’ Subsequently the application has gone through
‘Rebuttal’ (OMRI Review Panel) and ‘Appeal’ (Appeals Review Committee) stages which affirmed the “Unresolved”
status. The Company has been informed that ‘…the product will remain Unresolved until July 22, 2022 or until resolution is
reached by OMRI though consultation with the OMRI Advisory Council.’ The application is now beginning review by OMRI’s Advisory
Council. The Company’s product is novel in part due to the fact that OMRI does not have a listing category for a solid form of concentrated
and soluble nitrogen fertilizers and there is no clear guidance at present from OMRI internal policy on how to categorize this product
and the process that produced it. There is also no clear guidance at present from either the NOP or the National Organic Standards Board
(“NOSB”) (which is currently involved in a related review and recommendations process regarding ‘high nitrogen liquid
fertilizers’ derived from ammonia from manure). The Company and its representatives are involved in discussions regarding resolution
of these matters at all three levels. The Company anticipates positive resolution of this manner well prior to operational dates for the
Company’s initial large scale JV 3G projects.
In addition to the OMRI applications discussed
above, the Company has engaged in discussions with (and research related to) other state/regional listing/certifying groups and anticipates
filing additional applications in subsequent periods with one or more such entities related to its fertilizer products.
The AD Nitrogen and other ammonium bicarbonate
products produced by Bion’s 3G Tech platform will enjoy a dramatically lower carbon footprint than synthetic fertilizers. The reactive
nitrogen captured and upcycled into AD Nitrogen was going to be lost through volatilization and runoff, and that loss would generally
need to be offset with a synthetic nitrogen, such as anhydrous ammonia or urea. These synthetic nitrogen products are produced through
the Haber-Bosch (and other) synthetic processes, which converts hydrogen and atmospheric nitrogen to ammonia, with methane as the energy
source. It is an extremely energy-intensive process with a carbon footprint that, while not yet fully understood, is widely accepted to
by very large. While a complete Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) of carbon impacts from synthetic fertilizer production is not available, according
to the Institute for Industrial Productivity, its production alone is responsible for approximately 1 percent of total global CO2 emissions.
To the extent that Bion can capture and repurpose the nitrogen traditionally lost from livestock waste, that carbon cost will no longer
need to be paid
To provide a first level degree of clarity
regarding organic approvals and the processes/procedures involved, Bion believes that the initial OMRI approval is of importance, because
subsequent organic products that are produced by using the very same technology platform (our 3G Tech) can now piggyback on the initial
approval to a significant degree. Note that there are different layers to the U.S. organic program (see discussion above) and that fertilizers
do not get ‘certified’ as organic, per se. Rather, they are evaluated to determine if they are acceptable for ‘use in
organic production’.
The National Organic Program (“NOP”)
was established by Congress in 2001 under the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service. The NOP develops and enforces uniform national
standards for organically-produced agricultural end products – meat/dairy/milk, fruits, vegetables – sold in the United
States. Operating as a public-private partnership, NOP accredits private companies and helps train their inspectors (USDA-accredited Certifiers)
to certify that farms and businesses meet the national organic standards. For example, in a potential Midwest organic beef project (discussed
below), each element in the supply chain must provide their certifying agent’s certification that the specific product, such as
organic corn, has been produced in accordance with their organic plan. The end product - the beef - would be USDA-certified as organic
by an accredited Certifier after a review of ALL the farming practices and inputs (which would include Bion’s ammonium bicarbonate
fertilizer).
OMRI is a nonprofit organization that
provides an independent review of products, such as fertilizers, pest controls, livestock health care products, and numerous other inputs
that are intended for use in certified organic production and processing. OMRI reviews these products against the organic standards established
by the NOP to determine if they are suitable for use in organic production. Acceptable products are then OMRI Listed®.
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OMRI enables a national listing through
one application in contrast to state/regional programs (including programs based in California, Oregon, Washington, Iowa, Pennsylvania
(some of which have agreements with other states in their regions) and others) and the alternative of using certifiers to secure listings
in individual states. To those who wish to sell organic fertilizers into national distribution channels, an OMRI listing provides nearly
uniform acceptance in the U.S. The OMRI listing Bion received in May was for our initial commercial product, a low-concentration liquid
ammonia. It is valid ONLY for that particular product. For future Bion product offerings using the same technology platform, Bion will
either need to file for specific state approval, or file with OMRI for a national listing, or a combination of the two. Bion may elect
to use an individual state listing initially to be followed by an OMRI application if and when the need for a regional or national listing
arises.
The overarching standard of organic
production, per NOP guidelines, is that a “product shall have been produced and handled without the use of synthetic chemicals…”
That is rule Number One. At NOP, the term "synthetic" means “a substance that is formulated or manufactured by a chemical
process or by a process that chemically changes a substance extracted from naturally occurring plant, animal, or mineral sources, except
that such term shall not apply to substances created by naturally occurring biological processes.” In evaluating and approving Bion’s
liquid ammonia for OMRI listing, Bion’s patented ammonia recovery system was deemed not synthetic. That is an important distinction
for future Bion product filings based upon the same patented process.
The Company believes that organic approvals
for its products will: a) provide access to substantially higher value markets compared to synthetic nitrogen products, and/or b) allow
its products to be utilized in growing of organic feed grains to be consumed by livestock raised in JVs which will be sold as organic.
Based on preliminary market surveys to date, we believe that existing competing organic fertilizer products in both liquid and granular
form are being sold presently at price points significantly greater than Bion’s projected cost and projected pricing. We also believe
that livestock products from animals raised with feed grains grown using Bion organic ammonium bicarbonate fertilizer products (and that
otherwise qualify) will receive organic approvals. It is anticipated that the Company will continue to seek approvals for such products
during the balance of the current fiscal year and will commence initial production and test marketing of such products during the 2023
fiscal year if such approvals have been received.
3) Nutrient credits:
Bion believes that nutrient reduction (and
other similar) credits and/or other methods of monetizing environmental benefits from the capture and re-purposing of the nutrients (largely
nitrogen and phosphorus) from the livestock waste stream, will become available in multiple states over the next several years. The passage
in the Pennsylvania (“PA”) Senate of key legislation – SB 575 – in June 2019 that would have established a competitively-bid
market for nutrient credits in PA, is indicative of the trends. Despite the fact that the bill was not considered in the House, due to
the Covid-19 pandemic (a re-introduced bill will have to be considered again in the current and/or future sessions (currently SB 475 and
SB 832 have been introduced and are pending), Bion anticipates that after passage of a similar bill in the future, PA will establish a
competitively-bid market for nutrient credits within twelve months after legislative passage and being signed into law by the Governor.
See below for discussion of the history and status of matters in PA.
Note, however, that the current Covid-19
pandemic and resultant social and economic crises and budgetary constraints have delayed policy initiatives related to these matters at
both the state and federal levels. As a result, it is not currently possible to reasonably project a timetable for adoption of the policy
changes discussed herein.
4) Sustainable Branding:
Consumers have demonstrated a willingness
to pay a premium for their safe and sustainable food choices. Based on Bion’s recognition of the potential opportunities created
by such willingness, beginning in 2015, Bion has worked with the USDA’s
Process Verified Program (“PVP”) – the gold standard in food verification and branding – to establish a USDA PVP-certified
sustainable brand. Bion received conditional approval from the PVP related to its Kreider 1 project (utilizing 2G Tech). It is
our intention to submit an application for the 3G Tech platform when the initial 3G Tech Project is operational later this fiscal year
and seek an approval for certification based on third-party-verified reductions in nutrient impacts, greenhouse gases and pathogens in
the waste stream (and other attributes), based on our 3G Tech. PVP certification incorporated as part of a recognizable brand will provide
consumers with products and brands that can be trusted. Bion believes that such a brand and livestock product line will command a pricing
premium for Bion’s livestock JVs and their customers.
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Food safety and sustainability are issues
of growing importance in the U.S. and worldwide. Bion’s branding initiative reflects trends already underway in the livestock industry.
