HNO International, Inc. 10-K

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS. The following are important factors we have identified that could affect an investment in our securities. You should consider them carefully when evaluating an investment in HNO International, Inc. securities, because these factors could cause actual results to differ materially from historical results or any forward-looking statements. The risks described below are not the only risks we face. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently deem to be immaterial may also materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, operating results, and prospects. We need to continue as a going concern if our business is to succeed. Our independent registered public accounting firm reports on our audited financial statements for the years ended October 31, 2023 and 2022, indicate that there are a number of factors that raise substantial risks about our ability to continue as a going concern. Such factors identified in the report are our accumulated deficit since inception, our failure to attain profitable operations, the excess of liabilities over assets, and our dependence upon obtaining adequate additional financing to pay our liabilities. If we are not able to continue as a going concern, investors could lose their investments. 10 We have a limited operating history. We have a limited operating history. We will, in all likelihood, sustain operating expenses without corresponding revenues, at least for the foreseeable future. We can make no assurances that we will be able to effectuate our strategies or otherwise to generate sufficient revenue to continue operations. During the year ended October 31, 2023, our total revenue was $13,000, and we had a net loss of $1,441,335. During the year ended October 31, 2022, our total revenue was $34,450, and we had a net loss of $1,071,309. Our estimates of capital, personnel, equipment, and facilities required for our proposed operations are based on certain other existing businesses operating under projected business conditions and plans. We believe that our estimates are reasonable, but it is not possible to determine the accuracy of such estimates at this point. In formulating our business plan, we have relied on the judgment of our officers and directors and their experience in developing businesses. We can make no assurances that we will be able to obtain sufficient financing or implement successfully the business plan we have devised. Further, even with sufficient financing, there can be no assurance that we will be able to operate our business on a profitable basis. We can make no assurances that our projected business plan will be realized or that any of our assumptions will prove to be correct. We are subject to a variety of possible risks that could adversely impact our revenues, results of operations or financial condition. Some of these risks relate to general economic and financial conditions, while others are more specific to us and the carbon emissions industry in which we operate. The following factors set out potential risks we have identified that could adversely affect us. The risks described below may not be the only risks we face. Additional risks that we do not yet know of, or that we currently think are immaterial, could also have a negative impact on our business operations or financial condition. We operate in a highly competitive industry. The climate and carbon treatment business is highly competitive and constantly changing. Our competitors include not only other large multinational companies, but also smaller entities that operate in local or regional markets as well as new forms of market participants. Competitive challenges also arise from rapidly-evolving and new technologies in the carbon capture space, creating opportunities for new and existing competitors and a need for continued significant investment in research and development. A number of our existing or potential competitors may have substantially greater financial, technical, and marketing resources, larger investor bases, greater name recognition, and more established relationships with their investors, and more established sources of deal flow and investment opportunities than we do. This may enable our competitors to: develop and expand their services and develop infrastructure more quickly and achieve greater scale and cost efficiencies; adapt more quickly to new or emerging markets and opportunities, strategies, techniques, technologies, and changing investor needs; take advantage of acquisitions and other market opportunities more readily; establish operations in new markets more rapidly; devote greater resources to the marketing and sale of their products and services; adopt more aggressive pricing policies; and provide clients with additional benefits at lower overall costs in order to gain market share. If our competitive advantages are not compelling or sustainable and we are not able to effectively compete with larger competitors, then we may not be able to increase or sustain cash flow. We will need to raise funding, which may not be available on acceptable terms, or at all. Failure to obtain this necessary capital when needed may force us to delay, limit or terminate our product development efforts or other operations. We will need to seek funds soon, through public or private equity or debt financings, government or other third-party funding, marketing and distribution arrangements and other collaborations, strategic alliances or a combination of these approaches. Raising funds in the current economic environment may present additional challenges. It is not certain that we have