Shareholder Q3 Update, November 2024

Dear Shareholders,                                                                             Zirconia, Inc. | www.ZirconiaInc.com

Zirconia continues to benefit from our sales focus on concrete infrastructure corrosion-prevention and corrosion-renovation markets.  I would add that these markets also cross over into waterproofing, which is a market we are learning more about, and one that we are getting drawn into by our clients.  More on this below.

As a reminder, our Ceramic Surface Treatment (CST), CeramycGuard, is a nano-scale version of Roman Cement, which forms a stable granite like layer over concrete, filling pores and cracks and stabilizing the surface. So, concrete goes from a chemically unstable, porous surface, to an ultra-stable, granite-like (ceramic) surface.  The CST coating repairs existing concrete corrosion (ex. ambient carbonation corrosion) filling in all the areas where cement has been lost, creating a like-new condition.  It then stops future corrosion from ever occurring. So, Zirconia's CST is an excellent preservation technology for bridges, dams and other environmentally exposed infrastructure - especially those that are salted.

Sometimes, however, a topcoat is needed over the CST in order to provide a protective, cleanable surface for multiple reasons, including: industrial chemicals (factories), wastes from automobiles (parking garages), biological wastes (dumpster pads).  Zirconia has several topcoats we use which are quite advanced ceramic-organic hybrids.  Current versions contain Silicon Carbide (diamond analogue), and other advanced ceramics making them incredibly wear resistance, and also chemically resistant (ex. to sulfuric battery acid). 

In these cases, the key advantage of Zirconia's topcoat systems is that they are molecularly bonded with the concrete (durable), while the older versions of coatings, like epoxies, rely on adhesion, which is a temporary state (non-durable). What does this mean exactly? Well, Zirconia’s topcoats are composites with the CST (CeramycGuard) and concrete surface, and cannot debond, peel, or delaminate in any manner. They provide surface protection, and also corrosion protection, while being long-term durable.

Epoxy and polyurethanes are 1950's technology.  They rely on adhesion, which is a short-term state of stickiness that weakens over time, then fails, causing the coating to delaminate. Basically, this coating technology is made to fail from concrete.  Naturally, clients hate to pay for repeated costly coating failures.  Also, the warranties that come with these older coating technologies contain corporate verbal gymnastics resulting in the elimination of responsibility for large coating manufacturers. They are basically a list of statements excluding liability, such that no responsibility remains.  Many of our clients hate these warrantees, as you might imagine...

Practically, this means we can give long-term warranties that give our sales process a tactical advantage.  Our clients love these long non-disbondment warrantees, which are the only ones of their kind in the market. The bottom line here is that Zirconia has the superior concrete preservation and coating technologies in the industry, and also the superior warranty.  Our competition cannot match us.  This makes it possible now to accelerate our sales process, now that we have optimized our CST technology, and created a set of supplementary top coatings which make selling CeramyGuard, our main CST technology, easier.

Our goal is to focus on getting our standard construction specifications adopted by states, counties, contractors and architects.  This process generally involves getting meetings, and trials, followed by evaluations, and subsequent adoption (sales). Generally, up to a two-year sales cycle.  Once this occurs, however, our written specification is copied and pasted into the next project as the standard of care.  So, it's hard up front, and much easier on the back end of this sales process to generate volume revenue.

The construction industry takes time to penetrate, which is why we are raising funds to support our sales and marketing efforts.  However, the market size is also enormous.  The Florida market alone is a billion-dollar marketplace for our various CSTs and related coating and repair technologies which address salt damage.

We are in the process of getting additional approvals from Miami Dade county for waterproofing and moisture vapor barriers.  This will extend our ability to be specified by architects and engineers. We will be using the next tranche of funding for this effort.

Our sales funnel now has over $1,000,000 of projects and channel partner opportunities in general construction marketplace related to concrete aging and salt damage.  The information below relates to our sales funnel, excluding names and entities to avoid any potential conflict with ongoing negotiations.

