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Securities And Exchange Commission
Washington, D.C. 20549
_________________

FORM 10-K
_________________

[ X ]

Annual

 

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2000

[__]

Transition Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

 

For the transition period from ___________ to ___________

Commission file number:  333-88207

CLEAN ENERGY COMBUSTION SYSTEMS, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware

 

98-0211550

(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)

 

(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

7087 MacPherson Avenue, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, V5J 4N4

(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)

Registrant's telephone number, including area code:   (604) 435-9339

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:  None

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:  Common stock, par value $0.0001 per share.

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.

Yes    [ X ]     No   [__]

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (Section 229.405 of this Chapter) is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant's knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.   

The aggregate market value of the voting stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant as of March 28, 2001 was indeterminable, given that no public market for the registrant's common stock existed before or as of that date .

The number of shares outstanding of the registrant's common stock as of March 28, 2001:  10,131,694 shares

Documents Incorporated By Reference

Information required by Part III (Items 10, 11, 12 and 13) is incorporated into this annual report by reference to the registrant's definitive proxy statement to be disseminated in advance of its annual meeting of stockholders to be held later in fiscal 2001.


Table Of Contents

Page

Item 1.

Business

1

   

Overview

1

   

Our Corporate History

3

   

How Conventional Pulse Combustion Technology Works

4

   

How Our Pulse Combustion Technology Works

4

   

Competing Pulse Combustion Products

6

   

Competitive Advantages Of Our Pulse Combustion Technology

7

   

Competitive Disadvantages Of Our Pulse Combustion Technology

14

   

Markets For Burner Units

14

   

Marketing Strategy

15

   

Pending Proposals For Our Technology

16

   

Additional Applications Of Our Technology We Intend To Target In The Near Future

21

   

Manufacturing Capacity And Suppliers

22

   

Research and Development

22

   

License Agreements Governing Our Technologies

23

   

Patents And Proprietary Rights

25

   

Employees

26

   

Governmental Regulation

26

Item 2.

Properties

27

Item 3.

Legal Proceedings

27

Item 4.

Submission Of Matters To A Vote Of Securities Holders

27

Item 5.

MARKET PRICE OF AND DIVIDENDS ON OUR COMMON STOCK AND RELATED
STOCKHOLDER MATTERS


28

   

Market Information

28

   

Dividend Policy

28

Item 6.

SELECTED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL INFORMATION

28

Item 7.

management's discussion and analysis of financial condition and
results of operations


29

   

Overview

29

   

Results Of Consolidated Operations

30

   

Liquidity And Capital Resources

30

   

Plan Of Operation And Prospective Capital Requirements

31

   

Other Matters

32

   

Uncertainties And Risk Factors That May Affect Our Future Results And Financial Condition

33

Item 7A.

QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURE ABOUT MARKET RISK

45

   

Currency Fluctuations

45

   

Interest Rate Fluctuations

46

Item 8.

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA

46

Item 9.

CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING
AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE


46

Item 10.

OUR DIRECTORS AND EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

46

Item 11.

EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

46

Item 12.

OWNERSHIP OF OUR SECURITIES BY BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT

46

Item 13.

CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS

46

Item 14

EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, SCHEDULES AND REPORTS ON FORM 8-k

47

ii


With the exception of information relating to our corporate name change, the information set forth in Item 1 of this annual report, captioned "Business," is current as of March 28, 2001, unless an earlier or later date is indicated in that section. The information set forth in the sections of this annual report other than Item 1 is current as of December 31, 2000, unless an earlier or later date is indicated in those sections.

All references to "dollars" in this annual report refer to United States or U.S. dollars, unless specific reference is made to Canadian or Cdn. dollars. For information relative to rates of exchange and currency conversion, see note 2(g) to our consolidated financial statements.

PART I

ITEM 1.     BUSINESS

Overview

Clean Energy ("we," "our company" or "Clean Energy") is a recently-organized development stage enterprise formed and organized on March 1, 1999 to market "burner units" based upon two patented and innovative burner designs we acquired under license-our "pulse combustion technology" and our "diesel fuel combustion technology." These designs were originally invented by one of our founders, Mr. John D. Chato, and are now in a position to be introduced to the market having completed their primary development stage. Each design has a large number of potential industrial, commercial and residential applications. We have one wholly-owned subsidiary, Clean Energy Technologies (Canada) Inc., which focuses on pulse combustion research and development activities. Our principal executive offices and research and development facilities are located at 7087 MacPherson Avenue, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, V5J 4N4, and our telephone number is (604) 435-9339.

A burner unit is a furnace or other combustion chamber which uses the combustion process to convert the chemical energy contained in various fuel sources, such as natural gas, propane, gasoline, diesel fuel, oil, or coal, into heat energy measured in "British Thermal Units" or "BTUs." The use of a burner unit to create heat energy is typically the first of a number of steps in which the heat energy is generated for use in a multiplicity of residential, commercial or industrial settings, ranging from simple one-step residential and light commercial applications where the heat energy is used merely to heat air or water, such as the case of space or water heaters, to complicated industrial multi-step applications where the heat energy is subsequently converted into one or more other forms of energy. An illustration of a multi-step industrial application would be electricity generation, where a public utility company first burns oil, natural gas or coal to create heat energy, then uses this form of energy to heat water in a boiler system to create steam energy, then uses this form of energy to run a turbine to create mechanical energy, and ultimately uses this form of energy to create a magnetic field to generate electrical energy. Since the heat generated by the combustion of carbon-based fuels in the burner units is generally "transferred" for other purposes as the end result of the first step in a process, the industry in which we compete, namely, manufacturers and sellers of products incorporating burner units, is commonly referred to as the "heat transfer" industry.