accounted for all costs and expenses of future development and regulatory compliance. Even if we believe we have sufficient funds for our current or future operating plans, we may seek additional capital if market conditions are favorable or if we have specific strategic considerations. Our future growth may be limited. Our ability to achieve our expansion objectives and to manage our growth effectively depends upon a variety of factors, including our ability to further develop use of methodology, solutions and systems, to attract and retain skilled employees, to successfully position and market the Company, to protect our existing intellectual property, to capitalize on the potential opportunities we are pursuing with third parties, and sufficient funding. To accommodate growth and compete effectively, we will need working capital to maintain adequate operating levels, develop additional procedures and controls and increase, train, motivate and manage our work force. There is no assurance that our personnel, systems, procedures and controls will be adequate to support our potential future operations. 11 We rely on key personnel. Our success also will depend in large part on the continued service of our key operational and management personnel, including executive staff, research and development, engineering, marketing and sales staff. We face intense competition from our competitors, customers and other companies throughout the industry. Any failure on our part to hire, train and retain a sufficient number of qualified professionals could impair our business. Our stockholders have limited voting power compared to the holder of our Series A Preferred Stock. Our Chairman, Donald Owens, is the sole holder of our Series A Preferred Stock and, along with his ownership a substantial percentage of our Common Stock, controls a majority of the voting power of our Company. For so long as Mr. Owens holds all of the shares of Series A Preferred Stock and a substantial percentage of our Common Stock, he is expected to hold a majority of our outstanding voting power and he will control the outcome of matters submitted to a stockholder vote, including the appointment of all directors of the Company. Our management controls all corporate activities and can approve all transactions, including mergers, without the approval of other stockholders. Our Chairman, Donald Owens, owns all of the shares of our Series A Preferred Stock that gives him the rights to 55 votes per share of our Company as well as is ownership of a substantial percentage of our Common Stock. Other members of our management also own shares of our Common Stock. Therefore, our management effectively controls all corporate activities and can approve transactions, including possible mergers, issuance of shares and compensation levels, without the approval of other stockholders. The decisions of our management may not be consistent with or in the best interests of other stockholders. This capital structure may have anti-takeover effects preventing a change in control transaction that the minority owners of our Common Stock might consider in their best interest. The ability of our management to control our business may limit or eliminate minority stockholders’ ability to influence corporate affairs. Our Chairman, Donald Owens, owns all of the shares of our Series A Preferred Stock that gives him the rights to 55 votes per share of our Company as well as is ownership of a substantial percentage of our Common Stock. Because of this beneficial stock ownership, Mr. Owens is in a position to continue to elect our entire board of directors, decide all matters requiring stockholder approval, including potential mergers or business changes, and determine our policies. The interests of our management may differ from the interests of our minority stockholders with respect to the issuance of shares, business transactions with or sales to other companies, selection of officers and directors and other business decisions. Our minority stockholders have no way of overriding decisions made by our management. This level of control may also have an adverse impact on the market value of our shares because our management may institute or undertake transactions, policies or programs that may result in losses, may not take any steps to increase our visibility in the financial community and/or may sell sufficient numbers of shares to significantly decrease our price per share. We owe debt to a related party, which may be convertible into a substantial amount of shares of Common Stock. If any or all of the notes are converted, shareholders would realize substantial dilution. As of January 8, 2024, we had entered into several promissory notes with HNO Green Fuels, Inc., an entity controlled by our Chairman, Donald Owens, in the aggregate principal amount of $1,440,000. Although none of these notes are currently convertible into shares of Common Stock of our Company, in the past, we have settled a note that was in default for shares of Common Stock. If we are unable to pay each note, we may settle one or all of the notes for shares of our Common Stock. In the event of a settlement or settlements of a note or notes for shares of our Common Stock, our shareholders would realize substantial dilution and the value of their shares would decrease. We may need to defend ourselves against intellectual property infringement claims, which may be time-consuming and cause us to incur substantial costs. Companies, organizations or individuals, including our competitors, may own or obtain intellectual property or other proprietary rights that would prevent or limit our ability to make, use, develop or sell our concept, which could make it more difficult for us to operate our business. We may receive inquiries from intellectual property owners inquiring whether we infringe their proprietary rights. Our business may be adversely affected if we are unable to protect our intellectual property rights from unauthorized use by third parties. 