NxtGen Emission Controls, Inc. Announces the Close of a $15.4 Million USD Series “B” Investment

The Series “B” Investment was led by Altira

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Oct. 30, 2008) – NxtGen Emission Controls Inc. announced today the closing of a $15.4 million USD Series B investment led by Altira Group LLC.  NxtGen is an emerging leader in syngas technology for diesel engine combustion optimization.  NxtGen’s technology is making existing and new engines cleaner to meet global emission reduction regulations.  It provides a platform for advanced emission and combustion technologies for multiple fuels including diesel, biodiesel, natural gas and gasoline.

The announcement was made by Jeremy Holt, president and chief executive officer of NxtGen.

“The financing of the company with B series stock is particularly meaningful given the economic circumstances of the day and reflects the high potential for NxtGen technology to make an impact in cost effective and minimally invasive after treatment systems for high fuel efficiency diesel engines meeting 2010 emissions regulations as well as retrofit of existing diesel fleets or equipment to clean diesel standards. The inclusion of two strategic investors from Japan is noteworthy as is the lead investor for this round, US based Altira, and the returning Canadian based investor syndicate.”

According to Holt, the funds will be used to commercialize NxtGen’s first products for retrofit diesel emission reduction systems for on-road and off-road vehicles, and to complete development of advanced emissions and combustion optimization systems for original equipment manufacturers in North America, Asia and Europe.

The investment was led by Altira from its $176 Million USD Altira Technology V Fund L.P.  Founded in 1996 with a focus on investments in the energy sector, Altira has over $300 million in active investments along the entire energy value chain.

“Global demand for diesel power continues to increase while emissions regulations grow stricter.  We believe that NxtGen is uniquely positioned to help deliver cleaner burning diesel engines to meet tighter emissions regulations enabling global economic growth, said Jim Newell, Altira Group Partner, who will join NxtGen’s Board of Directors.”

Other new investors in the financing include ITOCHU Corporation with headquarters in Tokyo, Japan and corporate venture capital of a major Japanese automobile company.  Current investors participated in the financing including: Yaletown Venture Partners, GrowthWorks Capital, BC Advantage Funds, and Polygon Financial LLC.

NxtGen has successfully miniaturized syngas production from petroleum refinery scale equipment for use in light-duty and heavy-duty vehicles.  “Syngas” is a hydrogen rich gas which NxtGen produces from diesel fuel.  This novel system significantly reduces particulate matter and NOx emissions from diesel engines and enables engine manufacturers to focus their efforts on improving fuel economy and performance.  Automotive industry materials and manufacturing processes result in a product with low costs and high reliability. NxtGen’s system enables a 50% reduction in platinum group metals costs for the catalytic filters now being implemented to reduce diesel engine emissions and avoids the cost and complexity of Urea-SCR technology