The first of our designs, which we refer to as our "pulse combustion technology," is an elongated or "linear" configured pulse burner technology which can operate on a variety of fuels, including natural gas, propane, powdered coal, and hydrogen. This design can be used to manufacture highly-compact burner units that are more energy-efficient, and emit significantly lower levels of pollutants, than conventional steady-state and "tubular" configured pulse combustion designs. For a description and illustration of our "linear" design as compared to conventional "tubular" configured pulse combustion designs, see that section of this annual report captioned "Business-How Conventional Pulse Combustion Technology Works" and "Business-How Our Pulse Combustion Technology Works." Due to the compactness, simplicity of design and lack of moving parts inherent in our technology, our design also allows burner units to be more inexpensively, easily and quickly manufactured, installed and serviced than conventional steady-state and tubular pulse combustion designs.

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We are currently working on production proto-types under pending proposals for the following applications of this technology:

Most of the testing of our pulse combustion technology to date, as well as under our pending proposals, are fueled by either natural gas or powdered coal, although our pulse combustion technology has the capability to use any carbon-based fuel as its energy source. Natural gas is a logical fuel choice, particularly in North America, due to its abundant supply and clean-burning characteristics. The primary barrier to the greater use of natural gas has been transportation, as pipelines are generally required to convey natural gas from source to location of intended use. Coal is also a logical fuel choice world-wide due to its abundant supply, although there are still outstanding environmental issues relating to the burning of coal and the cost of scrubbing and other emission-control technologies required to reduce resultant pollutants, particularly sulfur dioxide (SO2) or "acid rain."

We believe the demand for cleaning burning fuels will continue as clean air legislation and public environmental pressures increase. Even though our current focus is on natural gas and coal burning applications, our pulse combustion technology can also use other carbon-based fuels as its energy source. We have, for example, successfully burned gasoline, propane, and a powdered coal and hydrogen mix, and also believe our technology will be equally successful in burning diesel and oil.

The second of our designs, which we refer to as our "diesel fuel combustion technology," is a burner technology which enables some conventional steady-state burner units to burn diesel fuel instead of natural gas or propane. This design not only allows a user to use diesel as his fuel of choice where warranted by price or supply considerations, but also results in lower levels of pollutants than that emitted through the burning of natural gas or propane in these types of burner units. We are currently working on production proto-types under pending proposals for the adaptation of two natural gas fueled burner units to burn diesel fuel.

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The ability to efficiently burn fuel in order to conserve energy resources, while eliminating or minimizing the various pollutants resulting from the combustion process, has become worldwide economic and political issue as a result of increasing awareness and concerns over the past 25 years relative to energy conservation and the impact of pollution on our environment and health. One of the consequences of these concerns has been the imposition of ever increasing levels of regulatory restraints on emission levels and, to a lesser degree, fuel usage, particularly in the developing countries of the world. In the United States, for example, not only does the United States Environmental Protection Agency impose nationwide emission standards, but various states and their political subdivisions impose even more stringent emission standards. The best example of this is California, which imposes the most stringent automobile emission standards in the world, and the South Coast Air Quality Management District, a California regional governmental agency which imposes the strictest pollution control requirements in the world on a broad range of industrial and commercial emissions in the four counties comprising the Los Angeles metropolitan area.

We believe that our pulse combustion technology, in particular, has the potential to bring dramatic improvements in both efficiency and pollution control, particularly in view of the existing limitations of conventional steady-state combustion and pollution control technologies which we believe are approaching, if not at, their theoretical limits of effectiveness. We anticipate that the various advantages of our technologies will afford us the opportunity to ultimately develop and introduce a large variety of different burner units cutting across a broad number of diverse industrial, commercial and residential heat transfer markets through a variety of commercial arrangements with established heat transfer industry partners, including licensing, royalty, joint venture and manufacturing agreements.

Our objective is to enter into licensing, royalty, joint venture or manufacturing agreements with established national and international heat transfer industry manufacturers which will result in the introduction of a variety of different burner units based upon our technology into various selected market segments.

We have no revenues to date, nor have we entered into any revenue producing contracts to date, although we are currently working on a number of proto-types under several proposal requests which could lead to revenue producing contracts over the next four to six months.

Our Corporate History

Our company was formed and organized on March 1, 1999 under the name Clean Energy Technologies, Inc., by two groups of founders, whom we refer to as the "BO Group" and the "Alberta Group." We changed our corporate name to Clean Energy Combustion Systems, Inc. on May 20, 1999.

The "BO Group" is comprised of BO Tech Burner Systems Ltd. and several of their principals, including Messrs. John D. Chato, John P. Thuot, Barry A. Sheahan, and James V. DeFina. BO Tech Burner Systems Ltd., in turn, is part of a group of three affiliated British Columbia corporations, whom we refer to as the "BO Companies," who expended over Cdn. $4 million in primary development for our pulse combustion technology over the ten year period ended December 31, 1998. The other two members of the BO Companies are BO Gas Limited, a majority-owned subsidiary of BO Tech Burner Systems Ltd., and BO Development Enterprises Ltd., the majority-owned parent of BO Tech Burner Systems Ltd.

