Risk Factors Dashboard

Item 1A.

Our Company was incorporated on February 18, 1998, as a Nevada Corporation under the name Mandalay Capital Corporation. The Company changed its name to Save the World Air, Inc. on February 11, 1999. Effective August 11, 2015, the Company changed its name to QS Energy, Inc. The name change was affected through a short-form merger pursuant to Section 92A.180 of the Nevada Revised Statutes. Additionally, QS Energy Pool, Inc., a California corporation, was formed as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company on July 6, 2015 to serve as a vehicle for the Company to explore, review, and consider acquisition opportunities. To date, QS Energy Pool has not entered into any acquisition transaction. However, the Company will still consider, if appropriate to do so, and subject to the availability of adequate and acceptable capital and financing, entering into potential beneficial acquisitions. The Company is considering dissolving QS Energy Pool to reduce costs associated with operating this subsidiary. The Company’s common stock is quoted under the symbol “QSEP” on the Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board (Pink Sheets).

A history of important events associated with our efforts to develop and commercialize our AOT technology is as follows:

Since 2011, the Company transitioned from prototype testing of its AOT technology at the U.S. Department of Energy Rocky Mountain Oilfield Testing Center, Midwest, Wyoming (“RMOTC”), to the design and production of full-scale commercial prototype units. The Company worked in a collaborative engineering environment with multiple energy industry companies to refine the AOT Midstream commercial design to comply with the stringent standards and qualification processes as dictated by independent engineering audit groups and North American industry regulatory bodies. In May 2013, the Company’s first commercial prototype unit known as AOT Midstream, was completed.

In 2013, the Company entered into an Equipment Lease/Option to Purchase Agreement (“TransCanada Lease”) with TransCanada Keystone Pipeline, L.P. by its agent TC Oil Pipeline Operations, Inc. ("TransCanada") which agreed to lease and test the effectiveness of the Company’s AOT technology and equipment on one of TransCanada’s operating pipelines. As previously reported in our 10-K report filed with the SEC on March 16, 2015, in June 2014, the equipment was accepted by TransCanada and the lease commenced and the first full test of the AOT equipment on the Keystone pipeline was performed in July 2014 by Dr. Rongjia Tao of Temple University, with subsequent testing performed by an independent laboratory, ATS RheoSystems, a division of CANNON™ (“ATS”) in September 2014. Upon review of the July 2014 test results and preliminary report by Dr. Tao, QS Energy and TransCanada mutually agreed that this initial test was flawed due to, among other factors, the short-term nature of the test, the inability to isolate certain independent pipeline operating factors such as fluctuations in upstream pump station pressures, and limitations of the AOT device to produce a sufficient electric field to optimize viscosity reduction. Subsequent testing by ATS in September 2014 demonstrated viscosity reductions of 8% to 23% depending on flow rates and crude oil types in transit. In its summary report, ATS concluded that i) data indicated a decrease in viscosity of crude oil flowing through the TransCanada pipeline due to AOT treatment of the crude oil; and ii) the power supply installed on our equipment would need to be increased to maximize reduction in viscosity and take full advantage of the AOT technology. We determined more testing would be required to establish the commercial efficacy of our AOT technology. The TransCanada Lease was terminated by TransCanada, effective October 15, 2014. Upon termination of the TransCanada Lease, all equipment was uninstalled, returned, inspected and configured for re-deployment.