State and government relations:

Florida, Miami area: Multiple condominium projects are bidding out currently. We are managing several coating installations this month.  Our new Zirconia Fortress XD coating is seeing its first balcony installation, which is quite exciting.  There are tens of thousands of these salt corroded balconies, and Zirconia's new Fortress XD coating technology is the first chemically bonded, durable, and attractive coating technology used for these balconies.  This is a military grade coating technology that might be used for an aircraft carrier deck and is incredibly tough. It will protect the building from salt corrosion and likely outlast the occupants.  Positive contractor feedback/experience here will lead to other commercial projects.

We are also working with Florida International University, Miami, on open ocean highway structures.  Specifically, our goal with this effort is to stop salt corrosion on the freeway's concrete support pillars in the tidal splash zones where they deteriorate rapidly due to salt and biologically induced corrosion.

Florida, Tampa area: We have a trial moving forward on part of a seawall surrounding the greater Tampa area.  Hurricane Milton has delayed this trial, but it will be moving forward shortly according to the contractor.  The goal here is to preserve the ocean front seawall before it becomes so corroded it cannot be repaired.  This project is worth $100K if it moves forward in full.  Also, this project is a catalyst for further work...

California: We are focused on water infrastructure in central California.  Our large concrete water tank project in Sacramento was bid out on November 15th and will be awarded shortly.  This is the first of three water tower preservation projects.  Each is worth $135 - $150 K in revenue related to CeramycGuard sales.  

California, Sierra Mountain Dams: We have also sold a few gallons of CeramycGuard to crews fixing one of the Sierra dams above Sacramento, near Lake Tahoe, so we hope this will lead to a trial and other work on dam preservation in this region.

Nebraska:  We had a dam crew perform a CeramycGuard restoration on a concrete pipe that was degraded and cracking. They said it went well. They will review this trial in spring and advise us about moving forward with this and other restorations. This project was through the state regulatory office, which governs hundreds of dams in the state. So, a good start.

Oklahoma DOT trial: This organization coated a concrete column which was repaired with ceramic cement from Phoscrete. Positive feedback from the engineer so far.  They will monitor through the winter.

Washington, Seattle: We are looking at aging lock infrastructure with the US Army Corps of engineers.  This lock is over 100 years old and needs some preservation of the concrete bunkers which encase the mechanical arms which operate the locks.

 Business Channel Partners

Roofs, building envelopes: USA, Canada:  Two billion-dollar multi-national corporations have reached out to us for our products related to waterproofing roofs. This is a huge deal for us, as it means large volume sales at the wholesale level. Negotiations are moving forward with both of these firms.  One of these firms has decided to move forward, we expect the next one may do so in December or early next year. These accounts are worth millions of dollars.

Concrete waterproofing, Global:  We are in discussions with three companies that waterproof roads, bridges and buildings.  Two of these companies are moving forward with trials and testing, as well as cooperative project specification.  These are great opportunities to get our product further into the Florida market, as well as out to the South Pacific (Guam), the Philippines, Singapore and other regional entities.

Opportunity A: This opportunity is unique due to this firm's ability to solve the issue of water penetration into cracks. Their technology adapts to cracks by filling voids as cracks begin, disallowing water and contaminant (salt) penetration, which helps inhibit corrosion the concrete and steel reinforcement.  

The south pacific has warm salty air, and the storms are becoming more intense as climate change becomes more ingrained.  So, there is a strong need for our technology which stops concrete corrosion, and also keeps concrete clean (self-cleaning photocatalytic, oxidative surface) from the aggressive algae that makes concrete infrastructure appear green and slimy in the tropics.

Opportunity B: We are working cooperatively to sell projects that waterproof the concrete deep into the pores of the concrete with partner products, then we coat over this treatment, sealing system with our CST CeramycGuard.  Then, over this waterproof system, we overlay one of our chemically bonded coatings, like our new Fortress XD.