Mr. John D. Chato is the inventor of both our pulse combustion and diesel fuel combustion technologies, as well as the owner and licensor of our diesel fuel combustion technology. Messrs. Chato, Thuot, and Sheahan are also officers and directors of each of the BO Companies, as well as direct or indirect stockholders of each of these companies through BO Development Enterprises Ltd. Mr. DeFina is a key employee of the BO Companies, as well as a direct or indirect stockholder of each of these companies.

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Messrs. Chato, Thuot and Sheahan were appointed as executive officers and directors, and Mr. DeFina as one of our executive officers, as part of our formation. In connection with our formation, we issued 6,525,713 shares of our common stock to BO Tech Burner Systems Ltd., and a total of 1,074,287 shares of our common stock to Messrs. Chato, Thuot, Sheahan, DeFina and Robert Alexander, who served at that time as an unpaid advisor. BO Tech Burner Systems Ltd. subsequently distributed 2,599,084 of our common shares held by it to BO Development Enterprises Ltd., while at the same time transferring an additional 753,724 shares to BO Gas.

The Alberta Group is comprised of 818879 Alberta, Ltd., an Alberta corporation which currently owns and licenses our pulse combustion technology to us, and Ravenscraig Properties Limited, an affiliate of 818879 Alberta, Ltd. Both 818879 Alberta, Ltd. and Ravenscraig Properties Limited are owned and controlled by Mr. R. Dirk Stinson, who became one of our directors in January 2000. Neither of these companies or Mr. Stinson are related to any of the members of the BO Group or their respective principals. In connection with our formation, we issued 2,043,750 shares of our common stock to Ravenscraig Properties Limited and 1,000 shares of our series "A" preferred stock to 818879 Alberta, Ltd.

On February 16, 1999, our founders caused our wholly-owned research and development Canadian subsidiary, Clean Energy Technologies (Canada) Inc., a British Columbia corporation which we refer to as "Clean Energy Canada, " to be incorporated and organized, and we acquired all of the common stock of Clean Energy Canada on March 1, 1999.

How Conventional Pulse Combustion Technology Works

Conventional pulse combustion burner technology is a burner unit design comprised of two geometrically-configured adjoining channels and chambers-a combustion chamber and an exhaust channel or "tailpipe." As shown in the illustration below, most conventional pulse combustion burner units use a "tubular" configuration, similar to a bottle with an elongated neck. In operation, fuel and air are first injected from an intake channel into the combustion chamber (at the base of the bottle) where they are ignited with an ignition rod and commence burning (in the bottom portion of the bottle). The heat created by the combustion process then generates a pressure wave which travels from the combustion chamber through the tailpipe (the elongated neck of the bottle), carrying with it various gases or "effluents" resulting from the combustion process. As the effluent gases exit the tailpipe and the exterior of the combustion chamber cools, a partial vacuum is created within the combustion chamber which, in turn, pulls a new supply of air and fuel into the combustion chamber from the intake channel. This new fuel-air mixture is then compressed by effluent returning or "pulsing back" from the tailpipe, and ignites on its own without the need of the ignition rod as a result of this pressure increase and the remaining heat within the combustion chamber, causing the entire process to repeat. Most conventional pulse combustion technology, for example, operates at anywhere from 60 to 70 cycles per second depending upon the configuration and application. It is this oscillating or "pulsating" condition-hence, "pulse" combustion-which differentiates pulse combustion from conventional steady-state combustion, where combustion is provided through the steady or continuous burning of a flame, such as in the case of a kettle of water being heated on a gas stove.

How Our Pulse Combustion Technology Works

The principal drawbacks of conventional pulse combustion technology has been noise and vibration and an inability to efficiently generate large quantities of BTUs through the combustion process. As discussed in greater detail below, the noise and vibration result from the operation of the conventional pulse combustion burner at relatively low frequencies of 60 to 70 cycles per second. The conventional pulse combustion burner's inability to efficiently generate large quantities of BTUs can be attributed to its geometries. Specifically, as the dimensions of the "bottle" are expanded or elongated in order to increase BTU production capacity, the heat output and heat transfer efficiency of the unit decreases, while emissions and noise and vibration levels increase. As illustrated below, our company's solution to these problems was to maintain the most efficient shape of the "bottle" in terms of its "cross-section," while extending the "depth" of the bottle in a linear or straight-line direction:

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[ILLUSTRATION OF CONVENTIONAL COMPARED TO LINEAR PULSE COMBUSTORS]

Our design eliminates the noise and vibration levels associated with conventional pulse combustion since the design of our unit allows it to operate at anywhere from 350 to 650 cycles per second depending upon the configuration and application. Moreover, the depth implicit in our design allows us to significantly increase the unit's overall heat output, without loss of efficiencies and increase of emissions.

We use two different pulse combustion designs depending upon the application required-our initial "linear" configuration and a more recently developed "cylindrical" variant. Set forth below is a diagram of a water or space heating system containing three combustion chambers based upon our linear configuration:

[ILLUSTRATION OF LINEAR PULSE COMBUSTOR]

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Note the elongated or "linear" shape of each burner chamber as indicated in the above diagram, both height- and width-wise as they progress from the wider combustion chamber into the narrower tailpipe, as well as depth-wise. The basic dimensions of each burner chamber, in terms of relative height, width and depth, resembles the shape of a "blade." For this reason our company sometimes refers to our pulse combustion technology as "pulse 'blade' combustion" or "PBC" technology, principally to differentiate our original linear blade configuration from the "tubular" pulse combustion configuration conventionally used today.