On July 15, 2014, the Company entered into an Equipment Lease/Option to Purchase Agreement (“Kinder Morgan Lease”) with Kinder Morgan Crude & Condensate, LLC (“Kinder Morgan”) under which Kinder Morgan agreed to lease and test the effectiveness of the Company’s AOT technology and equipment on one of Kinder Morgan’s operating crude oil condensate pipelines. Equipment provided under the Lease included a single AOT Midstream pressure vessel with a maximum flow capacity of 5,000 gallons per minute. The equipment was delivered to Kinder Morgan in December 2014 and installed in March 2015. In April 2015, during pre-start testing, low electrical impedance was measured in the unit, indicating an electrical short. A replacement unit was installed in May 2015. The second unit also presented with low impedance when flooded with crude condensate from Kinder Morgan’s pipeline. Subsequent to design modifications, a remanufactured AOT unit was installed and tested at Kinder Morgan’s pipeline facility in August 2015. Initial results were promising, with the unit operating generally as expected. However, voltage dropped as preliminary tests continued, indicating decreased impedance within the AOT pressure vessel. QS Energy personnel and outside consultants performed a series of troubleshooting assessments and determined that, despite modifications made to the AOT, conductive materials present in the crude oil condensate appeared to be the root cause of the decreased impedance. Based on these results, QS Energy and Kinder Morgan personnel mutually agreed to put a hold on final acceptance of equipment under the lease and suspended in-field testing to provide time to re-test crude oil condensate in a laboratory setting, and thoroughly review and test selected AOT component design and fabrication. Subsequent analysis and testing led to changes in electrical insulation, inlet flow improvements and other component modifications. These design changes were implemented and tested by Industrial Screen and Maintenance (ISM), one of QS Energy's supply chain partners in Casper, Wyoming. Tests performed by ISM at its Wyoming facility indicated significant improvements to system impedance and efficiency of electric field generation.

In February 2016, the modified AOT equipment was installed at Kinder Morgan’s facility. Pre-acceptance testing was performed in April 2016, culminating in more than 24 hours of continuous operations. In-field viscosity measurements and pipeline data collected during this test indicated the AOT equipment operated as expected, demonstrating viscosity reductions equivalent to those measured under laboratory conditions. Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (“SCADA”) pipeline operating data collected by Kinder Morgan during this test indicated a pipeline pressure drop reduction consistent with expectations. Results of this test were promising; however, due to the short duration of the test and limited data collection, definitive conclusions regarding the AOT performance and its impact on pipeline operations could not be reached. Based on final analysis of in-field test results, SCADA operating data and subsequent analysis of crude oil condensate samples at Temple University, it became unlikely Kinder Morgan would use the AOT at the original test location or other condensate pipeline. Kinder Morgan expressed interest in AOT operations at one of their heavy crude pipeline locations subject to results of other AOT demonstration projects and provided the Company with additional crude oil samples which have been tested at Temple University for future test correlation and operational planning purposes. The Kinder Morgan Lease is in suspension and there are no current plans to resume the lease or reinstall an AOT device at a Kinder Morgan facility.

Southern Research Institute (SRI) was engaged by QS Energy in 2015 to investigate the root cause of the crude oil condensate impedance issue by replicating conditions experienced in the field utilizing a laboratory-scaled version of the AOT and crude oil condensate samples provided by Kinder Morgan. In addition, QS Energy retained an industry expert petroleum pipeline engineer to review the AOT design and suggest design modifications to resolve the crude oil condensate impedance issue. This engineer has studied design details, staff reports and forensic photographs of each relevant AOT installation and test. Based on these investigations, specific modifications were proposed to resolve the impedance issue, and improve the overall efficiency of the AOT device, resulting in a new value-engineered design of certain AOT internal components.

During the third quarter of 2016, the Company developed an onsite testing program to demonstrate AOT viscosity reduction at prospective customer sites. This program utilized a laboratory-scale AOT device designed and developed by the Company and tested at the Southern Research Institute. Under this program, Company engineers set up a temporary lab at the customer’s site to test a full range of crude oils. Fees charged for providing this service were dependent on scope of services, crude oil sample to be tested, and onsite time requirements. In the fourth quarter 2016, the Company entered a contract to provide these onsite testing services to a North American oil producer and pipeline operator over a one-week period in early 2017 at a fixed price of $50,000. This test was performed in January 2017; data analysis and a final report were completed in March 2017. Test results demonstrated viscosity reduction under limited laboratory conditions. The oil producer requested access to observe a full-scale demonstration facility and view operating data when they become available. This has not occurred.

Separately, in 2014, the Company began development of a new suite of products based around the new electrical heat system which reduces oil viscosity through a process known as joule heat (“Joule Heat”). The Company built and tested its first Joule Heat prototype in June 2015. The system was operational; however, changes to the prototype configuration would be required to determine commercial effectiveness of this unit. In December 2015, we suspended Joule Heat development activities to focus Company resources on finalizing commercial development of the AOT. We may resume Joule Heat development in the future depending on the availability of sufficient capital and other resources.

