TURBINE TRUCK ENGINES, INC.
This Annual Report on Form 10-K and the documents incorporated herein by reference contain forward-looking statements that have been made pursuant to the provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about Turbine Truck Engines Inc.’s industry, management beliefs, and assumptions made by management. Words such as “anticipates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates,” variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict; therefore, actual results and outcomes may differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in any such forward-looking statements.
DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS
Turbine Truck Engines, Inc. was incorporated in Delaware on November 27, 2000. On February 20, 2008, the Company was re-domiciled to the State of Nevada. The Company is currently pursuing the continued development of the Detonation Cycle Gas Turbine Engine” (“DCGT”).
The development of the DCGT Engine has been at the core of the Company’s business for many years. On December 15, 2000, we acquired the option rights for an exclusive License from Alpha Engines Corporation (“Alpha”) for manufacturing and marketing heavy duty highway truck engines utilizing Alpha’s DCGT technology embodied in U.S. Patent No. 6,000,214 and other proprietary technology and rights owned by Alpha including Marketing Survey Data in the highway trucking industry. We exercised our option and acquired the licensing rights on July 22, 2002. Alpha has completed the design and prototype of a 540 hp engine for use in highway trucks.
The Company has a number of agreements regarding the development and manufacture of the DCGT Engine over the last few years that have terminated of their own accord, but which the Company classifies as “on hold”, pending the successful completion the testing of the 6th generation prototype that is a condition precedent to the development of the engine which would serve as a platform for these companies to work off of. Upon the successful completion of the testing of the 6th generation prototype, the Company intends revisit these strategic alliances and potential joint ventures
The Company, through AbM Engineering, completed the 6th generation prototype in June 2011 and intends on continuing the testing thereof over the next quarter, subject to the receipt of adequate funding.
KINGTEC AGREEMENT
The Company entered into a Share Purchase Agreement in May 2010 with Hua Tec Enterprise Co. LTD, (“Hua Tec”) an international company incorporated in the Independent State of Samoa. HUA TEC owns all of the issued and outstanding shares of Guandong Kingtec Electrical Co., LTD, a wholly foreign owned enterprise established under the laws of the People’s Republic of China. Kingtec is primarily engaged in the business of manufacturing and selling automobile starters, generators and other accessories in the People’s Republic of China. The closing of this purchase agreement is contingent upon certain conditions as outlined in the agreement, the terms of which are currently being negotiated.
OTHER AGREEMENTS
The Company entered into various strategic alliances with foreign companies during 2009 and 2010. During the year ended December 31, 2011, there were no material changes as disclosed in the December 31, 2010 Form 10K which would warrant further disclosure to these financial statements. The agreements with GUOHAO, TIANJIN and BEIJING ROYAL are based on the Company building, testing and demonstrating a prototype that will meet the efficiencies required to commercialize the engine for their respective products. Once the Company has demonstrated that it can produce an engine with the power output and efficiencies required, the time line set in the original agreements for the respective companies to fulfill their agreements and fund the Company to bring the engine to full commercialization for that product will begin.
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PRODUCT STATUS
THE DCGT ENGINE
To date, our DCGT Engine is not yet marketable, but we have completed initial testing of the 6th generation prototype. The Company continues to demonstrate the engine to investors and potential joint venture partners. Over the course of the last few years, the Company has entered into numerous strategic alliances and potential joint ventures for the development of the engine; however, those agreements have been placed on hold pending the successful completion of the testing on the 6th generation prototype. The prototype was completed in June 2011, and preliminary testing has been completed. Comprehensive testing will continue over the next quarter or longer, dependent upon adequate funding being received by the Company. Costs incurred for the prototype was included research and development costs for the year ended December 31, 2011.
Once the company has demonstrated that it can produce an engine with the power output and efficiencies required of the marketplace, the Company will revisit the prior agreements, as they have indicated that they remain interested. The Company continues to pursue funding to bring the engine to full commercialization.
GOLDEN GATE
In June 2008, the Company issued a Convertible Debenture to Golden Gate Investors, Inc. (the “holder”) in the principal amount of $1,000,000, dated June 6, 2008, pursuant to Rule 506 promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission, for the purpose of accessing necessary funding to continue operations.
Pursuant to the terms of the Debenture, the related Securities Purchase Agreement, Secured Promissory Note and Stock Pledge Agreement, each executed in connection therewith, the Company issued $1,000,000 Convertible Debenture (the “Debenture”) for the payment by Golden Gate of $100,000 in cash and the execution and delivery by Golden Gate of a $900,000 Secured Promissory Note of even date (the “Note”), bearing interest at 8% per annum. As of December 31, 2011, the Company has $205,000 available to draw on the Convertible Debenture.