It is important to note that so long as we maintain the basic geometries of our "blade" design, whether in the linear or cylindrical configuration, we can obtain additional heat output where required, by making one or both of the following simple alterations to the basic design depending upon space and use considerations:

The principal advantage of our linear configuration over our cylindrical configuration is that it lends itself more readily to the joining together on a side-by-side basis of separate operating "modules," each module containing one or more combustion units. We can then regulate or adjust heat output by turning one or more of these adjoining modules on or off. This on-off capacity, which we refer to as "turn-down capability," allows our linear unit to operate at a number of differing pre-selected higher or lower output levels while maintaining optimum heat output and heat transfer efficiencies. Conventional systems have very low efficiencies and high emissions while operating in a lengthy startup modes or partial capacity during low demand periods of operation.

We developed our cylindrical configuration for use in applications where turn-down capability is not a consideration. There are several benefits to the cylindrical shape for these applications, including lower manufacturing costs, innate structural integrity, and elimination of gases collecting in corners.

Competing Pulse Combustion Products

Pulse combustion technology is not a new development. It has been in the public domain since early in the century, and was used in World War II to power the infamous V-1 "buzz bombs." Until recently, however, its use for commercial heat transfer applications has been relatively limited.

Pulse combustion technology was first applied to the manufacture of boilers in the late 1950's by Lucas Rotax in its "Pulsamatic" boiler. The introduction of the technology was short-lived, though, due to lack of strong marketing and the absence of incentive to buy high-efficiency boilers when gas prices were low.

The technology was reactivated in 1979 when Hydrotherm Corporation introduced its high-efficiency residential "Hydropulse" series of residential water boilers. Lennox International, Inc., also incorporated pulse combustion technology into several of its products in 1976 through a collaborative working agreement with the American Gas Association and the Gas Research Institute, and introduced several models of an ultra-high efficiency pulse-forced-air furnace into the marketplace in 1992.

Even though the higher efficiencies afforded by pulse combustion over conventional steady-state combustion is a well known fact in the residential and commercial heating industry, pulse combustion products still have not been widely introduced, and have had limited penetration in the markets they have 

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been introduced into. We believe the principal reasons for this limited market penetration are higher manufacturing and installation costs, which translate into higher sales prices, as well as noise considerations. Indeed, to our knowledge the only significant manufacturers and marketers of pulse combustion burner units within the United States today are:

Each of these competitors positioned their pulse combustion products as premium-priced, "higher efficiency" alternatives to conventional steady-state combustion product lines.

All of Lennox's, Fulton's and Hydrotherm's pulse combustion products utilize a long "tubular" design. For example, in the case of the Lennox unit, the tube is approximately eight feet long and is looped or coiled vertically for space efficiency. The principal operational feature of the conventional tubular design is the low number of repetitive combustion pulses or cycles at which it operates, typically 60 to 70 cycles per second.

There are also numerous manufacturers and marketers of conventional steady-state combustion products within the United States that compete with pulse combustion products, including Cleaver Brooks, Raypack, Inc., AERCO International Inc. and Weben-Jarco, as well as Lennox, Fulton and Hydrotherm.

Competitive Advantages Of Our Pulse Combustion Technology

Summary Of Competitive Advantages Over Conventional Steady-State Combustion And Conventional Tubular Pulse Combustion Technologies

As discussed below in greater specificity, our pulse combustion technology affords the following principal competitive advantages over conventional steady-state combustion and conventional tubular pulse combustion technologies:

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Better Energy Conversion Efficiencies


into heat energy through the combustion process-although, as a practical matter, perfect heat output efficiency never occurs due to a number of variables. To the extent chemical energy is not converted into heat energy, it is discharged as part of the exhaust stream in the form of various post-burn chemical gases including NOx, carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide-resulting in unextracted or "wasted" of heat energy potential.

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Test evaluations conducted in 1993 by an independent engineering firm, for example, showed overall energy efficiency rates for our pulse combustion water heater in the order of 94%. An alternative method to calculate heat output efficiency is to evaluate emission levels, since lower emissions means more fuel is being converted into energy. As discussed in greater detail below, more recent emissions tests on our burners conducted through independent testing agencies show exhaust readings of less than 10 parts per million for both carbon monoxide and for oxides of nitrogen, meaning that over 99% of the heat energy of the fuel was consumed in the combustion process. For these reasons we believe the heat output efficiency of our pulse combustion technology exceeds 99%.

Lower Emissions

In designing and operating burner units with an eye toward reducing emissions, manufacturers and operators must consider two inter-related variables, the "completeness" of the burning process as evidenced by its heat output efficiency, and the amount of so-called "excess air" required to maintain stable combustion based upon the fuel to be burned. Specifically:

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From an emission control standpoint, the greater amount of excess air the better. Specifically, the excess air promotes the re-burning of the various post-burn chemical gases from the primary combustion process, and consequentially lowers emissions. Excess air is not beneficial, however, from a heat transfer efficiency standpoint, since the excess air captures or "steals" the heat generated by the primary combustion process, which makes it unavailable for the intended heat transfer purposes. The more excess air-the greater the loss in heat transfer efficiency. As a consequence of this dynamic, operators of burner units are faced with the following "no-win" choice: if their primary requirement is pollution control-they must operate their burner unit at "richer" oxygen levels and bear the attendant greater fuel costs due to the resulting loss of heat transfer efficiency; and if their primary requirement is lower fuel costs-they must operate their burner unit at increased emission levels.

