24 September 2008 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NewSouth Innovations has signed a multimillion dollar deal granting two building material companies the right to commercialise a green technology that turns an industrial pollutant into a range of high-strength, lightweight building products.

The deal gives Vecor Australia Pty Ltd and Vecor Building Systems the right to commercialise the technology globally through a series of joint venture arrangements, and follows successful trialling of the technology in Hebi, China. The Chinese fly ash products pilot plant opened earlier this year in a special zone set aside for sustainable industrial technologies and large scale industrial recycling.

Fly ash is an unavoidable by-product of burning coal to produce electricity. An environmental pollutant, the fine white powdery residue is typically dumped in nearby lakes or disused mine shafts to avoid its unsightly and contaminating effects.

“The deal with Vecor Australia and Vecor Building Systems represents a major commercial-scale investment in a proven green technology,” says NSi’s Chief Executive Officer, Mark Bennett. “The agreement will see NSi and UNSW receive significant milestone payments over the next two years, and further sponsorship of the University’s groundbreaking research in sustainable manufacturing.

Mr Bennett says the deal gives NSi ongoing royalty payments over the next 20 years. NSi will continue to support the venture through an acquisition of a 20 percent interest in Vecor Australia and a shareholding in Vecor Global following its planned listing on an international stock exchange.

The fly ash technology was pioneered by material scientists Dr Obada Kayali and Mr Karl Shaw of UNSW’s Australian Defence Force Academy. It effectively “locks up” fly ash to produce strong, lightweight bricks – known as Flash Bricks – and building aggregate known as Flashag.

Flash Bricks are 28 per cent lighter and 24 per cent stronger than comparable clay bricks while the aggregate, Flashag, can be used to make concrete that is 25 per cent lighter and 20 per cent stronger than products made from quarried aggregates and mined sand.

These characteristics translate into lower construction costs and less greenhouse emissions because of lighter structures, shallower foundations, cheaper transportation, and with less use of cement and steel required for reinforcement. Flash Bricks generate fewer emissions than standard clay bricks during manufacture because they take less heating time in a brick kiln.

"Fly ash produced by power stations can be fed straight into the brick manufacturing process," says Siegfried Konig, Managing Director of Vecor Australia. "There is growing interest in China in reducing greenhouse gases, reducing chemical pollutants and dust emissions and stopping the alienation of the land. Flash Bricks and Flashag address many of these problems."

China is building a new coal-fired power station every 10 days, and produces an estimated 200 million tonnes of fly ash annually.

Much is sent to waste disposal sites on increasingly scarce land, producing serious air and water pollution. In the past century, coal-fired power generation has produced billions of tonnes of fly ash waste, with annual production now at about 800 million tonnes.

Vecor’s founder, Mr Akex Koszo, says he hopes the new venture benefits all participants, including power stations, building materials manufacturers, the building and construction sector, customers, environmental groups, UNSW and Vecor’s shareholders.

NewSouth Innovations Pty Limited (NSi) provides technology transfer services to the University of New South Wales. The company has significant commercialisation experience and expertise and is a recognised leader in the commercialisation of research-based technologies.

NSi’s main services include: assessing the commercial potential of university technology; filing and prosecuting patents; entering intellectual property licensing arrangements with industry; and, forming spin-off companies to raise venture capital for product development.

Media contact: Dan Gaffney, NewSouth Innovations, 0411 156 015