New products, technology advances:

Fortress XD traffic and deck coating:  Advanced military grade ceramic-modified coating similar to what is used for aircraft carriers.  It chemically bonds into the CeramycGuard and creates the most durable, attractive, non-slip surface ever created by mankind.  It is chemically resistant to sulfuric acid and impregnated with silica-carbide (analogue of diamond) for wear resistance.  So, crazy tough. (image right)

Bullet Proof: Our ceramic-organic hybrid topcoat for industrial floors and walls got a boost with new nanoscale ceramics particles, improving its durability.  This coating is excellent for

surfaces exposed to chemicals, like in pool rooms, raw goods storage, warehouse floors, garbage dumpster pads. (image right). It has a great non-slip surface, and is very easy to clean, and impossible to get dirty.

We are also advancing our use and knowledge of advanced ceramics that improve the wear, chemical and thermal resistance of all our coatings.  We are now using some of these advanced ceramics within the CeramycGuard also, getting wonderful results. So, our technology is advancing nicely over time.

ICRI - International Concrete Restoration Institute

Our recent ICRI 2024 annual international conference in Denver Colorado has extended our connectivity into the concrete industry. We connected with many engineers and architects regarding new ways to preserve our concrete infrastructure.  As a result, we have been asked to provide an online presentation of our technology online.  These online presentations have been great for generating projects and relationships, so we look forward to presenting early in 2025.  

We are pushing toward significant revenue generating opportunities, which will also make our CST technology the industry standard in multiple areas of construction.  

For those of you have joined us as investors, thank you for your support. These are exciting times...

Kind regards,

Benjamin Cook, CEO

Zirconia Inc.

Dear Investors,

Thank you so much for making our raise a big success!

Our main goal was to be able to afford a new National Sales Manager, and we have now been able to hire one.

Will Fultz, our National Head of Sales, has over 20 years of sales experience in the coatings and construction industry and he is an extraordinary negotiator.  We are already adding new independent sales representatives, and looking at multiple opportunities for distribution.  This is exactly what we were hoping for.

In other news, we are shipping out our first pallet of goods to Saudi Arabia for trials with a large chemical manufacturing business in Saudi Arabia.  I expect things to go slow at the beginning, and then ramp up sales over the next year.

Also, we are still waiting to hear about our certification from the British water authority.   fingers crossed; we will hear something by late March.

We are relentless in our pursuit of more sustainable infrastructure and climate change reduction.

Thanks again for your participation in our fundraising efforts!  

Kind regards,

Benjamin Cook

Thanks to everyone that invested in Zirconia’s anti-corrosion nano-ceramic coating technology for more sustainable infrastructure!

For those that may wish to invest, but have not yet done so, I wanted to let you know that this is the last chance to invest in Zirconia’s Campaign.  

Just a few hours left.

Don’t miss out!

Zirconia’s crowdfund is wrapping up!

Now is the last chance to invest in Zirconia Inc.’s crowdfunding campaign before it closes.  Don’t miss out!

For all of you who have invested, we are grateful for your support and look forward to big things ahead! 

Thanks to everyday investors like you we've been able to position our startup for success!

Reasons to Invest: Intellectual Property, Market Size, Environment & Business Model

Zirconia is a green technology startup with a great deal of intellectual property for such an early-stage company.

Intellectual Property:  We have an issued patent which covers our anti-corrosion coating technology CeramycGuard and its usage on concrete and steel surfaces, which is good till 2031.  And we have an additional three filed patents.  Improvements to our existing anti-corrosion coating technology are divided in these patents for use over concrete, steel, and galvanized steel.   Our CoolColors coating technology, for reflecting heat and light, is also covered in these filed patents.

Market size: This amazing, patented coating technology addresses the 2.8 trillion-dollar concrete and steel corrosion market.  