Driven by growing consumer demand, large food retailers (such as Walmart and Costco) and restaurant chains (including Chipotle and McDonalds)
are increasingly demanding greater responsibility and improved sustainability in food production practices from their suppliers. The Global
Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (“Roundtable”) was created to advance a sustainable global beef value chain that is “environmentally
sound, socially responsible and economically viable”. The Roundtable represents members from across the supply chain, including
U.S., Canadian and Australian cattlemen’s associations, Cargill, JBS, Elanco, McDonalds and A&W.
Large institutional investors have begun
to pressure the livestock industry. Ceres and several other large activist institutional investors have already expressed concerns about
carbon footprint, water quality, antibiotic usage and animal welfare in letters to management of their investment holdings in the food
production industry. The Collier Farm Animal Investment Risk & Return (“FAIRR”) Initiative was recently launched to highlight
the environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) risks associated with large-scale livestock production.
In past years, the UN FAO has issued
several highly critical reports of the livestock industry, more recently focused on its impacts on climate change. While some of their
early reports were based on incomplete data and faulty methodologies and have since been somewhat quietly ‘retracted’, a wide
array of activist groups, including climate, animal rights, and anti-factory farming advocates, have seized on them to create a global
“anti-meat” messaging campaign. Their messaging is predicated on the (incorrect) notion that agriculture, and the livestock
sector specifically, is the largest contributor to climate change, greater than the energy and transportation sectors. While this fact
has been publicly ‘debunked’, the anti-meat campaign has been joined and amplified by various other stakeholders, governments,
and more recently, competitors in the alternative protein space, such as plant-based and cellular meats.
Over the last few years, most large
meat and dairy product retailers have announced ‘sustainability’ initiatives, although the definition of sustainability is
often unclear. Based on recent statements from the industry regarding sustainability policy, many that identify goals that are 10 to 30
years in the future, Bion believes that sustainability on the production side will look a lot like what the Company’s 3G Tech
platform can provide today. The 3G Tech platform can deliver verifiable metrics that demonstrate meaningful improvements in sustainability
for livestock production that are unmatched in the industry today, including a dramatically reduced carbon and nutrient footprint; lower
negative impacts to water, soil and air; increased pathogen destruction; and other environmental and public health impacts. The Covid-19
pandemic has further heightened consumer awareness and concerns related to a) environmental sustainability, b) food safety, c) sourcing
and traceability and d) humane treatment of both animals and workers.
Recently there have been efforts to establish
sustainable brands (including USDA PVP certification) for a number of small-scale livestock producers (largely in the grass fed beef category)
The extent and reach of such efforts is limited to date and it is difficult to determine its effectiveness. Additionally, there have
been public announcements of initiatives related to beef sustainability (largely focused on the ’cow-calf’ segment of the
livestock chain) by major beef processing companies, but a closer look finds that most consist largely of ‘green washing’
public proclamations in the wake of environmental and social criticism and re-packaging of prior initiatives lacking any new substance.
The more the livestock industry’s
supply chain practices become transparent and known by consumers, the more consumers are seeking alternatives. Bion’s ‘Sustainable’
branding program is designed to address a wide array of consumer concerns ranging from: a) ‘where does your food come from?’
(animal heritage information); b) environmental impacts; c) antibiotic use/ standards; d) animal welfare/ humane treatment; e) laborer
welfare/ working conditions. These issues can be addressed with the consumer through general advertising and/or at the point of sale with
a QR code on the packaging that links back to product-specific data. The verification processes that will be employed by Bion’s
3G Tech platform support block chain traceability, providing accountability throughout that part of the supply chain addressed by Bion’s
platform and enabling any quality issues to be quickly identified by lot and location, minimizing risk to its consumers. In essence, Bion’s
comprehensive technology platform will enable its livestock JVs and other adopters to be not only the provider of the product the consumer
wants, but also the businesses that shares their consumers’ values.
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KREIDER 1 (HISTORY AND STATUS)/DISSOLUTION
OF BION PA 1 LLC (‘PA1”)
During 2008 the Company commenced actively pursuing
the opportunity presented by environmental retrofit and remediation of the waste streams of existing CAFOs which effort has met with very
limited success to date. The first commercial activity in this area is represented by our agreement with Kreider Farms (“KF”),
pursuant to which the Kreider 1 system to treat KF's dairy waste streams to reduce nutrient releases to the environment while generating
marketable nutrient credits and renewable energy was designed, constructed and entered full-scale operation during 2011. On January 26,
2009 the Board of the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority (“Pennvest”) approved a $7.75 million loan to Bion
PA 1, LLC (“PA1”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, for the initial Kreider Farms project (“Kreider 1 System”).
The terms of the Pennvest Loan provided for funding of up to $7,754,000 which was to be repaid by interest-only payments for three years,
followed by an additional ten-year amortization of principal. The Pennvest Loan accrued interest at 2.547% per annum for years 1 through
5 and 3.184% per annum for years 6 through maturity. The Pennvest Loan required minimum annual principal payments of approximately $5,886,000
in fiscal years 2013 through 2021, and $846,000 in fiscal year 2022, $873,000 in fiscal year 2023 and $149,000 in fiscal year 2024. The
Pennvest Loan is collateralized by PA1’s Kreider 1 System and by a pledge of all revenues generated from Kreider 1 including, but
not limited to, revenues generated from nutrient reduction credit sales and by-product sales. In addition, in consideration for the excess
credit risk associated with the project, Pennvest was entitled to participate in the profits from Kreider 1 calculated on a net cash flow
basis, as defined.
After substantial unanticipated delays, on August
12, 2010 PA1 received a permit for construction of the Kreider 1 System based our 2G Tech (which the Company is no longer implementing).
Construction activities commenced during November 2010. The closing/settlement of the Pennvest Loan took place on November 3, 2010. PA1
finished the construction of the Kreider 1 System and entered a period of system ‘operational shakedown’ during May 2011.
The Kreider 1 System reached full, stabilized operation by the end of the 2012 fiscal year. During 2011 the PADEP re-certified the nutrient
credits for this project. The PADEP issued final permits for the Kreider 1 System (including the credit verification plan) on August 1,
2012 on which date the Company deemed that the Kreider 1 System was ‘placed in service’. As a result, PA1 commenced generating
nutrient reduction credits for potential sale while continuing to utilize the Kreider 1 System to test improvements and add-ons. However,
liquidity in the Pennsylvania nutrient credit market failed to develop significant breadth and depth, which limited liquidity/depth has
negatively impacted Bion’s business plans and has resulted in insurmountable challenges to monetizing the nutrient reductions created
by PA1’s existing Kreider 1 project (and Bion’s other proposed projects in the state). These difficulties prevented PA1 from
generating any material revenues from the Kreider 1 project. PA1 had sporadic discussions/negotiations with Pennvest related to forbearance
and/or re-structuring its obligations pursuant to the Pennvest Loan for more than 7 years. In the context of such discussions/negotiations,
PA1 elected not to make interest payments to Pennvest on the Pennvest Loan since January 2013. Additionally, the Company has not made
any principal payments, which were to begin in fiscal 2013, and, therefore, the Company has classified the Pennvest Loan as a current
liability as of December 31, 2021. Due to the failure of the Pennsylvania nutrient reduction credit market to develop, the Company determined
that the carrying amount of the property and equipment related to the Kreider 1 project exceeded its estimated future undiscounted cash
flows based on certain assumptions regarding timing, level and probability of revenues from sales of nutrient reduction credits and, therefore,
PA1 and the Company recorded impairments related to the value of the Kreider 1 assets of $1,750,000 and $2,000,000 at June 30, 2015 and
June 30, 2014, respectively. During the 2016 fiscal year, PA1 and the Company recorded an impairment of $1,684,562 to the value of the
Kreider 1 assets which reduced the value on the Company’s books to zero. This impairment reflects management’s judgment that
the salvage value of the Kreider 1 assets roughly equaled PA1’s contractual obligations related to the Kreider 1 System, including
expenses related to decommissioning of the Kreider 1 System.
During August 2012, the Company provided Pennvest
(and the PADEP) with data demonstrating that the Kreider 1 System met the ‘technology guaranty’ standards which were incorporated
in the Pennvest financing documents.