12 Failure to adequately protect our intellectual property rights could result in our competitors offering similar products, potentially resulting in the loss of some of our competitive advantage, and a decrease in our revenue which would adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results. Our success depends, at least in part, on our ability to protect our core methodology and intellectual property. To accomplish this, we will rely on a combination of intellectual property, trade secrets (including know-how), employee and third-party nondisclosure agreements, copyright, trademarks, intellectual property licenses and other contractual rights to establish and protect our rights in our technology. Patent, trademark, and trade secret laws vary significantly throughout the world. Confidentiality agreements with employees and others may not adequately prevent disclosure of trade secrets and other proprietary information. In order to protect our proprietary technology and processes, we also rely in part on confidentiality agreements with our employees, consultants, outsource manufacturers and other advisors. These agreements may not effectively prevent disclosure of confidential information and may not provide an adequate remedy in the event of unauthorized disclosure of confidential information. In addition, others may independently discover trade secrets and proprietary information. Costly and time-consuming litigation could be necessary to enforce and determine the scope of our proprietary rights, and failure to obtain or maintain trade secret protection could adversely affect our competitive business position. We may not be successful in our potential business combinations. We may, in the future, pursue acquisitions of other complementary businesses and technology licensing arrangements. We may also pursue strategic alliances and joint ventures that leverage our core products and industry experience to expand our product offerings and geographic presence. We have limited experience with respect to acquiring other companies and limited experience with respect to forming collaborations, strategic alliances and joint ventures. If we were to make any acquisitions, we may not be able to integrate these acquisitions successfully into our existing business and could assume unknown or contingent liabilities. Any future acquisitions we make, could also result in large and immediate write-offs or the incurrence of debt and contingent liabilities, any of which could harm our operating results. Integrating an acquired company also may require management resources that otherwise would be available for ongoing development of our existing business. Any future indebtedness reduces cash available for distribution and may expose us to the risk of default under debt obligations that we may incur in the future. Payments of principal and interest on borrowings that we may incur in the future may leave us with insufficient cash resources to operate the business. Our level of debt and the limitations imposed on us by debt agreements could have significant material and adverse consequences, including the following: · Our cash flow may be insufficient to meet our required principal and interest payments; · We may be unable to borrow additional funds as needed or on favorable terms, or at all; · We may be unable to refinance our indebtedness at maturity or the refinancing terms may be less favorable than the terms of our original indebtedness; · To the extent we borrow debt that bears interest at variable rates, increases in interest rates could materially increase our interest expense; · To the extent we borrow debt that bears interest at variable rates, increases in interest rates could materially increase our interest expense; and · Our default under any loan with cross default provisions could result in a default on other indebtedness. If any one of these events were to occur, our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow, and our ability to make distributions to our shareholders could be materially and adversely affected. 13 Our results of operations are highly susceptible to unfavorable economic conditions. We are exposed to risks associated with weak or uncertain regional or global economic conditions and disruption in the financial markets. The global economy continues to be challenging in some markets. Uncertainty about the strength of the global economy generally, or economic conditions in certain regions or market sectors, and a degree of caution on the part of some marketers, can have an effect on the demand for advertising and marketing communication services. In addition, market conditions can be adversely affected by natural and human disruptions, such as natural disasters, severe weather events, military conflict or public health crises. Our industry can be affected more severely than other sectors by an economic downturn and can recover more slowly than the economy in general. In the past, some clients have responded to weak economic and financial conditions by reducing their marketing budgets, which include discretionary components that are easier to reduce in the short term than other operating expenses. This pattern may recur in the future. Furthermore, unexpected revenue shortfalls can result in misalignments of costs and revenues, resulting in a negative impact to our operating