SMX provides update on Nasdaq listing
- Marker substance allows geographical origin of raw materials to
be verified.
- Field testing successfully completed – marker substance can be
verified throughout tire production process, to enable
sustainability and circularity.
- In the long term, Continental plans to use the marker substance
on a large scale in rubber products.
- SMX have active onboarding processes with other major tire
manufacturers to create an industry standard.
NEW
YORK, March 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Continental
and SMX (Security Matters) Public Limited Company (NASDAQ: SMX)
(NASDAQ: SMXWW), have succeeded for the first time in verifying a
marker substance for natural rubber in a tire and so throughout the
entire production process. The dedicated marker technology, which
both companies optimized for use in natural rubber, is designed to
create greater transparency along the entire value chain of tires
and technical rubber products from Continental. Provided with
special security features, the use of the marker substances enables
the invisible marking of natural rubber with information on its
geographical origin. This means, for example, that responsibly
sourced natural rubber and its origin can be verified at every
stage of the supply chain all the way through to the customer. By
doing so, Continental is further strengthening its pioneering role
in its commitment to greater transparency along its supply chain.
By 2050 at the latest, Continental expects that all materials that
it uses in its tire production will originate from responsible
sources.
"We see huge potential in marker technology. It will help us in
the future to ensure that the natural rubber we use in our tires is
grown and sourced entirely responsibly," says Claus Petschick, Head
of Sustainability at Continental Tires. "Over the long term, we
believe that marker technology could help to make the sometimes
highly complex processes in our supply chains more transparent and
verifiable. With Security Matters, we have by our side an
innovative tech platform for the development and trialing of marker
technology."
In the successfully completed field test, the marker substance
underwent and passed a real test of resilience. The substance was
added to responsibly grown latex during harvesting and withstood
not only the intensive preparations involved in the production of
natural rubber but also the tire manufacturing process
itself. In the manufactured tire, the data was retrieved using
special, purpose-built software and a reader and correctly
interpreted. The appearance and performance of a bicycle tire
containing the invisible marker remained unchanged.
Smallholders taught how to use the marker substance
For the field test, natural rubber grown as part of a joint
project run by Continental and the German development aid agency
'Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit' (GIZ) in
the Indonesian province of West
Kalimantan was used and enriched with the markers. The
project focuses on education and digitalization as the keys to
establishing sustainable supply chains for natural rubber. Local
smallholders were taught how the marker substances work and in what
concentration they need to be added to the latex.
Clear ambition for the future: large-scale use in rubber
products
Now that the technology has passed its first test of resilience,
Continental is planning to use the new marker technology on a
larger scale in the future during the process of sourcing its
rubber and also to integrate it in other rubber products. As part
of the industrialization of this technology, it is conceivable to
link the markers with blockchain technology, which is generally
considered tamper-proof. This could provide additional support for
tamper-free monitoring of compliance with quality standards and
quality criteria along the complex supply chain of natural
rubber.
"Together with Continental, SMX will use marker, reader and
digital technology to further improve the transparency of the
natural rubber supply chain and enable sustainability and
circularity." says Haggai Alon, CEO of SMX.
About SMX
SMX enables materials to carry a history that can be
authenticated through origination, use, recycle, and multiple reuse
cycles.
The company's B2B white label platforms power commercial
sustainability applications across a variety of industries,
including timber, rubber, palm oil, cocoa, steel, gold, luxury
goods, leather, plastics, and non-ferrous metals, to transition
successfully to a sustainable circular economy, thus reducing their
carbon footprint and waste.
SMX offers a robust, innovative, and scalable solution for
supply chain authentication, traceability, and transparency to
transform businesses for participation in the circular economy. Its
technology gives materials in solid, liquid, and gas forms the
ability to maintain a virtual memory of origination, processing and
supply chain journey, including the ability to authenticate
provenance, as well as to track recycling loop counts and the
percentage of authenticated and/or recycled materials contained.
The data is recorded digitally on blockchain, and a linking
molecular chemical marker is embedded in the product itself and can
be read with a proprietary reader. The SMX technology has been in
active operational use on a national scale by the Israeli
Government for more than ten years, is environmentally sustainable
and has a proven track record.
The SMX solution is an efficient, cost effective, drop-in
solution within an existing supply chain, enabling substantial
benefits for manufacturers, consumers, and others in the value
chain – and the planet, including providing the necessary data for
product recycling and re-use. In addition, the SMX technology
addresses the issue of the increase in waste globally by enabling
the increase in demand for verified, usable recycled materials by
creating a commoditized, tradable certified asset which is the
recycled material, which can be traded and sold to other players in
the value chain and ecosystem.
Forward-Looking Statements
The information in this press release includes "forward-looking
statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include, but are not
limited to, statements regarding expectations, hopes, beliefs,
intentions or strategies regarding the future. In addition, any
statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other
characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any
underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. The words
"anticipate," "believe," "contemplate," "continue," "could,"
"estimate," "expect," "forecast," "intends," "may," "will,"
"might," "plan," "possible," "potential," "predict," "project,"
"should," "would" and similar expressions may identify
forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not
mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking
statements in this press release may include, for example: changes
in SMX's strategy, future operations, financial position, estimated
revenues and losses, projected costs, prospects and plans; SMX's
ability to develop and launch new products and services; SMX's
ability to successfully and efficiently integrate future expansion
plans and opportunities'; SMX's ability to grow its business in a
cost-effective manner; SMX's product development timeline and
estimated research and development costs; the implementation,
market acceptance and success of SMX's business model; developments
and projections relating to SMX's competitors and industry; and
SMX's approach and goals with respect to technology. These
forward-looking statements are based on information available as of
the date of this press release, and current expectations, forecasts
and assumptions, and involve a number of judgments, risks and
uncertainties. Accordingly, forward-looking statements should not
be relied upon as representing views as of any subsequent date, and
no obligation is undertaken to update forward-looking statements to
reflect events or circumstances after the date they were made,
whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise,
except as may be required under applicable securities laws. As a
result of a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties,
actual results or performance may be materially different from
those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.
Some factors that could cause actual results to differ include: the
ability to maintain the listing of the Company's shares on Nasdaq;
changes in applicable laws or regulations; the effects of the
COVID-19 pandemic on SMX's business; the ability to implement
business plans, forecasts, and other expectations after the
completion of the business combination, and identify and realize
additional opportunities; the risk of downturns and the possibility
of rapid change in the highly competitive industry in which SMX
operates; the risk that SMX and its current and future
collaborators are unable to successfully develop and commercialize
SMX's products or services, or experience significant delays in
doing so; the risk that the Company may never achieve or sustain
profitability; the risk that SMX will need to raise additional
capital to execute its business plan, which may not be available on
acceptable terms or at all; the risk that SMX experiences
difficulties in managing its growth and expanding operations; the
risk that third-party suppliers and manufacturers are not able to
fully and timely meet their obligations; the risk that SMX is
unable to secure or protect its intellectual property; the
possibility that SMX may be adversely affected by other economic,
business, and/or competitive factors; and other risks and
uncertainties described in SMX's filings from time to time with the
Securities and Exchange Commission.
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SOURCE SMX