The economics (potential revenues, profitability and
continued operation) of the Kreider 1 System were based almost entirely on the long-term sale of nutrient (nitrogen and/or phosphorus)
reduction credits to meet the requirements of the Chesapeake Bay environmental clean-up. See below for further discussion.
On September 25, 2014, Pennvest exercised its right
to declare the PA1’s Pennvest Loan in default, accelerated the Pennvest Loan and demanded that PA1 pay $8,137,117 (principal, interest
plus late charges) on or before October 24, 2014. PA1 did not make the payment and did/does not have the resources to make the payments
demanded by Pennvest. PA1 commenced discussions and negotiations with Pennvest concerning this matter but Pennvest rejected PA1’s
proposal made during the fall of 2014. PA1 made a final proposal to Pennvest during September 2021 which proposal was also rejected by
Pennvest. PA1 provided Pennvest with its financial statements (which include a description of system status) annually. During the 2021
fiscal year, Pennvest’s auditors requested a ‘corrective action plan’ and PA1 informed Pennvest that “…
there is no viable corrective action plan for the Pennvest Loan (‘Loan’). The facility funded by the Loan has been shut down
for many years (which has been disclosed in the annual financial reports to Pennvest and in public filings by the parent of Bion PA 1,
LLC) and the technology utilized in the facility is now obsolete. The facility has not been commercially operated for approximately six
years and has generated zero income. We recommend that Pennvest take appropriate steps to remove and sell the equipment.” Pennvest
responded favorably to the approach of selling the equipment.
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On December 29, 2021, the Company approved and executed
a Consent of the Sole Member of Bion PA 1 (the “Consent to Dissolution”) that authorized the complete liquidation and dissolution
of PA1. A Statement of Dissolution was filed by PA1 with the Colorado Secretary of State on December 29, 2021. The Company is of the understanding
that the liquidation value of Bion PA 1’s property is substantially below the current amount outstanding under the Funding Agreement
dated October 27, 2010 by and between PA1 and Pennvest, the only known secured creditor of PA1. Post-dissolution, PA1’s activities
will be limited entirely to activities required to properly distribute its net assets to creditors and wind down its business. PA 1 is
prepared to transfer to Pennvest all of PA1’s right, title and interest in its property (by a bill of sale or other acceptable agreement)
or alternatively, with Pennvest’s approval and direction, arrange for the sale of its property and deliver all proceeds (net of
commissions and customary costs of sale) to Pennvest. PA1 and Pennvest have entered into communication/exchanges to determine how Pennvest
would like PA1 to proceed with this process. The Company’s personnel will assist PA1 with this process as needed at no cost to PA1.
Upon the complete distribution of all assets of PA1,
whether by transfer or sale as provided above, PA1 will use commercially reasonable efforts to cause the cessation of all activities.
No distributions of PA1’s assets will be made to the Company or its affiliates. The Consent to Dissolution authorized Mark A. Smith,
the Company’s President and the sole manager of PA1, to cause to be delivered for filing the Statement of Dissolution, to give notice
of the dissolution, and to take any other act necessary to wind up and liquidate the business.
PA 1 has made no payments to vendors or other creditors
in connection with the dissolution. No distributions or payments of any kind have ever been made to the Company, the sole member of PA1
since inception and no payment will be made to the Company or any affiliate in connection with the dissolution.
Through the date of the dissolution, PA1 was a wholly-owned
subsidiary of the Company and its assets and liabilities were included on the Company’s consolidated balance sheet. At September
30, 2021, PA1’s total assets were $297 and its total liabilities were $10,154,334 (including the Pennvest Loan in the aggregate
amount of $9,939,148, accounts payable of $214,235 and accrued liabilities of $950) which sums were included in the Company’s consolidated
balance sheet in its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2021. Subsequent to the dissolution of PA1, its assets and liabilities
will no longer be consolidated and included in the Company’s balance sheet. As of December 29, 2021, PA1’s total assets were
nil and its total liabilities were $10,234,501 (including the Pennvest Loan in the aggregate amount of $10,009,802, accounts payable of
$212,263 and accrued liabilities of $12,436. The net amount of $10,234,502 was recognized as a gain on the legal dissolution of a subsidiary
in other (income) expense.
The Company has incurred interest expense related
to the Pennvest Loan of $61,722 for both the three months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, and $123,444 for both the six
months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.
SUSTAINABLE/ORGANIC GRAIN-FINISHED BEEF JV OPPORTUNITY
The Company believes that its 3G Tech, in addition
to providing superior environmental remediation, creates opportunities for large scale production of: i) verifiably sustainable-branded
livestock products and ii) verifiably sustainable organic-branded livestock products that will command premium pricing (in part due to
ongoing monitoring and third-party verification of environmental performance which will provide meaningful assurances to both consumers
and regulatory agencies). Each of these two distinct market segments (which the Company intends to pursue in parallel) presents a large
production/marketing opportunity for Bion. Our 3G Tech platform will also produce revenues from co-products: i) pipeline quality biogas
(and related environmental credits) and ii) valuable organic fertilizer products, which can be utilized in the production of organic grains
for use as feed for raising organic livestock (some of which may be utilized in the Company’s JV projects) and/or marketed to the
growing organic fertilizer market. These matters are discussed in more detail in Item 1 of our Form 10-K for the year ended June 30, 2021
and in the Notes to the Financial Statements included herein.
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3G TECH KREIDER 2 POULTRY PROJECT
Bion has done extensive pre-development work related
to a waste treatment/renewable energy production facility to treat the waste from KF’s approximately 6+ million chickens (planned
to expand to approximately 9-10 million) (and potentially other poultry operations and/or other waste streams) ('Kreider Renewable Energy
Facility' or ‘Kreider 2 Project’). On May 5, 2016, the Company executed a stand-alone joint venture agreement with Kreider
Farms covering all matters related to development and operation of Kreider 2 system to treat the waste streams from Kreider’s poultry
facilities in Bion PA2 LLC (“PA2”). During May 2011 the PADEP certified a smaller version of the Kreider 2 Project (utilizing
our 3G Tech) for 559,457 nutrient credits under the old EPA’s Chesapeake Bay model. The Company has been in ongoing discussions
with the PADEP regarding the appropriate credit calculation methodology for large-scale technology-based nutrient reduction installations
such as the KF2 Project utilizing our 3G Tech platform. Based on these discussions and the size of the Kreider 2 Project, we anticipate
that when designs are finalized, the Kreider 2 Project will be re-certified for a far larger number of credits (management’s current
estimates are between 2-4 million (or more) nutrient reduction credits for treatment of the waste stream from Kreider’s poultry
pursuant to the Company’s subsequent amended application during the current fiscal year pursuant to the amended EPA Chesapeake Bay
model and agreements between the EPA and PA. Note that this Project may be expanded in the future to treat wastes from other local and
regional CAFOs (poultry and/or dairy---including the Kreider Dairy) and/or additional Kreider poultry expansion (some of which may not
qualify for nutrient reduction credits). A review process to clarify certain issues related to credit calculation and verification commenced
during 2014 based on Bion’s 2G Tech but was been placed on hold. The Company anticipates if and when PA2 re-commences work on the
Kreider 2 Project, it will submit an amended or new application based on our 3G Tech. Site specific design and engineering work for this
facility have not commenced, and the Company does not yet have financing in place for the Kreider 2 Project. This opportunity is being
pursued through PA2. If there are positive developments related to the market for nutrient reductions in Pennsylvania, of which there
is no assurance, the Company intends to pursue development, design and construction of the Kreider 2 Project with a goal of achieving
operational status for its initial modules during then following calendar year. The economics (potential revenues and profitability) of
the Kreider 2 Project, despite its proposed use of Bion’s 3G Tech for increased recovery of marketable by-products, are based in
material part the long-term sale of nutrient (nitrogen and/or phosphorus) reduction credits to meet the requirements of the Chesapeake
Bay environmental clean-up. However, liquidity in the Pennsylvania nutrient credit market has not yet developed significant breadth and
depth, which lack of liquidity has negatively impacted Bion’s business plans and will most likely delay PA2’s Kreider 2 Project
and other proposed projects in Pennsylvania.
