Need to track and monitor as many as 100 objects over tens of square kilometers from up to 7 kilometers up? Meta Materials Inc. (MMAT:NASDAQ; MMAX:CSE; MMAT:FSE) has you covered.
One of the nanotechnology company's focuses for 2023 is its new VLEPSIS® gigapixel wide-area motion imagery system, which, paired with its proprietary artificial intelligence (AI) software, can offer analytical insights for such missions.
The system has onboard video streaming and offers rapid access to multiple ground station users, META said. It will support multiple streams and function as a "Google Earth live version," Chief Executive Officer George Palikaras said during a recent company webcast.
It will be "the first of its kind, gigapixel camera that's commercially available and able to cover areas as large as an entire city," Palikaras said. "This can be done from a single sensor, and it's powered by Nvidia's special GPUs, but also in combination with our proprietary AI software. As a result, it can observe patterns of life in . . . hundreds of objects simultaneously, in real-time, high-resolution video."
VLEPSIS® covers up to 50 square kilometers from a 5-kilometer altitude and is compact and lightweight enough to be carried by a small unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).
The company has partnered with other industry players and submitted a US$8 million proposal to an artificial intelligence technology competition. Palikaras said the company will spend more time discussing the technology in the coming months.
The Catalyst: Disrupting Various Markets
Developed decades ago, design and manufacturing capabilities only caught up to metamaterials in the 2000s.
META is also using nanotechnology to develop products like self-deicing and defogging enclosures for automotive advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), see-through antennas, augmented reality glasses that look like regular glasses, and special eyewear that protects pilots' eyes from laser strikes. The company is also applying its futuristic technology to the communications, health and wellness, aerospace, automotive, and clean energy sectors.
"We believe META is well-positioned to secure partnerships with major companies over the next year," Alliance Global Partners analyst Jake Sekelsky wrote in a research note. "We believe Meta's solutions have the potential to disrupt various end markets."
Its other focuses for the year are its KolourOptik® authentication technology and battery materials.
"We believe META is well-positioned to secure partnerships with major companies over the next year," Alliance Global Partners analyst Jake Sekelsky wrote in a research note. "We believe Meta's solutions have the potential to disrupt various end markets."
Sekelsky rated META's stock a Buy with a US$1.20 per share target price.
"While we believe Meta's battery products have the potential to serve as a game-changing vertical for the company, we highlight the product diversification afforded by the company's broader portfolio," he wrote. "Meta’s portfolio includes multiple technologies and products aimed at disrupting markets outside of the battery supply chain, including Holography, Lithography, Wireless Sensing, Precision Integration, Nano-Optik, and Electro-Optical & IR."
Battery Technology for the Green Energy Revolution
But META has said battery technology is its biggest potential market.
META said its products would make lithium batteries safer and more efficient while extending their range and making battery supply chains more sustainable.
According to Markets and Markets, the battery materials market was valued at US$57.8 billion in 2022 and is projected to reach US$120.4 billion by 2027, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.8%.
"NPORE® provides outstanding heat resistance compared with conventional polymer separators, which show significant shrinkage at elevated temperatures due to the melting of the polymer," Water Tower Research analyst Graham Mattison wrote in a March research note.
In March, a confidential top 10 battery original equipment manufacturer (OEM) signed a joint development agreement with META for NPORE®.
"We see this as further validation of NPORE® and a catalyst for the shares," Mattison wrote. "META has demonstrated the excellent electrochemical performance and outstanding heat resistance of NPORE® through both independent testing and a recently released white paper from a battery developer. This agreement shows the commercial potential of the product as well as a potential path to market."
According to Markets and Markets, the battery materials market was valued at US$57.8 billion in 2022 and is projected to reach US$120.4 billion by 2027, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.8%.
The company was chosen as a finalist at the International Battery Seminar in Orlando, Fla., earlier this year in its Best of Show awards program recognizing the best new battery products.
Analyst: Company to See Opportunities
When it comes to markets like battery materials, META is well-positioned, Sekelsky noted.
"We expect the next decade should feature a major shift toward the electrification of the world — increasing the need for safer high-density batteries," Sekelsky wrote in a July 7 research note. "We believe the availability and sustainability of raw battery materials is becoming a large concern for both battery and automaker OEMs. We expect this shift to create an opportunity for MMAT."
META's NCORE™ copper current collectors have the potential to reduce copper requirements significantly compared to other products, he wrote.
"We reiterate our belief that a copper supply deficit is looming and expect OEMs to begin to explore alternative battery material technologies, such as NCORE™, in an effort to reduce reliance on raw materials that may experience price pressure due to supply constraints," Sekelsky noted.
Watching Your Pizza Cook
Another showstopper for the company is its NONWEB® invisible metal mesh, which can be fabricated onto any glass or plastic surface, including clearing up microwave oven windows.
A demonstration microwave with a clear NANOWEB® window stole the show in January at this year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. META was named a CES 2023 Innovation Awards honoree for the technology going into the show and drew big crowds on the conference floor. On Day two of the show, META was the most talked about brand at CES, according to social media trend tracker BuzzRadar.
META this month announced it is collaborating with a global manufacturer in Japan to develop customer applications and volume agreements NANOWEB®.
More details about the strategic collaboration with the Japanese company, "recognized for its manufacturing expertise and automotive quality," are expected to be revealed this fall, META said.
Reducing the Burn
The majority of META's revenue currently comes from its contract with an unspecified G10 central bank customer for anti-counterfeiting measures.
A new purchase order earlier this year brought the amount received by META to US$14.4 million so far. It is part of an agreement with the bank for a maximum of US$41.5 million in orders over up to five years. The customer can increase the scope of the award.
KolourOptik® technology can include images with omnidirectional movement, 3D depth, or holographic security patterns on not just currency but on documents, smart packaging, and gift cards. The technology can also help prevent loss of life due to counterfeit medication.
Another focus for META this year will be reducing the monthly burn rate of the company by as much as half to US$2.6 million to US$3.8 million from US$5.7 million, Cormark Securities analyst MacMurray Whale wrote in an updated research note.
Streetwise Ownership Overview*
Meta Materials Inc. (MMAT:NASDAQ; MMAX:CSE; MMAT:FSE)
"As we noted last quarter, MMAT's high burn rate and low cash balance was a concern, and as a result, we see the revised plan as a positive step that should garner a positive investor response," wrote Whale, who reiterated his Buy rating on the stock with a target of US$1.50 per share.
Ownership and Share Structure
11.69% of META is held by management and insiders. Among them is President and Chief Executive Officer George Palikaras, who owns 1.55%, Reuters reported.
8.75% of the company is held by institutions. Some of the top holders are State Street Global Advisors with 1.33% and BlackRock Institutional Trust Co. with 1.29%, according to Reuters.
The rest, about 79%, is retail.
The company has a market cap of US$98.42 million, with 467.21million shares outstanding and 343.87 million free-floating. It trades in a 52-week range of US$2.34 and US$0.173.
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