The ability of our pulse combustion technology to reduce emissions is illustrated by the following independent test results:

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No further independent testing has been carried out or required since the tests described above.

We believe that our pulse combustion technology is so effective in reducing the emissions of post-burn chemical gases that it can be utilized as a relatively inexpensive pollution control device. In these cases our burner units would re-burn the exhaust from a commercial or industrial process, while at the same time generating heat energy which can be used for various heat transfer applications, such as electricity co-generation, consequentially reducing operating costs. The cost to manufacture, install and operate our burner units for these applications should be significantly cheaper than current scrubber applications. Co-generation is the process of supplying both electric and steam energy from the same power source-that is, combustion heat generated from a single process is used to create both electric or mechanical and steam energy. A scrubber is a chemical or electrostatic process used to remove pollutants from an exhaust stream after combustion.

Compact Size

Our pulse combustion burner units are significantly smaller than conventional steady-state and tubular pulse combustion units of equivalent output due to the following considerations:

This size advantage is extremely important where limited floor or room space considerations apply. For instance, a 100,000 BTU/hr low pressure boiler system utilizing our linear configuration is approximately the size of a briefcase, and weighs approximately 50 pounds, exclusive of the jacketing, muffler and a secondary heat exchanger connected to the tailpipe. By way of comparison, a low pressure boiler system utilizing a conventional tubular combustion unit contains a combustion chamber which is approximately two feet in diameter and three feet in height, and weighs in excess of 200 pounds. The size of conventional steady-state combustion units, in turn, equal or exceed that of conventional tubular combustion units of comparable output.

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Integrated Modular Design

As previously discussed in this annual report, one of the principal advantages of our pulse design is that it lends itself readily to the joining together on a side by side basis of separate but integrated operating "modules," each module containing one or more combustion units that work in concert. This modular design affords the following advantages over both conventional steady-state combustion and tubular pulse combustion designs:

As previously discussed in this annual report, one of the principal advantages of our pulse combustion design over both conventional steady-state combustion and tubular pulse combustion designs is that our burner units can be designed to incorporate numerous combustion chambers aligned on a side-by-side basis within a single combustion unit. These combustion chambers can then be engineered to operate together in separate "modules" consisting of one or more combustion chambers. This modular configuration is important since it allows us to regulate or adjust heat output while maintaining maximum heat output and heat transfer efficiencies and lower emissions levels, which we refer to as "turn-down capability," by simply turning one or more modules contained in a combustion unit on or off. Moreover, should an operator desire to increase the combustion units' overall output ability, he need only attach a new module to the system.

While conventional steady-state combustion and tubular pulse combustion units can also operate on a similar modular basis, they can only do so when aligned in a bank of separate burner systems, while our design allows us to incorporate numerous combustion chambers within a single combustion system. This advantage allows us to compound the size advantage which the compact size of our pulse burner technology already affords us on a unit versus unit comparison basis.

No Moving Parts

Many conventional tubular pulse systems employ flapper valves on their intake channels. Our pulse combustion technology, on the other hand, is a simple design which requires no valves or other moving parts to operate, leading to increased operating reliability and reduced maintenance and repair costs.

Ability to Operate on a Wide Range of Fuels

Our pulse combustion burner unit has the capability to use any carbon-based fuel as its energy source. Although most of our testing to date has been done with natural gas and powdered coal, we have also successfully burned gasoline, propane, and a powdered coal and hydrogen mix, and believe our burner technology will also successfully burn diesel and oil.

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Reduced Operating Noise

One of the principal drawbacks of conventional tubular pulse combustion is the cost and effort required to dampen its operating noise to levels commensurate with conventional steady-state combustion units. As previously discussed in this annual report, conventional tubular pulse combustion units operate at approximately 60 to 70 cycles per second due to their configuration. The oscillating pressure waves from these cycles create a corresponding low frequency standing sound wave of approximately 60 to 70 Hz, resulting in a very loud, continuous and deep level of operating noise. Due to the relatively long length of this sound wavelength, technically complicated and expensive dampening technology is required in order to mute the operating noise to levels commensurate with conventional steady-state combustion.

The noise generated by our pulse combustion technology, on the other hand, operates at between 350 and 600 cycles per second depending upon the configuration, and is "tuned" to create a standing sound wave of approximately 440 Hz. Although this continuous soundwave is equally loud, albeit at a higher pitch, than that associated with conventional tubular pulse combustion, it nevertheless lends itself to relatively simple and inexpensive dampening technologies due to the short longitudinal length of its wavelength, which affords it significant competitive advantages over conventional tubular pulse combustion technology.

Lower Manufacturing and Installation Costs

The cost to manufacture and install a conventional steady-state 100 million BTU/hr boiler can exceed $10 million, and could take three years to design, manufacture and install from the date the order is placed. A conventional tubular pulse combustion boiler with comparable output would likely be equally expensive.

Due to the simplicity and compact size of our design, including lack of moving parts, we believe that we can design, manufacture and install a pulse combustion boiler system with comparable output at a significantly lower cost, and a significantly shorter design-through-installation period. For example, we estimate that the 100 million BTU/hr pulse combustion boiler system mentioned would cost approximately one-half of that of a conventional tubular pulse combustion boiler with comparable output, and would have approximately one-third the weight and take up approximately one-third of the floor space of the comparable tubular pulse combustion boiler.