Environment: For every project, Zirconia’s nano-ceramic coating technology has positive effects on climate and the environment by increasing asset durability and reducing CO2 emissions.

Business Model:  We are working through independent sales agents and distributors that have direct access into markets which they service.  This model has the lowest cost, and highest profitability.  Our current markets focus is on the following market sectors:

• Floor coatings due to Zirconia coating’s extreme durability and non-slip features
• Water, vapor, and air barrier coatings for cement block walls and concrete vertical walls
• Concrete wastewater infrastructure 
• Concrete salt corrosion on industrial infrastructure

I am particularly excited about this opportunity in the Middle East dealing with salt corrosion on industrial infrastructure because of its large scale and the fact that we have access to big players that own and operated massive infrastructure in 5 countries on the Saudi Arabian Peninsula.  

We welcome new investors who are interesting in making concrete and steel infrastructure more durable, and more sustainable.  Of course, our lives and lifestyles are tied to the quality of our infrastructure, so by saving infrastructure from corrosion, we are preserving our own future.  

2 Days remaining. Don’t miss out!

One of Zirconia's leading investors, Adam S., shared with me his idea that our technology could be used to good effect for concrete floats and anchors used in massive offshore deep water wind farms.  The size of the wind turbine sructures is going up, and so is the need for truly massive supporting structures that float and are tethered to the ocean floor via cable. 

The increased wind energy in the open ocean promises more sustainable energy, which is great.  Building durable structures in a storm-prone, corrosive environment like the North Sea is, however, is a big challenge.  So, folks are being creative with floating systems and anchor weights of various design.  All using concrete in some form.  

After reviewing several of the designs, I have reached out to two companies that are manufacturing floats and anchors to recommend our nano-ceramic coating technology.  I share these companies in the images and links below: 

3D-printed concrete suction pile anchor for connecting floating wind turbines to the seabed via mooring lines. (RCAM Tech.) 

(1) RCAM Technologies makes 3D printed floats and anchors, and other novel technologies.  3-D printing will expand as both the printing technology and the concrete chemistry gets better.  Zirconia’s coating technology is ideal for expanding the lifespan and functionality of their different inventions. 

http://rcamtechnologies.com/

TRIWIND Platform, Powered by Beridi

(2) TRIWIND is another company that makes a novel design for floating surface platforms used in deep water.  Again, our coating technology would enhance both performance, durability, and worker safety (non-slip).

https://www.beridi.com/

Great to see brave entrepreneurs with new ideas pushing materials science and design in the direction of sustainable energy.  Zirconia is perfectly positioned to improve the performance and long term durability of these structures.

Also, it’s always great to get good ideas from our investors.  We are trying to change the world and working cooperatively with our investor community is more effective and more fun.  Please keep good ideas coming our way!  – Benjamin, CEO

Only 3 days remaining in our crowdfunding campaign!

https://www.startengine.com/zirconia

Zirconia is wrapping up its fundraising campaign on StartEngine October 31st.  We want to thank our investor community for their incredible support!  We now have 569 investment community members, and growing!

I wanted to share some summarizing ideas on making infrastructure last longer, and where Zirconia's technology fits into this mix of ideas.

Our infrastructure “system” is broken.  In my experience with government entities in charge of infrastructure, I have heard a lot of excuses, but not a lot of good long-term strategic planning.

For one thing, the US infrastructure system does not have clear metrics, which makes competing interest confusing, consider:

1. All of our bridges, dams, water treatment facilities and other key infrastructure elements are basically permanent.  So, there is no good reason to invest in old short-lived technology and a lowest-cost-bid strategy.  All assets need to last for 100 years minimum, or longer.  Sound rational?

1. Except...our municipalities are trying to stretch limited dollars, and make lots of construction and renovation happen with limited resources.   Sounds rational?

Ugh.  We are reacting rather than leading on technology goals and metrics.