Also, in July 2017, the Company filed for trademark protection for the word “eDiluent” in advance of rolling out a new marketing and revenue strategy based on the concept of using AOT to reduce pipeline dependence upon diluent to reduce viscosity of crude oils. A primary function of AOT is to reduce viscosity by means of its solid-state electronics technology, in essence providing an electronic form of diluent, or “eDiluent”. Subject to successful testing of our AOT technology and sufficient availability of operating capital, the Company may seek to market and sell a value-added service under the name eDiluent, designed to be upsold by the Company’s midstream pipeline customers in an effort to provide the Company with long-term recurring revenues.

During the third quarter 2017, the Company built a dedicated laboratory space at its then Tomball, Texas facility, providing onsite testing utilizing our laboratory-scale AOT device, among other equipment. Development of an AOT unit for use in crude oil upstream and gathering operations was restarted in September 2017, utilizing resources at the Tomball, Texas facility. Also, during the third quarter 2017, the Company built an outdoor facility at the Tomball, Texas site for onsite storage of AOT inventory and other large equipment. These sites are no longer in use.

Throughout 2018 our primary strategic goal was focused on installing and operating a demonstration AOT project on a commercial crude oil pipeline. Much of our time was spent meeting with industry executives and engineers in North and South America and working with local representatives in the Asian and the Middle Eastern markets. In December 2018, we reached mutual agreement with a major U.S.-based pipeline operator on a demonstration project under which we would install and operate our AOT equipment on a crude oil pipeline located in the Southern United States. We believed at the time that the selected project site would be ideal for demonstration purposes, delivering heavy crudes which, based on samples tested at Temple University, and, subject to the discussion below, would experience significant viscosity reduction when treated with our AOT technology.

While management focused on finding a partner and finalizing terms of the demonstration project, and in our continuing efforts to commercialize our AOT technology, our engineering team worked throughout 2018 to prepare one of our inventoried AOT units for deployment. All system upgrade, inspections and testing protocols were completed in December 2018. The pipeline operator finalized site selection and began site design and engineering in January 2019, completing site preparation and equipment installation in June 2019. The project was installed within budget, quality compliant, and without safety incidents. The system passed the pre-start safety review, data acquisition signal verifications, and mechanical inspections. Under full crude oil flow, the system was confirmed to have no leaks and no environmental issues were noted. Data collected during the full-flow startup phase confirmed internal differential pressures to be negligible and consistent with design specifications. However, when the system was energized, and the unit was run-up to high-voltage operations, the primary power supply began to operate erratically and had to be taken offline. Subsequent inspection determined the primary power supply had failed.

After removing the primary power supply, our engineers reconfigured the system to run off a smaller secondary power supply. Although this unit was not capable of achieving target treatment voltage, we performed limited testing and troubleshooting measures, after which the damaged power supply was shipped to the manufacturer for expedited repair and reconditioning. Inspections performed during the repair process indicated internal power supply components had been physically damaged. Though not definitive, it appears that damage may have occurred during transit prior to initial installation at the demonstration site. While the demonstration project was offline for power supply repairs, our engineering team worked with oil samples pulled from the operating pipeline for testing at our then Tomball laboratory facility. These tests were designed to confirm our target power requirements as accurately as possible and help us fine-tune enhancements planned for a new optimized AOT internal grid pack design we had planned to test at the demonstration site as part of our continuing value engineering effort.

During initial testing with the small power supply, current draw was greater than prior field deployments. While it was expected that the small power supply would not achieve treatment voltage, as voltage was increased, actual current draw experienced under test conditions exceeded the operating limit of the power supply. Subsequent laboratory and in-field testing performed at our then Tomball facility showed the electrical conductivity of the oil to be quite high and in line with field observations. Although these tests indicated the unit was generally functioning properly, results further indicated the damaged power supply, once repaired, would not be capable of providing sufficient power to fully treat the crude oil due to the oil’s high electrical conductivity. In anticipation of this result, the Company initiated in advance of testing parallel tasks of: i) installation of the repaired power supply to perform limited testing to confirm laboratory and in-field test results; and ii) procurement of a new power supply capable of providing significantly more power and a modified AOT grid pack assembly reconfigured and generally optimized based on the latest laboratory and in-field test results.