margins. If our business is significantly adversely affected by unfavorable economic conditions or other market disruptions that adversely affect client spending, the negative impact on our revenue could pose a challenge to our operating income and cash generation from operations. We may not be able to meet our performance targets and milestones. From time to time, we communicate to the public certain targets and milestones for our financial and operating performance that are intended to provide metrics against which to evaluate our performance. They should not be understood as predictions or guidance about our expected performance. Our ability to meet any target or milestone is subject to inherent risks and uncertainties, and we caution investors against placing undue reliance on them. We have limited personal liability. Our Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws generally provide that the liability of our officers and directors will be eliminated to the fullest extent allowed under law for their acts on behalf of our Company. It is possible investors may lose their entire investment. We will be reliant on the proceeds of this offering to expand our operations. We may not be successful in implementing our business strategy or that we will be successful in achieving our objectives. Our prospects for success must be considered in the context of a thinly capitalized company in a highly competitive market. As a result, investors may lose their entire investment. If we fail to establish and maintain an effective system of internal control, we may not be able to report our financial results accurately or to prevent fraud. Any inability to report and file our financial results accurately and timely could harm our reputation and adversely impact the trading price of our common stock. Effective internal control is necessary for us to provide reliable financial reports and prevent fraud. If we cannot provide reliable financial reports or prevent fraud, we may not be able to manage our business as effectively as we would if an effective control environment existed, and our business and reputation with investors may be harmed. As a result, our small size and any current internal control deficiencies may adversely affect our financial condition, results of operation and access to capital. We have not performed an in-depth analysis to determine if historical un-discovered failures of internal controls exist, and may in the future discover areas of our internal control that need improvement. Public company compliance may make it more difficult to attract and retain officers and directors. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act and new rules subsequently implemented by the SEC have required changes in corporate governance practices of public companies. As a public company, we expect these new rules and regulations to increase our compliance costs in 2023 and beyond and to make certain activities more time consuming and costly. As a public company, we also expect that these new rules and regulations may make it more difficult and expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance in the future and we may be required to accept reduced policy limits and coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain the same or similar coverage. As a result, it may be more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified persons to serve on our Board of Directors or as executive officers. Risks Related to Our Market We may be unable to successfully execute and operate our green hydrogen production projects and such projects may cost more and take longer to complete than we expect. As part of our vertical integration strategy, we are developing and constructing green hydrogen production facilities at locations across the United States and Canada. Our ability to successfully complete and operate these projects is not guaranteed. These projects will impact our ability to meet and supplement the hydrogen demands for our products and services, for both existing and prospective customers. Our hydrogen production projects are dependent, in part, upon our ability to meet our internal demand for electrolyzers required for such projects. Electrolyzer demand by external customers may concurrently affect our ability to meet the internal electrolyzer demand from our hydrogen production projects. The timing and cost to complete the construction of our hydrogen production projects are subject to a number of factors outside of our control and such projects may take longer and cost more to complete and become operational than we expect. 14 Furthermore, the viability and competitiveness of our green hydrogen production facilities will depend, in part, upon favorable laws, regulations, and policies related to hydrogen production. Some of these laws, regulations, policies are nascent, and there is no guarantee that they will be favorable to our projects. Additionally, our facilities will be subject to numerous and new permitting, regulations, laws, and policies, many of which might vary by jurisdiction. Hydrogen production facilities are also subject to robust competition from well-established multi-national companies in the energy industry. There is no guarantee that our hydrogen production strategy will be successful, amidst this competitive environment. We will continue to be dependent on certain third-party key suppliers for components in our products. The failure of a supplier to develop and supply components in a timely manner or at all, or our inability to obtain substitute sources of these components on a timely basis or on terms acceptable to us, could impair our ability to manufacture our products