Note that while Bion believes that the Kreider 2 Project
and/or subsequent Bion Projects in PA and the Chesapeake Bay Watershed will eventually generate revenue from the sale of: a) nutrient
reductions (credits or in other form), b) renewable energy (and related credits), c) sales of fertilizer products, and/or d) potentially,
in time, credits for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, plus e) license fees related to a ‘sustainable brand’ the
Covid-19 pandemic has delayed legislative efforts needed to commence its development. We believe that the potential market is very large,
but it is not possible to predict the exact timing and/or magnitude of these potential markets at this time.
PUBLIC POLICY INITIATIVES
A substantial portion of our activities involve public
policy initiatives (by the Company and other stakeholders) to encourage the establishment of appropriate public policies and regulations
(at federal, regional, state and local levels) to facilitate cost effective environmental clean-up and, thereby, support our business
activities. Bion has been joined by National Milk Producers Federation, Land O’Lakes, JBS and other national livestock interests
to support changes to our nation’s clean water strategy that will allow states to acquire low-cost nutrient reductions through a
competitive procurement process, in a similar manner to how government entities now acquire many other goods and services on behalf
of the taxpayer. As developing markets for nutrient reductions become fully-established, Bion anticipates a robust business opportunity
to retrofit existing CAFOs and develop Projects, based primarily on the sale of nutrient credits that provide cost-effective alternatives
to today’s high-cost and failing clean water strategy.
37
To date the market for long-term nutrient reduction
credits in Pennsylvania (‘PA’) has been very slow to develop and the Company’s activities have been negatively affected
by such lack of development. However, Bion is confident that once these markets are established, the credits it produces will be competitive
in the credit trading markets, based on its cost to remove nitrogen from the livestock waste stream, compared to the cost to remove nitrogen
through various other treatment activities.
Several independent studies have calculated the average
cost to remove nitrogen through various sector practices. Reports prepared for the PA Senate (2008), Chesapeake Bay Commission (2012)
and PA legislature (2013; described below), as well as the Maryland Chesapeake Bay Financing Strategy Report (2015), demonstrate that
the cost to remove nitrogen (per pound on average) from agriculture is $44 to $54, municipal wastewater: $28 to $43, and storm water:
$386 to $633. Pursuant to the PA legislative Report, by replacing sector allocation (for all sectors) with competitive bidding, up to
80 percent savings could be achieved in PA’s Chesapeake Bay compliance costs ($1.5 billion annually) by 2025. If the legislative
study had focused on the cost differentials of competitive bidding compared only with storm water, the relative savings would be substantially
greater.
Since these studies were completed, most of the larger
(Tier 1) municipal wastewater treatment plants in PA have been upgraded, at a cost of approximately $2.5 billion (vs initial 2004 PA DEP
cost estimates of $376 million). US EPA is now focused on PA’s storm water allocation (3.5 million pounds (per last published data))
and has this sector on ‘backstop level actions’, the highest level of EPA-oversight and the final step before sanctions. In
the same 2004 PA DEP cost estimate that led to the more than a $2 billion underestimate/miscalculation in municipal wastewater plant upgrade
costs, the estimate for storm water cost was $5.6 billion. In April 2017, US EPA sent a Letter of Expectation to PA DEP, expressing the
agency’s support for the use of nutrient credit trading and competitive bidding to engage the private-sector to lower costs. The
letter specifically encouraged the use of credit trading to offset the state’s looming storm water obligations.
The Company believes that: i) the April 2015 release
of a report from the Pennsylvania Auditor General titled “Special Report on the Importance of Meeting Pennsylvania’s Chesapeake
Bay Nutrient Reduction Targets” which highlighted the economic consequences of EPA-imposed sanctions if the state fails to meet
the 2017 TMDL targets, as well as the need to support using low-cost solutions and technologies as alternatives to higher-cost public
infrastructure projects, where possible, and ii) Senate Bill 575 (introduced in April 2019 as successor to prior SB 799 (which was passed
by PA Senate during January 2018 but was not voted on in the House)) which, if adopted, will establish a program that will allow the Pennsylvania’s
tax- and rate-payers to meet significant portions of their EPA-mandated Chesapeake Bay pollution reductions at significantly lower cost
by purchasing verified reductions (by competitive bidding) from all sources, including those that Bion can produce through livestock waste
treatment, represent visible evidence of progress being made on these matters in Pennsylvania. SB 575 was passed by the PA Senate in 2019
and introduced in the PA House which is scheduled to be taken up the bill during its current session which is now underway. Such legislation
(which has bi-partisan support), if passed and signed into law (of which there is no assurance), will potentially enable Bion (and others)
to compete for public funding on an equal basis with subsidized agricultural ‘best management practices’ and public works
and storm water authorities. Note, however, that there is opposition to currently filed SB 475 and SB832 (as was the case for SB 575 and
its predecessors) from threatened stakeholders committed to the existing status quo approaches--- a significant portion of which was focused
on attacking (in often inaccurate and/or vilifying ways) Bion in/through social media and internet articles, blogs, press releases, twitter
posts and re-tweets, rather than engaging the substantive issues. Further note that the current COVID-19 crisis has shifted government,
legislative and budget focuses in PA in manners which may delay our efforts. If SB 475 and/or SB832 (or similar legislation) is passed
(on a stand-alone basis or as part of a larger piece of legislation) and implemented (in a form which maintains its core provisions),
Bion expects that the policies and strategies being developed in PA will not only benefit the Company’s existing and proposed PA
projects, but will also subsequently provide the basis for a larger Chesapeake Bay watershed strategy and, thereafter, a national clean
water strategy.
THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC HAS FURTHER INCREASED UNCERTAINTIES
RE SB 575 AND ALL POLICY INITIATIVES. SEE FURTHER DISCUSSION HEREIN.
The Company believes that Pennsylvania may be ‘ground
zero’ in the long-standing clean water battle between agriculture and the further regulation of agriculture relative to nutrient
impacts. The ability of Bion and other technology providers to achieve verified reductions from agricultural non-point sources can resolve
the current stalemate and enable implementation of constructive solutions that benefit all stakeholders, providing a mechanism that ensures
that taxpayer funds will be used to achieve the most beneficial result at the lowest cost, regardless of source. All sources, point and
non-point, rural and urban, will be able to compete for tax payer-funded nitrogen reductions in a fair and transparent process; and since
payment from the tax and rate payers would now be performance-based, these providers will be held financially accountable.
38
We believe that the overwhelming environmental, economic,
quality of life and public health benefits to all stakeholders in the watershed, both within and outside of Pennsylvania, make the case
for adoption of the strategies outlined in the Report less an issue of ‘if’, but of ‘when and how’. The adoption
of a competitive procurement program will have significant positive impact on technology providers that can deliver verified nitrogen
reductions such as Bion, by allocating existing tax- and rate-payer clean water funding to low-cost solutions based upon a voluntary and
transparent procurement process. The Company believes that implementation of a competitively-bid nutrient reduction program to achieve
the goals for the Chesapeake Bay watershed can also provide a working policy model and platform for other states to adopt that will enhance
their efforts to comply with both current and future requirements for local and federal estuarine watersheds, including the Mississippi
River/Gulf of Mexico, the Great Lakes Basin and other nutrient-impaired watersheds. (Note, however, that current COVID-19 crisis has
shifted government, legislative and budget focuses in manners which may delay the fruition of our efforts.)
The Company currently anticipates that a Sustainable/Sustainable
Organic Grain-Fed Beef JV is likely to be its initial full-scale 3G Project (but the Kreider 2 poultry JV in PA remains a possibility).
Now that Bion has commenced development of its initial project 3G Tech by leasing land, beginning the site-specific design and permitting
processes and commenced procurement of project modules, we believe it will be possible to commence development of a full-scale 3G Project
during the 2023 calendar year, but further delays are possible. It is not possible at this time to firmly predict where the initial JVs
and Project will be developed or the order in which Projects will be developed. All potential Projects are in very early discussion and
pre-development stages and may never progress to actual development or may be developed after other Projects not yet under active consideration.