When the repaired power supply was installed in late August 2019, the system operated as expected, and limited testing was performed at that time. Results of this limited testing were consistent with laboratory tests performed to date. But, as expected, the repaired power supply was not capable of providing sufficient power to fully treat the crude oil under commercial operating conditions. Our business prospects are difficult to predict because of our limited operating history, early stage of development and unproven business strategy. Our business prospects are difficult to predict because of our limited operating history, early stage of development and unproven business strategy. Based on results of this limited testing, Company engineers completed designs and began implementation of modifications to the AOT internal grid pack assembly.

The new high capacity power supply and modified grid pack were installed in December 2019. However, prior to flooding the system with crude oil, early-phase startup testing indicated an electrical short circuit. Subsequent inspection revealed damage to the internal grid pack which likely occurred during installation. The grid pack was shipped offsite for repairs with reinstallation scheduled for January 2020.

The AOT demonstration project continued to experience setbacks during the first quarter of 2020. After repairing and re-installing the modified grid pack, the system shut down again during commissioning presenting with error conditions similar to the December 2019 failure. At that time, based on external inspections and on-site testing, our engineers suspected the grid pack had again been damaged during re-installation and that such suspected damage was the most likely cause of the electrical short circuit. It was determined at that time the best course of action would be to remove the modified grid pack and re-install the original grid pack which had previously been installed multiple times without sustaining damage, and perform a detailed inspection of the modified grid pack in an effort to determine the cause of the electrical short circuit.

Executing this plan, our team removed the modified grid pack and re-installed the original grid pack assembly in the AOT in January 2020. After removal, our engineers performed a detailed inspection of the modified grid pack. Inconsistent with expectations, no damage to the modified grid pack was found during this inspection, leaving the cause of the electrical short circuit undiagnosed.

In January and February 2020, our engineers tested and attempted to operate the AOT under a variety of conditions. In these tests, the system could be run at high voltage, but not high enough for treatment with the installed grid pack, under static “shut-in” conditions; however, the system continued to shut down due to an electrical short circuit when operated under pressure. In simple terms, this means the system could be flooded with crude oil and powered up in excess of 10,000 volts when the system was shut-in by closing the intake and outtake valves which isolates the system from the pipeline’s operating pressure. However, once the valves were opened and the system was subjected to the pipeline’s operating pressure, the system developed an electrical short circuit and shut down.

As the presence of high pressure appears to trigger the short circuit, it was the belief of our engineers that it is unlikely the fault is in the grid pack assembly as this component is fully submerged in crude oil and is generally subjected to equal pressure on all components. The electrical short is more likely developing in the electrical connection assembly built into the blind flange at the top of the pressure vessel, which is subjected to high pressure under normal operating conditions. Unfortunately, this electrical connection assembly could not be inspected without destroying the assembly itself. Instead, our engineers developed a plan to replace the installed blind flange and electrical connection assembly with components from inventory which would be rebuilt prior to installation.

As part of an ongoing reliability-engineering effort, our engineers at that time worked on incremental modifications to improve electrical isolation within the blind flange and electrical connection assembly. These previously developed plans allowed us to move quickly with vendors and present an expedited plan to the pipeline operator. In March 2020, our engineers designed modifications to the blind flange, electrical connections and related housing intended to minimize the effects of high pressure and likelihood of internal electrical short circuits. Concurrently, a blind flange with high voltage assembly was shipped from inventory to a shop with specialized equipment used to strip the flange of all electrical insulation materials. Once the stripping process was complete, castings were made to complete the internal assembly. Our engineers believed at the time that this modification could solve the electrical short issue we have experienced in prior tests.