(1) We need a clear financial guide in the form of Life Cycle Analysis to guide us in decision making.  At least for infrastructure elements of a certain value, say > $1 MM.  I was told recently by at top official in Washington State in charge of transportation infrastructure, that, “We don’t look at lifecycle costs yet, we are not that evolved”.  Yet? Really? 

Basically, we don't know the actual cost of the bridge, including maintenance over a 100-year lifespan.   Some bridges cost nearly as much to deal with a single 20-year painting and corrosion repair cycle as they did to build.  So, bad decision to build this type of structure in the first place! Environmental impact? Currently, our spending does not equate to long-term value.

(2) We need to better understand material science and make key pieces of infrastructure with improved materials that have both longer lifespans, and which can be renovated easily (e.g., Zirconia's nano-ceramic coatings).

(3) We need to build elements of structures with more Lego-like, prefabricated elements that can be mass produced, and replaced in sections, with greater ease and less expense than old ways of renovation.

(4) We need to factor in future stresses like climate change into 100-year infrastructure plans, where resources like fresh water may have more value in our decision making and goal setting.

Zirconia’s advanced nano-ceramic coating technologies allow future generations to make infrastructure virtually immortal, allowing for low initial lifecycle cost. AND, Zirconia's technology can help adapt maintenance practices to allow for early repair and preservation of key assets in a more long-term durable manner, reducing the cost of long-term asset ownership.

Every piece of infrastructure made of concrete and steel can last 100 years or longer!  And, if it does not, we will be pumping enormous volumes of CO2 into the air, in order to manufacture and replace concrete and steel components, increasing climate change pressures.  Nobody wants this future!

Zirconia's nano-ceramic coatings make long-lasting greener infrastructure and a greener environment possible for our children and future generations.

Help us grow this company and get more salespeople selling, and more engineers and architects trialing this technology!

https://www.startengine.com/zirconia

Inventing Tomorrow at Zirconia

At Zirconia, our visionary team believes that the world's infrastructure is in bad shape, and some amazing green chemistry can make a big difference for these reasons:

• We are solving a 3-Trillion-dollar annual corrosion market 

• We are improving the durability and lifespan of infrastructure

• We are lowering the ownership cost, and lowering the externalized environmental impacts of infrastructure, at the same time

• We are creating green jobs and inspiring a new, greener economy

• We are fighting climate change, creating new coating technologies that allow the entire planet to thrive and still maintain infrastructure services at scale

We can do this great work because of our investors who believe in making their dollars work for a future defined by green technology and a broader set of environmental and social sustainability goals.

Zirconia continues to push the boundaries of green chemistry and solve root cause problems that undermined infrastructure durability.  

We are restoring, protecting, and preserving the future of our infrastructure and our planet.

Our campaign ends in just 5 days. Don’t miss out!

https://www.startengine.com/offering/zirconia

We are working on a new technology for water recycling, and sanitary sewer systems.  It solves a multibillion-dollar problem.  A short explainer below:

There is a severe problem with our water and sewage treatment systems that has never been solved.  The issue is with "Microbially Induced Corrosion".  Never heard of it?  You are not alone.

Water treatment and sanitary sewer systems have severe problems with a specific type of concrete corrosion, called “Microbially Induced Corrosion” or MIC, which is caused by bacteria. Very special bacteria called "acidophile" bacteria can produce sulfuric acid from consuming hydrogen sulfide gas (the rotten egg smell in sewage pipes).  These clever bacteria create a habitat surrounding them at a pH less than 1 (very acidic), inhibiting the growth of other competing bacteria, which cannot grow below a pH of 1.  This type of "competitive inhibition" is common in the microbiological world.  

The problem here, is that concrete does not survive at a pH of 1.  It dissolves completely.