Bion also hopes to be able to move forward on multiple
JVs/Projects through 2023-2027 to create a pipeline of Projects. Management has a 5-year development target (through calendar year 2027)
of approximately commencing 3-8 or more JVs/Projects pursuant to joint ventures (or similar agreements). Management hopes to have identified
and begun development work related to 3 (or more) JV Projects over the next 3 years. At the end of the 5-year period, Bion projects that
3-5 or more of these JVs/Projects will be in commercial operation in 3 or more states, and the balance would be in various stages ranging
from partial operation to early development stage. It is possible that one or more Projects will be developed in joint ventures specifically
targeted to meet the growing animal protein demand outside of the United States (including without limitation Asia, Europe and/or the
Middle East). No such large scale JVs/Projects (including Integrated Projects) have been developed to date.
The Company’s audited financial statements
for the years ended June 30, 2021 and 2020 were prepared assuming the Company will continue as a going concern. The Company has incurred
net losses of approximately $3,451,000 and $4,553,000 during the years ended June 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively. The Report of the
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm on the Company’s consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended June
30, 2021 includes a “going concern” explanatory paragraph which means that there are factors that raise substantial doubt
about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. The Company has incurred net losses from operations of approximately
$673,000 and $447,000 for the three months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. At December 31, 2021, the Company has working
capital and a stockholders’ deficit of approximately $4,006,000 and $912,000, respectively. Management’s plans with respect
to these matters are described in this section and in our consolidated financial statements (and notes thereto), and this material does
not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty. However, there is no guarantee that we will be able
to raise sufficient funds or further capital for the operations planned in the near future.
COVID-19 PANDEMIC RELATED MATTERS:
The Company faces risks and uncertainties and factors
beyond our control that are magnified during the current Covid-19 pandemic and the unique economic, financial, governmental and health-related
conditions in which the Company, the country and the entire world now reside. To date the Company has experienced direct impacts in various
areas including but without limitation: i) government ordered shutdowns which have slowed the Company’s research and development
projects and other initiatives, ii) shifted focus of state and federal governments which is likely to negatively impact the Company’s
legislative initiatives in Pennsylvania and Washington D. C., iii) strains and uncertainties in both the equity and debt markets which
have made discussion and planning of funding of the Company and its initiatives and projects with investment bankers, banks and potential
strategic partners more tenuous, iv) strains and uncertainties in the agricultural sector and markets have made discussion and planning
more difficult as future industry conditions are now more difficult to assess and predict, v) constraints due to problems experienced
in the global industrial supply chain since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, which have delayed certain research and development testing
and are likely to delay and/or increase the cost of construction of the initial 3G Tech installation as equipment remains difficult to
acquire/fabricate in a timely manner and labor shortages slow the production processes, vi) due to the age and health of our core management
team, all of whom are age 70 or older and have had one or more existing health issues, the Covid-19 pandemic places the Company at greater
risk than was previously the case (to a higher degree than would be the case if the Company had a larger, deeper and/or younger core management
team), and vii) there almost certainly will be other unanticipated consequences for the Company as a result of the current pandemic emergency
and its aftermath.
39
CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Revenue Recognition
The Company currently does not generate revenue
and if and when the Company begins to generate revenue the Company will comply with the provisions of Accounting Standards Codification
(“ASC”) 606 “Revenue from Contracts with Customers”.
Stock-based compensation
The Company follows the provisions of ASC 718,
which generally requires that share-based compensation transactions be accounted and recognized in the statement of income based upon
their grant date fair values.
Derivative Financial Instruments:
Pursuant to ASC Topic 815 “Derivatives and Hedging”
(“Topic 815”), the Company reviews all financial instruments for the existence of features which may require fair value accounting
and a related mark-to-market adjustment at each reporting period end. Once determined, the Company assesses these instruments as derivative
liabilities. The fair value of these instruments is adjusted to reflect the fair value at each reporting period end, with any increase
or decrease in the fair value being recorded in results of operations as an adjustment to fair value of derivatives.
Warrants:
The Company has issued warrants to purchase common
shares of the Company. Warrants are valued using a fair value based method, whereby the fair value of the warrant is determined at the
warrant issue date using a market-based option valuation model based on factors including an evaluation of the Company’s value as
of the date of the issuance, consideration of the Company’s limited liquid resources and business prospects, the market price of
the Company’s stock in its mostly inactive public market and the historical valuations and purchases of the Company’s warrants.
When warrants are issued in combination with debt or equity securities, the warrants are valued and accounted for based on the relative
fair value of the warrants in relation to the total value assigned to the debt or equity securities and warrants combined.
Lease Accounting:
The Company accounts for leases under ASC 842, Leases (“ASC
842”). Accordingly, the Company will determine whether an arrangement contains a lease at the inception of the arrangement. If a
lease is determined to exist, the term of such lease is assessed based on the date on which the underlying asset is made available for
the Company’s use by the lessor. The Company’s assessment of the lease term reflects the non-cancelable term of the lease,
inclusive of any rent-free periods and/or periods covered by early-termination options which the Company is reasonably certain of not
exercising, as well as periods covered by renewal options which the Company is reasonably certain of exercising. The Company also determines
lease classification as either operating or finance at lease commencement, which governs the pattern of expense recognition and the presentation
reflected in the consolidated statements of operations over the lease term.
For leases with a term exceeding 12 months,
a lease liability is recorded on the Company’s consolidated balance sheet at lease commencement reflecting the present value of
its fixed minimum payment obligations over the lease term. A corresponding right-of-use (“ROU”) asset equal to the initial
lease liability is also recorded, adjusted for any prepaid rent and/or initial direct costs incurred in connection with execution of the
lease and reduced by any lease incentives received. For purposes of measuring the present value of its fixed payment obligations for a
given lease, the Company uses its incremental borrowing rate, determined based on information available at lease commencement, as rates
implicit in its leasing arrangements are typically not readily determinable. The Company's incremental borrowing rate reflects the rate
it would pay to borrow on a secured basis and incorporates the term and economic environment of the associated lease.
THREE MONTHS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2021 COMPARED
TO THE THREE MONTHS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2020
Revenue
Total revenues were nil for both the three
months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.
General and Administrative
Total general and administrative expenses
were $618,000 and $292,000 for the three months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.
40
General and administrative expenses, excluding
stock-based compensation charges of $13,000 and $34,000, were $605,000 and $258,000 for the three months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020,
respectively, representing a $347,000 increase. Salaries and related payroll tax expenses were $110,000 and $75,000 for the three months
ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, representing a $35,000 increase due to a consultant being partially paid as an employee
and a pay increase for employees during the three months ended December 31, 2021. Consulting costs were $188,000 and $95,000 for the three
months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. The $93,000 increase in consulting costs is the result of hiring a branding and
marketing consultant for the Company. Investor relations expenses were $89,000 and $9,000 for the three months ended December 31, 2021
and 2020, respectively, and the increase is due to a new contract with an investor relations firm and increased activity during the three
months ended December 31, 2021 due to the resumption of investor conferences. Legal costs were $121,000 and nil for the three months ended
September 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively, due to the hiring of a law firm to represent the Company in a lawsuit for the hack and attempt
to steal the Company’s domain, engaging a law firm on the dissolution of PA-1, legal work in relation to corporate structure matters
and preparation for the 2022 shareholder meeting and other matters.
General and administrative stock-based employee
compensation for the three months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 consists of the following:
Three months
ended
December 31,
2021
Three months
ended
December 31,
2020
General and administrative:
Change in fair value from modification of option terms
$ —
$ 9,000
Change in fair value from modification of warrant terms
6,000
25,000
Fair value of stock options expensed under ASC 718
—
—
Total
$ 6,000
$ 34,000
Stock-based compensation charges were $13,000 and
$34,000 for the three months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. The fair value of stock options expensed for the three months
ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 was nil for both periods, respectively. The Company granted no options during the three months ended
December 31, 2021 and 2020. Compensation expense relating to the change in fair value from the modification of option terms was nil and
$9,000 the three months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, as the Company granted an extension of certain option expiration
dates for two consultants during the three months ended December 31, 2020. During the three months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively,
the Company extended expiration dates of warrants for certain consultants and issued additional warrants to certain consultants which
resulted in the recognition of $13,000 and $25,000 in non-cash compensation.
Depreciation
Total depreciation expense was $332 and $207 for
the three months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.