While the blind flange assembly was being remanufactured, we took the opportunity to implement a number of relatively minor modifications to other system configurations which had been planned for future units based on results of our engineering team’s reliability engineering work over the past two years. These modifications were designed to improve the reliability of internal electrical connections, increase the structural support of the internal grid pack, and maintain higher quality control over internal component positioning and alignment during vertical installation.

Notwithstanding our efforts, the AOT system at that time continued to be non-operational under normal operating conditions. As reported in previous updates on our website at https://www.qsenergy.com/index.php/qs-updates/ and in our Form 8-K filed with the SEC on March 4, 2020, the AOT system experienced shutdowns during the commissioning process. In December 2019, after installing a modified grid pack and new high-capacity power supply, the system shut down presenting with an electrical short which was determined to be due to damage to the system’s internal grid pack likely incurred during installation. After repairing and re-installing the modified grid pack in January 2020, the system shut down again during commissioning presenting with error conditions similar to the December 2019 failure. At that time, based on external inspections and on-site testing, our engineers suspected the grid pack had again been damaged during re-installation and that such suspected damage was the most likely cause of the electrical short circuit. As reported in our January 24, 2020 website update page, it was determined at that time the best course of action would be to remove the modified grid pack and re-install the original grid pack which had previously been installed multiple times without sustaining damage, and perform a detailed inspection of the modified grid pack in an effort to determine the cause of the electrical short circuit.

Executing on this plan, our team removed the modified grid pack and re-installed the original grid pack assembly in the AOT. After removal, our engineers performed a detailed inspection of the modified grid pack. Inconsistent with our expectations, no damage to the modified grid pack was found during this inspection, leaving the cause of the most recent electrical short circuit undiagnosed.

We have tested and attempted to operate the AOT under a variety of conditions. We have been able to bring the system up to high voltage under static “shut-in” conditions; however, as reported above, the system continued to shut down due to an electrical short circuit when operated under pressure. In simple terms, as also reported above, this means we can flood the system with crude oil, shut-in the system by closing the intake and outtake valves isolating the system from the pipeline’s operating pressure, and power up the system in excess of 10,000 volts. Once the valves are opened and the system is subjected to the pipeline’s operating pressure, the system develops an electrical short circuit and shuts down. Because of our inability to fully diagnose the cause of our current electrical problems, we can provide no assurances that we will not face other operational issues after completing a full diagnosis and evaluation of our technology.

As previously reported, in December 2018, we entered into an agreement with a major U.S.-based pipeline operator under which the Company installed its AOT equipment on a crude oil pipeline located in the Southern United States for testing and demonstration purposes. Based on laboratory tests and operations of prototype equipment at other locations, we had a reasonable expectation that the equipment would operate successfully and that test results would demonstrate quantifiable benefits to pipeline operators. This has not occurred.

As reported in the Company’s Form 10-K and Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on March 31, 2020 and June 29, 2020, respectively, and in website updates published on the Company’s website at https://www.qsenergy.com/index.php/qs-updates/, the Company experienced a number of difficulties and delays at the demonstration site. Despite identifying and implementing numerous design modifications over several months, the Company was unable to successfully operate its AOT equipment.

In late June 2020, equipment modifications intended to mitigate electrical short circuit issues identified in earlier tests were completed. During startup testing, the system experienced a new failure mode in which the system could be operated at a baseline high voltage (well below operational voltage required to treat heavy crude), but after a period of time, the system would drop to very low voltage indicating a reduction in electrical resistance in the AOT. This voltage drop was both dynamic, developing over time as electrical current was applied; and transient, in that the power supply could be shut-down and re-started with this voltage drop characteristic repeating. After reviewing these results and running subsequent in-field tests at the direction of the power supply manufacturer, they recommended a configuration modification to the control module of the system’s high-voltage power supply which, in their experience, could resolve the system’s ability to maintain constant voltage under our unique operating conditions in which the AOT essentially acts as a very large capacitor. During the first week of July 2020, we modified the power supply control module at the direction of the power supply manufacturer. Though this modification did appear to solve the voltage drop issue, the AOT could not achieve operational voltage as the system control module indicated arc-faults when high voltage was applied above the baseline voltage levels. After many attempts to bring the system up to operating voltage, arc-faults continued until the AOT demonstrated symptoms of what appeared to be a dead short (electrical short-to-ground; voltage dropped to zero) and the system could no longer be re-started.