So, now there is a hole where you don't want one.  In this case, at the top of the entire length of the sewer pipe, where the hydrogen sulfide gas was floating just before it got eaten…and, just before the pipe dissolves, and collapses (under the road or bridge?).  If this was not bad enough, the bacterial also pump out enough sulfuric acid to dissolve the massive concrete bunkers where large sewer lines join as they enter the main line at the sewage plant.  Bacteria can dissolve 10 inches of concrete per year of concrete bunker.  Its really quite impressive, and disturbing at the same time.

And, curiously, these acidophile bacterial are super sensitive to their environment.  We can't grow them in laboratories very well.  We need to create the “ideal” environment for them to grow.  Our sewer system. Ironic?  What if we could change their habitat so that it was not ideal? 

The problem is not necessarily the sewage or the H2S gas, it is the "habitat" created by the concrete itself.  Concrete has porosity that provides space to grow, captures H2S gas, food stuffs, and humidity (water), which in sum creates "habitat" for acidophile bacterial to grow and create a biofilm within which the bacterial proliferate.  You can think of biofilm like bacterial blue jeans.  Biofilms are made of chemistry similar to cotton cellulose, which is really tough, just like your blue jeans. It is tougher than the concrete, which leads to the unfortunate result of being impossible to clean or wash away.

Zirconia is working to make a new coating system that eliminates any bacterial habitat in concrete.  This new type of polyurea two-part coating system will chemically bond into the CeramycGuard nano-ceramic coating, which is bonded into the concrete, forming a durable composite coating system. This coating system will have no grow-space or porosity for capturing H2S gas or food stuffs and creating habitat.  It will be basically immune to sulfuric acid.  It will also be chemically bonded to the concrete, which has not been possible previously, and has been the reason other coating systems failed.  Bacterial will not be able to grow well, and H2S gas can simply dissipate into the air, or be captured, without causing MIC. 

We will begin experiments next month.  This technology will allow for water and sewer treatment systems to function without the persistent destructive presence of MIC.  And, it will stop sewage spills into municipal rivers and lakes, some of which are used for drinking water.

We feel this will be a game changer and will lead to the next level of resilience in water infrastructure.  This is also good timing as the American west recycles more and more water to fight climate-change-induced drought.

Just a few days left now of Zirconia’s campaign.  Don’t miss out!

https://www.startengine.com/offering/zirconia

Delaying maintenance in highly salt-corrosive areas?  Bad Idea.  But, it happens regularly…

We have heard it all before…

“Just wait a little longer…”

“No time now…”

“We have other priorities at the moment…”

Oops…no more concrete, corroding rebar and questions about structural integrity…

Bad maintenance is good for boosting market demand for Zirconia’s Ceramic Surface Treatment coating technologies.  And, well, “delay till you pay” seems quite a common maintenance practice.

The massive cooling towers we are currently planning to repair are 75m tall (246 ft), 127 m (416 ft) in diameter at the bottom, and 72m (236 ft.) in diameter at the top.  The concrete is experiencing salt corrosion over its entire surface, inside and out…old organic coatings have failed, and remain cracked and deteriorating at the surface.  Of course, they were never meant for this challenge.

There is a cost to operations that cannot be recovered once a tipping point has been reached when it comes to salt corrosion in concrete.  Repair and maintenance costs become extraordinary, and massive intrusive repair is required to preserve the asset.

“Catch it early. Fix the problem before it gets bigger?”  Heard this from you dad right?

To be fair, previous engineering folks did not have Zirconia’s nano-ceramic coating technology, so there was no way to seal concrete surfaces against the forces of salts and weathering.  Now there is.  Zirconia’s alumina-zirconia-silicate coatings and related technologies create durable solutions for fixing salt corrosion problems permanently.

We are growing to meet the scale of this challenge and change the way salt corrosion repair is performed in the oil processing and chemical manufacturing sectors in the Middle East.  And, we are looking to be the global standard for concrete salt corrosion coating and repair technology, generally.  

The market is massive, and I believe we can own it with Zirconia’s nano-ceramic coating technology.

There are just 6 more days to join the campaign before it ends.  

https://www.startengine.com/zirconia