Research and Development
Total research and development expenses were $54,000
and $155,000 for the three months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.
Salaries and related payroll tax expenses were nil
and $22,000 for the three months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively as more salary expense was allocated to administrative
expense for the three months ended December 31, 2021. Consulting costs were $35,000 and $54,000 for the three months ended December 31,
2021 and 2020, respectively. The Company also incurred $19,000 and nil for the three months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively
in legal costs related to patent applications and renewals. The Company incurred nil and $67,000 for the three months ended December 31,
2021 and 2020, respectively in the development of new technologies for its anaerobic digestate process.
Loss from Operations
As a result of the factors described above, the
loss from operations was $673,000 and $447,000 for the three months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.
Other (Income) Expense
Other (income) expense was $(10,117,000) and $303,000
for the three months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. The Company recognized a gain on the legal dissolution of PA-1 of
$10,235,000. Interest expense of $3,000 and $163,000 was recorded during the three months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively,
for the modification of warrant expiry dates for 108,500 and 3,244,110 warrants held by investors. Interest expense related to deferred
compensation and convertible notes was $51,000 and $78,000 for the three months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020.
Net Loss Attributable to the Noncontrolling
Interest
The net loss attributable to the noncontrolling
interest was $489 and $524 for the three months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.
41
Net Loss Attributable to Bion’s Common
Stockholders
As a result of the factors described above, the
net (income) loss attributable to Bion’s stockholders was $(9,444,000) and $750,000 for the three months ended December 31, 2021
and 2020, respectively, and the net (income) loss per basic common share was $(.23) and $0.02 for the three months ended December 31,
2021 and 2020, respectively.
SIX MONTHS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2021 COMPARED
TO THE SIX MONTHS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2020
Revenue
Total revenues were nil for both the six months
ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.
General and Administrative
Total general and administrative expenses
were $1,109,000 and $595,000 for the six months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.
General and administrative expenses, excluding
stock-based compensation charges of $13,000 and $34,000, were $1,042,000 and $561,000 for the six months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020,
respectively, representing a $481,000 increase. Salaries and related payroll tax expenses were $207,000 and $144,000 for the six months
ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, representing a $63,000 increase due to a consultant being partially paid as an employee
during the six months ended December 31, 2020. Consulting costs were $340,000 and $191,000 for the six months ended December 31, 2021
and 2020, respectively. The increase in consulting costs is partially due to work related to preparation for and development of our initial
3G Tech project. Investor relations expenses were $175,000 and $35,000 for the six months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively,
and the increase is due to a new contract with an investor relations firm and increased activity during the three months ended December
31, 2021 due to the resumption of investor conferences. Legal costs were $146,000 and $1,000 for the six months ended December 31, 2021
and 2020, respectively, with increase due to the hiring of a law firm to represent the Company in a lawsuit for the hack and attempt to
steal the Company’s domain, engaging a law firm on the dissolution of PA-1, legal work in relation to corporate structure matters
and preparation for the 2022 shareholder meeting and other matters.
General and administrative stock-based employee
compensation for the six months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 consists of the following:
Six months
ended
December 31,
2021
Six months
ended
December 31,
2020
General and administrative:
Change in fair value from modification of option terms
$ —
$ 9,000
Change in fair value from modification of warrant terms
6,000
25,000
Fair value of stock options expensed under ASC 718
—
—
Total
$ 6,000
$ 34,000
Stock-based compensation charges were $13,000 and
$34,000 for the six months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. The fair value of stock options expensed for the six months
ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 was nil for both periods. No options were granted during the six months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020.
Compensation expense relating to the change in fair value from the modification of option terms was nil and $9,000 for the six months
ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, as the Company granted an extension of certain option expiration dates for two consultants
during the six months ended December 31, 2020. During the six months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, the Company extended
expiration dates of warrants for certain consultants and issued additional warrants to certain consultants which resulted in the recognition
of $13,000 and $25,000 in non-cash compensation.
Depreciation
Total depreciation expense was $580 and $414 for
the six months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.
42
Research and Development
Total research and development expenses were $116,000
and $246,000 for the six months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.
Research and development expenses, excluding stock-based
compensation expenses of nil and nil were $116,000 and $246,000 for the six months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Salaries
and related payroll tax expenses were $7,000 and $44,000 for the six months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Consulting
costs were $66,000 and $104,000 for the six months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. The Company also incurred nil
and $73,000 for the six months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively in the development of new components of the pilot program
for its anaerobic digestate process.
Research and development stock-based employee compensation
for the six months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 consists of the following:
Six Months ended
December 31, 2021
Six Months ended
December 31, 2020
Research and development:
Fair value of stock options expensed under ASC 718
$ —
$ —
Total
$ —
$ —
Stock-based compensation expenses were nil for
both the six months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. The Company expensed nil and nil for the fair value of stock options
that vested during the six months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020.
Loss from Operations
As a result of the factors described above, the
loss from operations was $1,226,000 and $841,000 for the six months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.
Other Expense
Other (income) expense was $(10,007,000) and $408,000
for the six months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. The Company recognized a gain on the legal dissolution of PA-1 of $10,235,000.
Interest expense of $3,000 and $163,000 was recorded during the six months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, due to the
modification of warrant expiry dates for warrants held by investors. Interest expense related to convertible notes was $92,000 and $107,000
for the six months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020.
Net Loss Attributable to the Noncontrolling
Interest
The net loss attributable to the noncontrolling
interest was $1,000 for both the six months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.
Net Loss Attributable to Bion’s Common
Stockholders
As a result of the factors described above, the
net (income) loss attributable to Bion’s stockholders was ($8,782,000) and $1,248,000 for the six months ended December 31, 2021
and 2020, respectively, and the net (income) loss per basic common share was $(.21) and 0.04 for both the six months ended December 31,
2021 and 2020, respectively.
LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
The Company's consolidated financial statements for
the six months ended December 31, 2021 have been prepared on a going concern basis, which contemplates the realization of assets and the
settlement of liabilities and commitments in the normal course of business. The Report of our Independent Registered Public Accounting
Firm on the Company's consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended June 30, 2021 includes a "going concern"
explanatory paragraph which means that the auditors stated that conditions exist that raise substantial doubt about the Company's ability
to continue as a going concern.
43
Operating Activities
As of December 31, 2021, the Company had cash of approximately
$4,948,000. During the six months ended December 31, 2021, net cash used in operating activities was $853,000, primarily consisting of
cash operating expenses related to salaries and benefits, and other general and administrative costs such as insurance, legal, accounting,
consulting and investor relations expenses. As previously noted, the Company is currently not generating significant revenue and accordingly
has not generated cash flows from operations. The Company does not anticipate generating sufficient revenues to offset operating and capital
costs for a minimum of two to five years. While there are no assurances that the Company will be successful in its efforts to develop
and construct its Projects and market its Systems, it is certain that the Company will require substantial funding from external sources.
Given the unsettled state of the current credit and capital markets for companies such as Bion, there is no assurance the Company will
be able to raise the funds it needs on reasonable terms.
Investing Activities
During the six months ended December 31, 2021,
the Company invested $92,000 in the purchase of property and equipment, primarily related to project construction in process.
Financing Activities
During the six months ended December 31, 2021,
the Company received gross cash proceeds of $1,737,000 from the exercise of 2,315,550 warrants into shares of the Company’s common
stock and paid approximately $19,000 in cash commissions related to the exercise of warrants.
As of December 31, 2021, the Company has debt obligations
consisting of: a) deferred compensation of $477,000 and b) convertible notes payable – affiliates of $5,076,000.
Plan of Operations and Outlook
As of December 31, 2021, the Company had cash of approximately
$4,948,000.