or could increase our cost of production. We rely on certain key suppliers for critical components in our products, and there are numerous other components for our products that are sole sourced. If we fail to maintain our relationships with our suppliers or build relationships with new suppliers, or if suppliers are unable to meet our demand, we may be unable to manufacture our products, or our products may be available only at a higher cost or after a delay. In addition, to the extent that our supply partners use technology or manufacturing processes that are proprietary, we may be unable to obtain comparable components from alternative sources. Furthermore, we may become increasingly subject to domestic content sourcing requirements and Buy America preferences, as required under certain United States federal infrastructure funding sources. Domestic content preferences and Buy America requirements potential mandate that we source certain components and materials from within the United States. Conformity with these provisions potentially depends upon our ability to increasingly source components or certain materials from within the United States. An inability to meet these requirements could have a material adverse effect on our ability to successfully compete for certain projects or awards utilizing federal funds subject to such mandates. The failure of a supplier to develop and supply components in a timely manner or at all, or to develop or supply components that meet our quality, quantity and cost requirements, or our inability to obtain substitute sources of these components on a timely basis or on terms acceptable to us, could impair our ability to manufacture our products or could increase our cost of production. If we cannot obtain substitute materials or components on a timely basis or on acceptable terms, we could be prevented from delivering our products to our customers within required timeframes. Any such delays could result in sales and installation delays, cancellations, penalty payments or loss of revenue and market share, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition. Our products and services face intense competition. The markets for energy products, including PEM fuel cells, electrolyzers, and hydrogen production are intensely competitive. Some of our competitors are much larger than we are and may have the manufacturing, marketing and sales capabilities to complete research, development, and commercialization of profitable, commercially viable products more quickly and effectively than we can. There are many companies engaged in all areas of traditional and alternative energy generation in the United States and abroad, including, among others, major electric, oil, chemical, natural gas, battery, generator and specialized electronics firms, as well as universities, research institutions and foreign government-sponsored companies. These firms are engaged in forms of power generation such as advanced battery technologies, generator sets, fast charged technologies and other types of fuel cell technologies. Well established companies might similarly seek to expand into new types of energy products, including PEM fuel cells, electrolyzers, or hydrogen production. Additionally, some competitors may rely on other different competing technologies for fuel cells, electrolyzers, or hydrogen production. We believe our technologies have many advantages. In the near future, we expect the demand for these products – electrolyzers in particular – to largely offset any hypothetical market preference for competing technologies. However, changes in customer preferences, the marketplace, or government policies could favor competing technologies. The primary current value proposition for our fuel cell customers stems from productivity gains in using our solutions. Longer term, given evolving market dynamics and changes in alternative energy tax credits, if we are unable to successfully develop future products that are competitive with competing technologies in terms of price, reliability and longevity, customers may not buy our products. Technological advances in alternative energy products, battery systems or other fuel cell, electrolyzer, or hydrogen technologies may make our products less attractive or render them obsolete. Risks Related to Financing Our Business Expenses required to operate as a public company will reduce funds available to develop our business and could negatively affect our stock price and adversely affect our results of operations, cash flow and financial condition. 15 Operating as a public company is more expensive than operating as a private company, including additional funds required to obtain outside assistance from legal, accounting, investor relations, or other professionals that could be more costly than planned. We may also be required to hire additional staff to comply with SEC reporting requirements. We anticipate that these costs will be approximately $200,000-$300,000 annually. Our failure to comply with reporting requirements and other provisions of securities laws could negatively affect our results of operations, cash flow and financial condition. Our growth depends on external sources of capital, which may not be available on favorable terms or at all. In addition, investors, banks and other financial institutions may be reluctant to enter into any lending or financial transactions with us, because we intend to enter into a mining excavation operation that could have environmental impacts if not managed properly. If any of the source of funding is unavailable to us, our growth may be limited, and our operating profit may be impaired. We may not be in a position