Competitive Disadvantages Of Our Pulse Combustion Technology

The principal competitive disadvantage of our pulse combustion technology is that our design is new and unique, and no products based upon our pulse combustion technologies and configurations have been commercially produced or sold to date, either by our company or by any of our competitors. Moreover, while the higher efficiencies afforded by pulse combustion are well known in the residential and commercial heating industry, we believe that conventional pulse combustion products have not been widely accepted in this market segment due to their higher product cost, noise and vibration, limitation in BTU generation capacity, and technical performance issues relating to their tubular design. In order to establish market acceptance, we will need to both satisfactorily educate prospective purchasers of our products, including burner manufacturers and retailers, relating to the benefits of our technology over both conventional pulse and steady state combustion technologies. We will also have to develop internal and external manufacturing, sales, marketing and distribution capabilities. For a more comprehensive description of these issues, see "Risk Factors-Risks Relating To Our Company And Our Business."

Markets For Burner Units

Burner units are used worldwide for numerous commercial, industrial, residential and specialty heat transfer applications. The following list of heat transfer markets applications is instructive:

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Marketing Strategy

Both our pulse combustion technology and our diesel fuel combustion technology have completed their respective research and development stages, and the next step in exploiting these technologies is to introduce these technologies to the various markets in order to build market penetration and share and product knowledge and acceptance. Given the broad range of potential applications and markets for our burner technologies, we anticipate that we will introduce our technologies to these potential markets through a number of different strategies and approaches, including the following types of arrangements:

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Pending Proposals For Our Technology

Our burner designs have recently completed their primary development stage and are now in a position to be introduced to the market. We are currently working on a variety of production proto-types under various proposal requests which would lead to the initial introduction of the following burner units using our technologies. These pending proposal requests are summarized below.

Our agreement to enter into the letter of intent was predicated on the relationships and business strategy formulated by Jie Li to enter the Chinese market. Specifically, members of Jie Li have long-standing business relations with Tian Long Holdings Group Ltd., which operates the Shandong province hub branch of the China National Rail Ministry. Shandong province (also known as Qi Lu) is located at the estuary of the Yellow River in the Bohai Bay. Shandong is China's second most populous province (90 million) after Henan (100 million). Tian Long controls 48 subsidiary companies, and employs 1850 administrative, managerial and support personnel. Tian Long's interests include high-tech products, shipping, hotel and restaurants, trading companies, social services, heavy industry, advertising and printing, and heating and cooling.

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Tian Long is enjoying rapid growth and increased profits year after year. Among its main business activities is the supply of heating and cooling to commercial and residential clients. Tian Long has solid plans to develop this business, as heat supply is a lucrative and successful part of its operations. Today, Tian Long is among the top five heat suppliers in the capital city of Shandong province (Jinan) alone. Tian Long's heating supply arm also has a maintenance and repair service centre, a boiler water softener plant as well as a parts distribution centre. Tian Long is able to offer total and complete heating service.

Tian Long also has the full support of its parent, the Chinese Railways Ministry (one of China's top four Ministries), which also owns a bank and various financial corporations. We believe that Tian Long is an excellent partner for its economic and political relationships and its ability to offer one of China's largest distribution networks as well.

As a consequence of Jie Lie's business relationship with Tian Long, Jie Lie procured an order from Tian Long for 500 coal burning pulse combustion-based boiler retrofits, each involving at least two of our burners, to be used to produce steam for the heating of public buildings under Tian Longs' control. These buildings are currently heated by steam boilers that are extremely energy inefficient and polluting as their antiquated design does not allow for complete combustion of the coal. Clean Energy has been asked to provide clean burning coal burners to retrofit the existing boiler systems thereby replacing only the burner while leaving the boiler system intact. This is an enormous opportunity for our company in that it not only represents the first of many anticipated follow-up orders from Tian Long, but also acts as a commercial beta site for other potential customers and licensees. There are currently 9,500 such boilers under the control of Tian Long alone, and an estimated 136,000 nationwide under the Railway Ministry's control.

As part of the negotiations with Tian Long, Clean Energy sent an engineering team to Jinan in April, 2000 to review the feasibility of the project, followed up with a marketing and financial team visit in August, 2000 to finalize the letter of intent and purchase commitment with Jie Li. Based on those written commitments, Jie Li has, in turn, provided us with a commitment letter for the first 500 retrofits (or 1,000 burner units in total) at a price of $20,000 per burner unit, subject to the pilot installation achieving efficiency and emission reduction targets.

The design, development and production of the first retrofit unit involves two stages, as follows:

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In the longer term we intend, pursuant to our letter of intent and subsequent discussions with Jie Li, to form a joint venture in China with Tian Long for the manufacture and sale of burner units once cost savings and volume production considerations make on-site manufacturing in China a viable alternative. In this case Clean Energy would be paid an ongoing royalty based on units manufactured by the joint venture, which would approximate our profit margin in manufacturing burner units. It is contemplated that the venture will be owned 25% each by Clean Energy and Jie Li, with the balance held by Tian Long, who will be providing equity to the joint venture in the form of capital assets. It has also been proposed that we invest $500,000 into Jie Lie in return for a 25% equity interest in order to provide Jie Li sufficient marketing funds to continue to expand the potential customer base for these boiler retrofits. This equity interest in Jie Li would also entitle Clean Energy to a pro-rata share of Jie Li's interest in the manufacturing joint venture. Discussions between Clean Energy and Jie Li regarding the ultimate form of association are ongoing, and will be subject to a number of other factors under consideration, including the protection of our intellectual property rights.