The Company continues to explore sources of additional
financing to satisfy its current operating requirements as it is not currently generating any significant revenues. During fiscal
years 2021 and 2020, the Company has faced progressively less difficulty in raising equity funding (but substantial equity dilution has
resulted from the larger amounts of equity financing during the periods). However, the Company anticipates substantial increases in demands
for capital and operating expenditures as it moves toward commercial implementation of its 3G Tech and development of JVs and, therefore,
is likely to continue to face, significant cash flow management challenges due to limited capital resources and working capital constraints
which have only recently begun to be alleviated. As a result, the Company has faced, and continues to face, significant cash flow management
challenges due to material working capital constraints. To partially mitigate these working capital constraints, the Company's core
senior management and some key employees and consultants have been deferring all or part of their cash compensation and/or are accepting
compensation in the form of securities of the Company (Notes 5 and 7 to Financial Statements) and members of the Company's senior management
have from time to time made loans to the Company. During the year ended June 30, 2018 senior management and certain core employees and
consultants agreed to a one-time extinguishment of liabilities owed by the Company which in aggregate totaled $2,404,000. As of December
31, 2021, such deferrals/loans totaled approximately $5,076,000 (including accrued interest and deferred compensation converted into convertible
obligations and convertible promissory notes but excluding conversions of deferred compensation into the Company's common stock by officers,
employees and consultants that have already been completed). The extended constraints on available resources have had, and continue
to have, negative effects on the pace and scope of the Company's effort to develop its business . The Company made reductions in its
personnel during the years ended June 30, 2014 and 2015 and again in 2018. The constraint on available resources has had, and continues
to have, negative effects on the pace and scope of the Company’s efforts to develop its business. The Company has had to delay payment
of trade obligations and has had to economize in many ways that have potentially negative consequences. If the Company is able to continue
its recent increased success in its efforts to raise needed funds during the remainder of the current fiscal year (and subsequent periods),
of which there is no assurance, management will not need to consider deeper cuts (including additional personnel cuts) and curtailment
of ongoing activities including research and development activities.
The Company will need to obtain additional capital
to fund its operations and technology development, to satisfy existing creditors, to develop the Initial Project, JVs, Projects (including
Integrated Projects) and CAFO Retrofit waste remediation systems (including the Kreider 2 facility) and to continue to maintain equipment
at the Kreider 1 facility (subject to agreements being reached with Pennvest as discussed above). The Company anticipates that it will
seek to raise from $10,000,000 to $50,000,000 or more (debt and equity) during the next twelve months. However, as discussed above,
there is no guarantee that we will be able to raise sufficient funds or further capital for the operations planned in the near future.
44
The Company is not currently generating any significant
revenues. Further, the Company’s anticipated revenues, if any, from existing projects, JVs and proposed projects will not be sufficient
to meet the Company’s anticipated operational and capital expenditure needs for many years. During the year ended June 30, 2021
the Company raised gross proceeds of approximately $5,209,000 through the sale of its securities and paid commissions of approximately
$165,000, and anticipates raising additional funds from such sales and transactions. During the six month ended December 31, 2021, the
Company raised gross proceeds for approximately $1,737,000 and paid cash commissions of approximately $18,600. However, there is no
guarantee that we will be able to raise sufficient funds or further capital for the operations planned in the near future.
Because the Company is not currently generating
significant revenues, the Company will need to obtain additional capital to fund its operations and technology development, to satisfy
existing creditors, to develop the Initial Project and subsequent Projects.
As indicated above, the Company anticipates that
it will seek to raise from $10,000,000 to $50,000,000 or more (from debt, equity, joint venture, strategic partnering, etc.) during the
next twelve months, some of which may be in the context of joint ventures for the development of one or more large scale projects. We
reiterate that there is no assurance, especially in the extremely unsettled capital markets that presently exist for companies such as
Bion, that the Company will be able to obtain the funds that it needs to stay in business, finance its Projects and other activities,
continue its technology development and/or to successfully develop its business.
For more details regarding the Company’s
first commercial activity in the Retrofit segment which was represented by our agreement with Kreider Farms ("KF"), pursuant
to which the Kreider 1 system to treat KF's dairy waste streams to reduce nutrient releases to the environment while generating marketable
nutrient credits and renewable energy was designed, constructed and entered full-scale operation during 2011, see “ KREIDER
1 (HISTORY AND STATUS)/DISSOLUTION OF BION PA 1 LLC (‘PA1”)” above and the Company’s Form 10-K for the
year ended June 30, 2021.
See KREIDER 1 (HISTORY AND STATUS)/DISSOLUTION
OF BION PA 1 LLC (‘PA1”) above for discussion of the dissolution of PA1, the Pennvest Loan and the Kreider 1 project.
As indicated above, the Company anticipates that
it will seek to raise from $10,000,000 to $50,000,000 or more (from debt, equity, joint venture, strategic partnering, etc.) during the
next twelve months, some of which may be in the context of joint ventures for the development of one or more large scale projects. We
reiterate that there is no assurance, especially in the extremely unsettled capital markets that presently exist for companies such as
Bion, that the Company will be able to obtain the funds that it needs to stay in business, finance its Projects, JVs and other activities,
continue its technology development and/or to successfully develop its business.
There is extremely limited likelihood that funds
required during the next twelve months or in the periods immediately thereafter will be generated from operations and there is no assurance
that those funds will be available from external sources such as debt or equity financings or other potential sources. The lack of additional
capital resulting from the inability to generate cash flow from operations and/or to raise capital from external sources would force the
Company to substantially curtail or cease operations and would, therefore, have a material adverse effect on its business. Further, there
can be no assurance that any such required funds, if available, will be available on attractive terms or that they will not have a significantly
dilutive effect on the Company's existing shareholders. All of these factors have been exacerbated by the extremely limited and unsettled
credit and capital markets presently existing for companies such as Bion.
Covid-19 pandemic related matters:
The Company faces risks and uncertainties and factors
beyond our control that are magnified during the current Covid-19 pandemic and the unique economic, financial, governmental and health-related
conditions in which the Company, the country and the entire world now reside. To date the Company has experienced direct impacts in various
areas including but without limitation: i) government ordered shutdowns which have slowed the Company’s research and development
projects and other initiatives, ii) shifted focus of state and federal governments which is likely to negatively impact the Company’s
legislative initiatives in Pennsylvania and Washington D. C., iii) strains and uncertainties in both the equity and debt markets which
have made discussion and planning of funding of the Company and its initiatives and projects with investment bankers, banks and potential
strategic partners more tenuous, iv) strains and uncertainties in the agricultural sector and markets have made discussion and planning
more difficult as future industry conditions are now more difficult to assess and predict, v) constraints due to problems experienced
in the global industrial supply chain, vi) due to the age and health of our core management team, all of whom are age 70 or older and
have had one or more existing health issues, the Covid-19 pandemic places the Company at greater risk than was previously the case (to
a higher degree than would be the case if the Company had a larger, deeper and/or younger core management team), and vii) there almost
certainly will be other unanticipated consequences for the Company as a result of the current pandemic emergency and its aftermath.
45
CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS
We have the following material contractual obligations
(in addition to employment and consulting agreements with management and employees):
The Company entered into an agreement on September
23, 2021, to lease approximately four acres of land near Fair Oaks, Indiana, for the development site of its Initial Project.
The following table summarized the supplemental cash
flow information for the six months ended December 31, 2021:
December 31, 2021
Cash paid for noncancelable operating lease included in the operating cash flows
$ 60,000
Right of use assets obtained in exchange for operating lease liabilities
$ 180,586
The future minimum lease payment under noncancelable
operating lease with terms greater than one year as of December 31, 2022:
From January 2022 to December 2022
—
From January 2023 to December 2023
75,000
From January 2024 to December 2024
75,000
Undiscounted cash flow
150,000
Less imputed interest
(27,395 )
Total
$ 122,605
The weighted average remaining lease term and discounted
rate related to the Company’s lease liability as of December 31, 2022 were 3 years and 10%, respectively. The Company’s lease
discount rate is generally based on the estimates of its incremental borrowing rate as the discount rates implicit in the Company’s
lease cannot be readily determined.
Through 3G1 the Company is in the process of developing
the Initial Project. See discussion above and in the Notes to our Financial Statements.
OFF-BALANCE SHEET ARRANGEMENTS
We do not have any off-balance sheet arrangements (as that term is defined
in Item 303 of Regulation S-K) that are reasonably likely to have a current or future material effect on our financial condition, revenue
or expenses, results of operations, liquidity, capital expenditures or capital resources.
Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About
Market Risk.
Not applicable.
Item 4. Controls and Procedures.
(a) Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures.