to take advantage of attractive investment opportunities for growth if we are unable, due to global or regional economic uncertainty, changes in the provincial or federal regulatory environment relating to the extraction, processing and distribution of our products or otherwise, to access capital markets on a timely basis and on favorable terms or at all. Because we intend to grow our business, this limitation may require us to raise additional equity or incur debt at a time when it may be disadvantageous to do so. Our access to capital will depend upon several factors over which we have little or no control, including general market conditions and the market’s perception of our current and potential future earnings. If general economic instability or downturn leads to an inability to obtain capital to finance, the operation could be negatively impacted. In addition, investors, banks and other financial institutions may be reluctant to enter into financing transactions with us, because we intend to operate a mining excavation operation. If this source of funding is unavailable to us, our growth may be limited. Our ability to raise funding is subject to all the above factors and will also be affected by our future financial position, results of operations and cash flows. All these events would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, liquidity, and results of operations. Any future indebtedness reduces cash available for distribution and may expose us to the risk of default under debt obligations that we may incur in the future. Payments of principal and interest on borrowings that we may incur in the future may leave us with insufficient cash resources to operate the business. Our level of debt and the limitations imposed on us by debt agreements could have significant material and adverse consequences, including the following: · our cash flow may be insufficient to meet our required principal and interest payments; · we may be unable to borrow additional funds as needed or on favorable terms; · we may be unable to refinance our indebtedness at maturity or the refinancing terms may be less favorable than the terms of our original indebtedness; · to the extent we borrow debt that bears interest at variable rates, increases in interest rates could materially increase our interest expense; · we may default on our obligations or violate restrictive covenants; in which case the lenders may accelerate these debt obligations; and · default under any loan with cross default provisions could result in a default on other indebtedness. If any one of these events were to occur, our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow, and our ability to make distributions to our shareholders could be materially and adversely affected. Risks Related to Regulation Applicable state and international laws may prevent us from maximizing our potential income. Depending on the laws of each particular State, we may not be able to fully realize our potential to generate profit. Furthermore, cities and counties are being given broad discretion to use other carbon capture methodologies. Depending on the laws of international countries and the States, we might not be able to fully realize our potential to generate profit. 16 Risks Related to Our Common Stock Because the SEC imposes additional sales practice requirements on brokers who deal in our shares that are penny stocks, some brokers may be unwilling to trade them. This means that investors may have difficulty reselling their shares and may cause the price of the shares to decline. Our shares qualify as penny stocks and are covered by Section 15(g) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “ Exchange Act ”), which imposes additional sales practice requirements on broker/dealers who sell our securities in this offering or in the aftermarket. In particular, prior to selling a penny stock, broker/dealers must give the prospective customer a risk disclosure document that: contains a description of the nature and level of risk in the market for penny stocks in both public offerings and secondary trading; contains a description of the broker/dealers’ duties to the customer and of the rights and remedies available to the customer with respect to violations of such duties or other requirements of Federal securities laws; contains a brief, clear, narrative description of a dealer market, including “bid” and “ask” prices for penny stocks and the significance of the spread between the bid and ask prices; contains the toll free telephone number for inquiries on disciplinary actions established pursuant to section 15(A)(i); defines significant terms used in the disclosure document or in the conduct of trading in penny stocks; and contains such other information, and is in such form (including language, type size, and format), as the SEC requires by rule or regulation. Further, for sales of our securities, the broker/dealer must make a special suitability determination and receive from you a written agreement before making a sale to you. Because of the imposition of the foregoing additional sales practices, it is possible that brokers will not want to make a market in our shares. This could prevent reselling of shares and may cause the price of the shares to decline. Our stock may be traded infrequently and in low volumes, so you may be unable to sell your shares at or near the quoted bid prices if you need to sell your shares. Until our common stock is listed on a national securities exchange such as the New York Stock Exchange or the Nasdaq, we expect our common stock to remain eligible for quotation on the OTC Markets, or on another over-the-counter quotation system. In