The Debenture bears interest at 7.75% per annum, payable monthly, maturing June 30, 2012, and was secured by a Continuing Personal Guaranty, whereby the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and majority shareholder guaranteed the Company’s obligations for a period of eight months. Originally, the Debenture Holder was entitled to convert into common stock of the company at the conversion price equal to the lesser of (i) $0.50, or (ii) 80% of the average of the 3 lowest Volume Weighted Average Prices during the 20 Trading Days prior to Holder’s election to convert, as such terms are defined in the Debenture. Effective January 15, 2010, the agreement was amended with the Holder and the conversion price has a $0.15 fixed floor price that limits the number of common shares that can be issued upon conversion to a fixed amount. The Holder can only convert that amount of the Debenture that has actually been paid for by either cash at closing or principal pre-payments made on the Promissory Note.
Golden Gate’s secured Promissory Note is payable at the rate of 8% per annum with interest, payable monthly and provides for the prepayment of the Note in an amount not less than $200,000 upon the triggering of certain events. It matures on June 30, 2012. During 2011, the Company has drawn $50,000 in proceeds related to the note and converted $50,000 in convertible notes into 333,334 common shares. For financial statement purposes, the Securities Purchase Agreement and the Convertible Promissory Note have been netted, as the Company has the legal right of offset.
OUR PRODUCTS AND BUSINESS LINES
Our product is slated to be a new energy-efficient, Detonation Cycle Gas Turbine Engine (“DCGT”) for heavy-duty highway trucks as well as other potential applications. To date, we have no marketable product and will rely on the research firms of AbM Engineering and AMEC and our Strategic Alliance partners to continue the development and testing of a 540 horsepower prototype that will conform to our licensed application. Since our inception, we have continued to raise capital to bring this patented technology closer to where it can be utilized in a common market. The application demanding the most change is the highway trucking market.
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Detonation refers to an instant burning of a fuel-air mixture producing an explosion. Cycle refers to the explosion happening in one chamber and then in another chamber, repeating over and over again. Gas is the fuel which is in a gaseous state. Turbine is a rotating wheel or disk connected to a shaft spinning in one direction. This combined process along with the Electromagnetic Isothermal Combustion “(EIC”) process creates the high efficiency, low emission engine that we intend to bring to market.
Alpha has completed the design and prototype of a 540 hp engine for use in highway trucks. Therefore compliance with state and federal regulators will not be a factor until we have an engineered prototype in a test vehicle here in the United States. Alpha completed all research and development in 1997, which resulted in a patent being issued in 1999. Alpha has completed the design for the truck engine. The Company is currently testing the 6th generation prototype, however, this takes a considerable amount of money.
Under our Agreement with Alpha, they will continue to consult and advise with AbM Engineering on future development of this 540 horsepower DCGT highway truck engine prototype at AbM’s facilities in Daytona Beach, Florida. This new energy efficient detonation cycle gas turbine can be designed and manufactured as a new or replacement engine for all heavy duty trucks that utilize engines ranging from 300 to 1,000 horsepower.
It was our initial intention solely to target 18 wheel class 8 vehicles commonly used for transporting goods throughout the United States for distribution of our engine, however, based on the interest among numerous Chinese companies, the Company has expand that goal by pursuing other applications of the DCGT engine technology as deemed necessary and appropriate to further the development and commercialization of the engines.
PATENTS AND LICENSE
Patent #6000214 is a novel patent with a 20-year life from the filing date of December 16, 1997. The patent was based on research and development beginning in 1984, which included the design, construction, and testing of four (4) working prototypes. The patent attorneys were Schoemaker & Mattare Ltd. The inventor has and will file additional patents to protect any new developments in the engine technology. We will have access to any new patent filings on the highway truck engines as provided for in our licensing agreement.
This patent in its simplicity makes it very unique. A detonation cycle gas turbine engine includes a turbine rotor contained in a housing. The exhaust ports of respective valveless combustion chambers are located on opposite sides of the rotor directing combustion gases toward the turbine. The chambers are connected by a valveless manifold fed with fuel and oxidizer. When combustible gases are detonated by an igniter in one of the combustion chambers, the back pressure from the detonation shuts off the fuel and oxidizer flow to that chamber and redirects the fuel and oxidizer to the opposite chamber, where detonation occurs. The process repeats cyclically. Power is taken off the rotor shaft mechanically or electrically.