The term "disclosure controls and procedures"
is defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"). This term
refers to the controls and procedures of a company that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by a company
in the reports that it files under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the required time periods.
Our Chief Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer has evaluated the effectiveness of the design and operations of our disclosure
controls and procedures as of the end of the period covered by this quarterly report, and has concluded that, as of that date, our disclosure
controls and procedures were not effective at ensuring that required information will be disclosed on a timely basis in our reports filed
under the Exchange Act, as a result of the material weakness in internal control over financial reporting discussed in Item 9(A) of our
Form 10-K for the year ended June 30, 2021.
(b) Changes in Internal Control over Financial
Reporting.
No change in our internal control over financial reporting
(as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act) occurred during the period covered by this report that has materially
affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
46
PART II – OTHER INFORMATION
Item 1. Legal Proceedings.
The Company is currently involved in no litigation
matters except:
A: Website
As previously reported, on Saturday morning, July 17, 2021, our historical
website domain – biontech.com – and email services were compromised and disabled. Research indicated that an unknown party
had ‘hijacked’ the domain in a theft attempt. On September 10, 2021, the Company filed a federal lawsuit ‘in rem’
to recover the <biontech.com> domain and the unknown ‘John Doe’ who hacked and attempted to steal the website. The litigation
was filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria Division under the heading ‘Bion
Environmental Technologies, Inc., Plaintiff, vs John Doe and <biontech.com>, Defendants’ (Case No. 1:21-cv-01034), seeking
recovery of the domain name and other relief as set forth therein.
On November 19, 2021, the United States District Court for the Eastern
District of Virginia, Alexandria Division issued an order stating that “… ORDERED, ADJUDGED and Decreed that plaintiff Bion
Environmental Technologies, Inc. (‘plaintiff) Is the lawful owner of domain name <biontech.com> ….” under the
heading ‘Bion Environmental Technologies, Inc., Plaintiff, vs John Doe and <biontech.com>, Defendants’ (Case No. 1:21-cv-01034).
The Company has moved the domain name <biontech.com> to a new registrar and reactivated it for the Company’s use (paired currently
with its current bionenviro.com website).
B: Dissolution of Bion PA1, LLC (“PA1”)
On September 25, 2014, the Pennsylvania Infrastructure
Investment Authority (“Pennvest”) exercised its right to declare the PA1’s Pennvest Loan in default, accelerated the
Pennvest Loan and demanded that PA1 pay $8,137,117 (principal, interest plus late charges) on or before October 24, 2014. PA1 did not
make the payment and did/does not have the resources to make the payments demanded by Pennvest. PA1 commenced discussions and negotiations
with Pennvest concerning this matter but Pennvest rejected PA1’s proposal made during the fall of 2014. PA1 made a final proposal
to Pennvest during September 2021 which proposal was also rejected by Pennvest. PA1 provided Pennvest with its financial statements (which
include a description of system status) annually. During the 2021 fiscal year, Pennvest’s auditors requested a ‘corrective
action plan’ and PA1 informed Pennvest that “… there is no viable corrective action plan for the Pennvest Loan (‘Loan’).
The facility funded by the Loan has been shut down for many years (which has been disclosed in the annual financial reports to Pennvest
and in public filings by the parent of Bion PA 1, LLC) and the technology utilized in the facility is now obsolete. The facility has not
been commercially operated for approximately six years and has generated zero income. We recommend that Pennvest take appropriate steps
to remove and sell the equipment.” Pennvest responded favorably to the approach of selling the equipment.
On December 29, 2021, the Company approved and executed
a Consent of the Sole Member of Bion PA 1 (the “Consent to Dissolution”) that authorized the complete liquidation and dissolution
of PA1. A Statement of Dissolution was filed by PA1 with the Colorado Secretary of State on December 29, 2021. The Company is of the understanding
that the liquidation value of Bion PA 1’s property is substantially below the current amount outstanding under the Funding Agreement
dated October 27, 2010 by and between PA1 and Pennvest, the only known secured creditor of PA1. Post-dissolution, PA1’s activities
will be limited entirely to activities required to properly distribute its net assets to creditors and wind down its business. PA 1 is
prepared to transfer to Pennvest all of PA1’s right, title and interest in its property (by a bill of sale or other acceptable agreement)
or alternatively, with Pennvest’s approval and direction, arrange for the sale of its property and deliver all proceeds (net of
commissions and customary costs of sale) to Pennvest. PA1 and Pennvest have entered into communication/exchanges to determine how Pennvest
would like PA1 to proceed with this process. The Company’s personnel will assist PA1 with this process as needed at no cost to PA1.
Upon the complete distribution of all assets of PA1,
whether by transfer or sale as provided above, PA1 will use commercially reasonable efforts to cause the cessation of all activities.
No distributions of PA1’s assets will be made to the Company or its affiliates. The Consent to Dissolution authorized Mark A. Smith,
the Company’s President and the sole manager of PA1, to cause to be delivered for filing the Statement of Dissolution, to give notice
of the dissolution, and to take any other act necessary to wind up and liquidate the business.
PA 1 has made no payments to vendors or other creditors
in connection with the dissolution. No distributions or payments of any kind have ever been made to the Company, the sole member of PA1
since inception and no payment will be made to the Company or any affiliate in connection with the dissolution.
47
Through the date of the dissolution, PA1 was a wholly-owned
subsidiary of the Company and its assets and liabilities were included on the Company’s consolidated balance sheet. At September
30, 2021, PA1’s total assets were $297 and its total liabilities were $10,154,334 (including the Pennvest Loan in the aggregate
amount of $9,939,148, accounts payable of $214,235 and accrued liabilities of $950) which sums were included in the Company’s consolidated
balance sheet in its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2021. Subsequent to the dissolution of PA1, its assets and liabilities
are not and will no longer be consolidated and included in the Company’s balance sheet. As of December 29, 2021, PA1’s total
assets where nil and its total liabilities were $10,234,501 (including the Pennvest Loan in the aggregate amount of $10,009,802, accounts
payable of $212,263 and accrued liabilities of $12,436. The net amount of $10,234,501 was recognized as a gain on the legal dissolution
of a subsidiary in other (income) expense. See Item 1, “Financial Statements” above.
Item 1A. Risk Factors.
Not applicable.
Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity
Securities and Use of Proceeds.
During the quarter ended December 31, 2021,
the Company sold the following restricted securities: a) 25,171 shares of common stock issued pursuant to our 2006 Consolidated Incentive
Plan (“Plan”) upon the conversion of debt and b) 2,176,216 shares of common stock issued pursuant to exercise of 2,176,216
@ $0.75/warrant and the Company received gross proceeds of $1,632,162. All of these transactions the Company relied on the exemptions
in Section 4(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and/or under Rule 506 of Regulation D under the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended. See Notes to Financial Statements (included herein) for additional details.
The proceeds were utilized for general corporate
purposes.
Item 3. Defaults Upon Senior Securities.
Not applicable.
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures.
Not applicable.
Item 5. Other Information.
Not applicable.
Item 6. Exhibits.
(a) Exhibits required by Item 601 of Regulation S-K.
Exhibit
Description
31.1
Certification of CEO pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) or Rule 15d-14(a) - Filed herewith electronically
31.2
Certification of Executive Chairman, President and CFO pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) or Rule 15d-14(a) - Filed herewith electronically
32.1
Certification of CEO pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 - Filed herewith electronically
32.2
Certification of Executive Chairman, President and CFO pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 - Filed herewith electronically
101
Inline interactive data files pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T: (i) the Unaudited Balance Sheets, (ii) the Unaudited Statements of Operations, (iii) the Unaudited Consolidated Statements of Changes in Stockholder’s Equity (Deficit), (iv) Unaudited of Cash Flows and (v) the Notes to Financial Statements.
48
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.
BION ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
Date: February 14, 2022
By:
/s/ Mark A. Smith
Mark A. Smith, President and Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)
Date: February 14, 2022
By:
/s/ Dominic Bassani
Dominic Bassani, Chief Executive Officer
49
Text extracted from the filing as submitted to EDGAR. Formatting, tables and exhibits are simplified for reading; the original document is authoritative for anything you rely on.