those venues, however, the shares of our common stock may trade infrequently and in low volumes, meaning that the number of persons interested in purchasing our common shares at or near bid prices at any given time may be relatively small or non-existent. An investor may find it difficult to obtain accurate quotations as to the market value of our common stock or to sell his or her shares at or near bid prices or at all. In addition, if we fail to meet the criteria set forth in SEC regulations, various requirements would be imposed by law on broker-dealers who sell our securities to persons other than established customers and accredited investors. Consequently, such regulations may deter broker-dealers from recommending or selling our common stock, which may further affect the liquidity of our common stock. This would also make it more difficult for us to raise capital. There currently is no active public market for our common stock and there can be no assurance that an active public market will ever develop. Failure to develop or maintain a trading market could negatively affect the value of our common stock and make it difficult or impossible for you to sell your shares. There is currently no active public market for shares of our common stock and one may never develop. Our common stock is quoted on the OTC Markets. The OTC Markets is a thinly traded market and lacks the liquidity of certain other public markets with which some investors may have more experience. We may not ever be able to satisfy the listing requirements for our common stock to be listed on a national securities exchange, which is often a more widely-traded and liquid market. Some, but not all, of the factors which may delay or prevent the listing of our common stock on a more widely-traded and liquid market include the following: our stockholders’ equity may be insufficient; the market value of our outstanding securities may be too low; our net income from operations may be too low; our common stock may not be sufficiently widely held; we may not be able to secure market makers for our common stock; and we may fail to meet the rules and requirements mandated by the several exchanges and markets to have our common stock listed. Should we fail to satisfy the initial listing standards of the national exchanges, or our common stock is otherwise rejected for listing, and remains listed on the OTC Markets or is suspended from the OTC Markets, the trading price of our common stock could suffer and the trading market for our common stock may be less liquid and our common stock price may be subject to increased volatility, making it difficult or impossible to sell shares of our common stock. Our common stock is subject to the “penny stock” rules of the SEC and the trading market in the securities is limited, which makes transactions in the stock cumbersome and may reduce the value of an investment in the stock. Rule 15g-9 under the Exchange Act establishes the definition of a “penny stock,” for the purposes relevant to us, as any equity security that has a market price of less than $5.00 per share or with an exercise price of less than $5.00 per share, subject to certain exceptions. For any transaction involving a penny stock, unless exempt, the rules require: (a) that a broker or dealer approve a person’s account for transactions in penny stocks; and (b) the broker or dealer receive from the investor a written agreement to the transaction, setting forth the identity and quantity of the penny stock to be purchased. 17 In order to approve a person’s account for transactions in penny stocks, the broker or dealer must: (a) obtain financial information and investment experience objectives of the person and (b) make a reasonable determination that the transactions in penny stocks are suitable for that person and the person has sufficient knowledge and experience in financial matters to be capable of evaluating the risks of transactions in penny stocks. The broker or dealer must also deliver, prior to any transaction in a penny stock, a disclosure schedule prescribed by the SEC relating to the penny stock market, which, in highlight form: (a) sets forth the basis on which the broker or dealer made the suitability determination; and (b) confirms that the broker or dealer received a signed, written agreement from the investor prior to the transaction. Generally, brokers may be less willing to execute transactions in securities subject to the “penny stock” rules. This may make it more difficult for investors to dispose of our common stock and cause a decline in the market value of our common stock. Disclosure also has to be made about the risks of investing in penny stocks in both public offerings and in secondary trading and about the commissions payable to both the broker or dealer and the registered representative, current quotations for the securities and the rights and remedies available to an investor in cases of fraud in penny stock transactions. Finally, monthly statements have to be sent disclosing recent price information for the penny stock held in the account and information on the limited market in penny stocks. Our stock price may be volatile. The market price of our common stock is likely to be highly volatile and could fluctuate widely in price in response to various factors, many of which are beyond our control, including the following: · The continued effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and its variants; · The impact of conflict between the Russian Federation and Ukraine on our operations; · Geo-political events, such as the crisis in Ukraine, government responses to such events and the related impact on the economy both nationally and internationally; · Changes in our industry; · Competitive pricing pressures; · Our ability to obtain working capital financing; · Additions or departures of key personnel; · Sales of our common stock; · Our ability to execute our business plan; · Operating results that fall below expectations; · Loss of any strategic relationship; · Regulatory developments; and · Economic and other external factors. In addition, the securities markets have from time-to-time experienced significant price and volume fluctuations that are unrelated to the operating performance of particular companies. These market fluctuations may also materially and adversely affect the market price of our common stock. 