Goal Line's first project was to develop a catalytic absorption pollution control system which would eliminate carbon monoxide and NOx emissions for two 28 MW natural gas turbine powered industrial co-generation plants operated by Sunlaw in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. This system, which was successfully developed and installed by Goal Line at Sunlaw's co-generation plants and now forms the basis of Goal Line's technology, involves the following two processes:

The Goal Line catalytic absorption pollution control system has been found by the United States Environmental Protection Agency to result in the "Lowest Achievable Emission Rate" for NOx emissions to date for gas turbine power plants, and therefore, by law, to be the "Best Available Control Technology" standard for new gas turbines. Regardless of these findings, the primary competitive drawback of Goal Line's system has been its inability to identify a technology which would allow it to introduce an oxygen-free dilute hydrogen reducing gas into the catalytic chamber for the nitrogen regeneration process. This is currently done by redirecting steam from the power generation process, which reduces the heat output efficiency of the overall system by approximately 10%. Goal Line looked without success for several years for a technology which would facilitate this requirement since this loss of heat output efficiency is a significant cost item. We demonstrated to Goal Line in a series of tests conducted in January and September 1999 that our pulse combustion burner unit has the capability, due to its ability to maintain "stable" combustion at lower excess air levels, to deliver a 100% oxygen-free hydrogen reducing gas to the catalytic chamber, consequentially allowing Goal Line to recapture the lost heat output efficiency.

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As a result of the noted demonstrations, we have been authorized by Goal Line to commence designing eight different proto-types for use with Goal Line's catalytic absorption pollution control systems. We completed the first proto-type in November 2000, a 365,000 BTU burner unit for use with the catalytic absorption pollution control system installed at Sunlaw's Los Angeles gas turbine co-generation plant. This unit will also serve as a demonstration proto-type for the sale of the catalytic absorption pollution control system to other industrial plants. The other proto-types will be used with catalytic absorption pollution control system used for other types of power system applications, including diesel compressor sets and oil pipeline pumping stations.

While we have completed the first proto-type for Goal Line, Goal Line has not yet had the opportunity to test the proto-type with its catalytic absorption pollution control system due to its pending relocation to larger facilities. In addition, Goal Line has also recently received a major cash infusion from Cummins, Inc., a world leader in engine manufacturing, and is currently reviewing the applications of our technology with respect to additional product requirements under this new relationship. We believe that the proposed applications for Goal Line will most likely be extended to diesel-fueled applications given this event. In our most recent communications, it was agreed that the engineers of each company will meet to review capital and running costs, and that Goal Line's executives would visit us to commence contract negotiations.

We have recently designed and manufactured an extremely small, 8,000 BTU/hour proto-type burner unit which operates at a 1,600 HZ frequency level due to its extremely small size, which meets the developer's initial requirements as set forth in its proposal, and delivered it to the developer for testing. Assuming the proto-type unit is satisfactory to the developer with respect to both performance and cost, we anticipate that we will enter into discussions with the developer over the next several months over the adoption of our pulse combustion technology for its natural gas conversion requirements.

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Flare gas is residual natural gas emitted as a byproduct of producing oil wells. Flare gas is ordinarily burned at the source, and the resultant emissions released into the environment, since the amount of residual natural gas is relatively small and the cost to collect and market the gas is not commercially justified. Allied Signal Power Systems uses the heat energy resulting from the combustion of flare gas to power its turbo-generator, and create electricity than can then be funneled into the electricity grid. The attractiveness of our burner unit to Allied Signal Power Systems is its ability to provide both higher energy efficiencies and lower-NOx exhaust gases than the burner unit Allied Signal Powers Systems currently uses to fuel its turbo-generator.

We have successfully competed the first stage of this project, which was to conduct flow tests establishing our ability to meet Allied Signal Power Systems' unusual flow capacity requirements. The cost of this first phase, approximately $15,000, has been borne by our company as a development expense. We will need to complete a second step, involving the design and scale up of the prototype to meet Allied's output requirements, and a third and final step, to fabricate and successfully test a demonstration proto-type. The cost of the second phase, which has not yet been determined, will be shared equally by our company and Allied. The cost of phase 3 also has not yet been determined, and cost sharing arrangements will be negotiated upon conclusion of the second phase.

In previous reports Clean Energy disclosed that we had worked on a proposal to finalize development of a natural gas-fueled 400,000 to 500,000 BTU/hr instantaneous water heater for State Industries, Inc., and a proposal to develop a natural gas-fueled burner unit for STM Corporation to provide an oxygen-free reducing gas as a heat source for the operation of their external combustion engine for industrial. The water heater proposal has since expired as a

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 consequence of State Industries' financial situation and the elimination of its research and development department, and the STM Corporation proposal has expired as a consequence of technical issues relating to their technology. Clean Energy has since hired the head of State Industries research and development team to further our instantaneous water heater technology, and is actively pursuing grants with CE-CERT and ICAT to further develop and commercialize this technology for the California market.

Please note that completion of proto-types under the foregoing proposals are still pending, and no orders will be placed or enforceable contracts entered into until the proto-types are completed and approved in the case of all of the proposals, and mutually acceptable contract terms have been negotiated in the case of all of the proposals other than China. We cannot give you any assurance that we will enter into any licensing, royalty, joint venture or other agreement with any of the foregoing parties after we complete the noted prototypes.

Additional Applications Of Our Technology We Intend To Target In The Near Future

Additional applications of our pulse combustion technology which we intend to pursue in the future include the following:

We have received a proposal from CANMET, a quasi-governmental "think tank" which specializes in researching and marketing innovative mineral and energies technologies, to work in consultation to our company to design and manufacture a working proto-type industrial dryer and to approach potential users in the industrial dry cleaning market. Under this proposal, CANMET would lend the assistance of its scientific and technical staff and industry contacts to assist us at their cost of manpower. No potential users have been contacted to date from CANMET, however, we have recently been contacted by, and have submitted a proposal to, a Montreal-based manufacturer for a pulp and paper industrial dryer.

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Manufacturing Capacity and Suppliers

We currently fabricate our burner units at our facilities located in Burnaby, British Columbia, although some components are purchased to our specifications from suppliers or subcontractors. Most of these components are standard parts or fabrication projects available from multiple sources at competitive prices. We believe that we would be able to secure alternate supply sources or suppliers or subcontractors if any of these become unavailable. Given the limitations of our internal manufacturing capability, we anticipate that we will rely upon strategic partners or third party contract manufacturers or suppliers to satisfy future production requirements as demand for our products increase.

Research and Development

Our principal activities since our formation in March 1999 have been research and development activities in adapting our proto-types into production models. Our research and development team is currently comprised of six employees, including Messrs. Chato and DeFina. Our gross research and development expenses amounted to $400,107 and $221,037 for our 2000 and 1999 fiscal years, respectively. Our research and development budget for fiscal 2001 is $825,000.

One of our objectives in meeting our operating expenses is to fund a significant portion of our research and development expenditures through grants. We are in the process, for example, of applying for approximately $400,000 in matching grants from CE-CERT and ICAT with respect to the development of our natural gas-fueled water heaters. Previously, the BO companies have procured Cdn. $1,785,000 in grants for developmental purposes. Our contract and grant procuring efforts are being headed by Dr. William Jackson, who is one of our directors. Dr. Jackson received his Ph.D. from Glasgow in Scotland, and received a Fulbright Scholarship as a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He subsequently joined the faculty at MIT and established himself as an internationally recognized authority on advanced energy technologies and systems. This led him to the U.S. Department of Energy where he held senior management and technical positions during the energy crises of the 1970's. He is presently a Professor of Engineering at George Washington University in Washington DC and has also taught at several prestigious universities around the world, including Manchester (UK), Technical University of Berlin, Germany; University of Illinois; and the University of Tennessee Space Institute. In 1983 he established and has continuously headed the HMJ Corporation, a Washington DC based engineering analysis and consulting organization specializing in advanced energy systems. Dr. Jackson gained much of his industrial research exposure at the AVCO - EVERETT Reseach Laboraties where he was the Principal Research Scientist. Dr. Jackson is also coordinating our contacts with the U.S. Department of Energy and the South Coast Air Quality Management District, to name a few, in our efforts to further promote the development of our technologies and to have them designated as best available technologies.

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License Agreements Governing Our Technologies

Pulse Combustion Technology License

On March 5, 1999, we entered into a pulse combustion technology license with 818879 Alberta, Ltd. under which it granted us, in consideration of $10, an exclusive license to design, engineer, manufacture, market, distribute, lease and sell burner products using the pulse combustion technology within any country in the world other than Finland or Sweden, and to sublicense and otherwise commercially exploit the pulse combustion technology within the permitted countries. Under the terms of the pulse combustion technology license, we have no obligation to pay any royalty or license fees to 818879 Alberta, Ltd. The term of the pulse combustion technology license expires upon the earlier of March 5, 2019 or the lapse of the newest underlying patents for the pulse combustion technology, including any patented improvements. The oldest pulse combustion technology patent expires in July 2006, and the newest current pulse combustion technology patent expires in July 2012. For further information concerning the underlying patents for the pulse combustion technology, see the section of this annual report captioned "Business-Patents and Proprietary Rights."

We are generally prohibited under the pulse combustion technology license from sublicensing our rights to the pulse combustion technology, or otherwise assigning our rights as licensee under the pulse combustion technology license, to any third party without 818879 Alberta, Ltd.'s prior consent. 818879 Alberta, Ltd., in turn, is also generally prohibited from selling its rights to the pulse combustion technology, or otherwise assigning its rights as licensor under the pulse combustion technology license, to any third party without our prior consent.

We are obligated under the pulse combustion technology license to pay or to reimburse 818879 Alberta, Ltd. for all costs its incurs to file and prosecute new or additional patents for the pulse combustion technology in any country. We are also obligated to pay or to reimburse 818879 Alberta, Ltd. for prosecuting and defending patent infringement claims relating to the pulse combustion technology, and to pay any damages arising from these claims.

We have the right under the pulse combustion technology license to acquire full ownership of the pulse combustion technology from 818879 Alberta, Ltd. on or after March 5, 2004, based upon the occurrence of conditions revolving around our success or failure in procuring a listing of our common stock on a "national market," which is defined under the pulse combustion technology license to constitute The New York Stock Exchange, The American Stock Exchange or The Nasdaq Stock Market, including both the SmallCap and National Markets.We refer to this purchase right as the "Pulse Combustion Technology Option." Specifically:

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