18 Offers or availability for sale of a substantial number of shares of our common stock may cause the price of our common stock to decline. If our stockholders sell substantial amounts of our common stock in the public market, including upon the expiration of any statutory holding period under Rule 144, or issued upon the conversion of preferred stock or exercise of warrants, it could create a circumstance commonly referred to as an "overhang" and in anticipation of which the market price of our common stock could fall. The existence of an overhang, whether or not sales have occurred or are occurring, also could make more difficult our ability to raise additional financing through the sale of equity or equity-related securities in the future at a time and price that we deem reasonable or appropriate. Offers or availability for sale of a substantial number of shares of our common stock may cause the price of our common stock to decline. If our stockholders sell substantial amounts of our common stock in the public market, including upon the expiration of any statutory holding period under Rule 144, or issued upon the conversion of preferred stock or exercise of warrants, it could create a circumstance commonly referred to as an "overhang" and in anticipation of which the market price of our common stock could fall. The existence of an overhang, whether or not sales have occurred or are occurring, also could make more difficult our ability to raise additional financing through the sale of equity or equity-related securities in the future at a time and price that we deem reasonable or appropriate. Your percentage of ownership may become diluted if we issue new Common Stock or other securities, including shares that are eligible for exchange. Our board of directors is authorized, without your approval, to cause us to issue additional Common Stock to raise capital through the issuance of Common Stock (including equity or debt securities convertible into Common Stock), and other rights, on terms and for consideration as our board of directors in its sole discretion may determine. Any such issuance could result in dilution of the equity of our shareholders. We have many authorized but unissued shares of our common stock. We have a large number of authorized but unissued shares of Common Stock, which our management may issue without further stockholder approval, thereby causing dilution of your holdings of our Common Stock. Our management will continue to have broad discretion to issue shares of our common stock in a range of transactions, including capital-raising transactions, mergers, acquisitions, and other transactions, without obtaining stockholder approval, unless stockholder approval is required. If our management determines to issue shares of our Common Stock from the large pool of authorized but unissued shares for any purpose in the future, your ownership position would be diluted without your further ability to vote on that transaction. The market valuation of our business may fluctuate due to factors beyond our control and the value of your investment may fluctuate correspondingly. The market valuation of companies, such as us, frequently fluctuate due to factors unrelated to the past or present operating performance of such companies. Our market valuation may fluctuate significantly in response to a number of factors, many of which are beyond our control, including: 1. Changes in securities analysts’ estimates of our financial performance, although there are currently no analysts covering our stock; 2. Fluctuations in stock market prices and volumes, particularly among securities of companies such as ours; 3. Changes in market valuations of similar companies; 4. Announcements by us or our competitors of significant contracts, new technologies, acquisitions, commercial relationships, joint ventures or capital commitments; 5. Variations in our quarterly operating results; 6. Fluctuations in related labor cost; and 7. Additions or departures of key personnel. As a result, the value of your investment in us may fluctuate. 19 We have never paid dividends on our Common Stock. We have never paid cash dividends on our Common Stock and do not presently intend to pay any dividends in the foreseeable future. Investors should not look to dividends as a source of income. In the interest of reinvesting initial profits back into our business, we do not intend to pay cash dividends in the foreseeable future. Consequently, any economic return will initially be derived, if at all, from appreciation in the fair market value of our stock, and not as a result of dividend payments. ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS Not applicable. ITEM 2. PROPERTIES. We operate out of an approximately 5,000 square foot facility in Murrieta, California and we are establishing a location in Houston, Texas for our Scalable Green Hydrogen Production farms. We believe that these facilities are adequate for our current and near-term future needs.