After discussions with our demonstration pipeline partner, it was mutually agreed that the best course of action was to move the equipment from the demonstration site to another location where our engineers could disassemble and inspect the equipment. Our AOT equipment was moved to storage, inspection, and testing site in the state of Mississippi. Our former demonstration partner indicated their continued interest in our AOT technology and may consider installation and operation of a new AOT demonstration project if our operational issues can be resolved.

We shut down all testing of our AOT product in July 2020, due to a lack of operating capital; we received limited capital in 2021, allowing us to commence some additional testing of our AOT product.

In 2021, following our receipt of limited capital, our engineer commenced re-testing and completed a troubleshooting sequence. Lab test fixtures were designed and built, and testing results supported the redesign of the AOT internals. The results of the electrical testing of the insulating material showed that the material of constructions was functioning as designed. However, during the testing it was discovered that the material swells when exposed to crude oil. The current design does not accommodate a change in size of the parts.

We validated a new design concept for the grid pack will reduce arcing and allowed us to apply full voltage during a recent test. A 3rd party engineering firm with proper experience and three-dimensional modeling software was engaged. A design review was completed, final drawings were sent to our vendors, and prototype parts for fit and electrical testing were ordered.

In August 2022 we completed the testing of the new components. The assembly did not suffer the arcing problems we saw when testing an assembly made from parts of the full size AOT. It appeared that we accomplished the goal of eliminating the sources of arcing that prevented us from achieving treatment voltages with this new design.

The lessons learned during the stack assembly test have been applied and the results incorporated into the designs for the spacer rings and the screens. This change to the isolator ring design resulted in some iterative designs to optimize the casting tooling or molds. The time spent on this redesign created a delay in our goal for testing in September 2022.

Since reporting our findings on October 7, 2021, we have been able to positively confirm and correct approximately 80% of what we have determined thus far to be the necessary improvements for a reliable and field worthy AOT. Based on the results of the recent component testing, we were able to rework the original grid pack, achieve high voltage in air and oil to verify that the individual components worked when assembled.

Once all the parts were delivered for a full AOT, we assembled the stack and installed the stack into the vessel. The vessel was filled with oil and tested. We were able to apply full voltage of 40.1kV to the AOT. We believed at the time that the AOT would be ready to test with customer oil and be deployed back into the field. Still, no such testing or deployment has yet to occur.

We reopened discussions with our original development partner as well as reaching out to others. While we have tested with a representative oil sample, we have not yet reached an agreement with a development partner allowing us to test a development partner's pipeline oil as a prelude to another field test. Our efforts continue to reach agreement with a suitable development partner as our next step to develop and commercialize our AOT technology.

Our team has diligently pursued the formalization of a new initiative, aligning it with the strategic priorities of potential development partners. As we endeavor to seamlessly incorporate state-of-the-art technologies into a novel operational framework, we acknowledge that comprehensive testing, planning and meticulous execution invariably require more time than initially anticipated.

A noteworthy milestone has been achieved, demonstrating significant viscosity reduction for the specified oil target. Our collaboration with Temple University continues as we define the operational parameters of the AOT system, essential for effective field deployment. Concurrently, we are actively exploring commercial opportunities for our AOT product.

In our ongoing effort to commercialize our AOT technology, as announced in our press release of June 12, 2024, we entered into a letter of intent on June 11, 2024, with VIPS Petroleum, LLC (“VIPS”) to collaborate on and outline preliminary terms of a memorandum of understanding (“MOU”) regarding the commercial deployment of our AOT technology on one or more pipeline networks owned and operated by VIPS’ customer/clients. The MOU was completed and signed with VIPS on September 25, 2024, as reported in our press release of September 26, 2024. We have now entered into a Collaboration Agreement with VIPS as of August 1, 2024 to collaborate with them in facilitating the deployment of our AOT technology and products to VIPS’ customers. We hope to finalize a definitive agreement with a VIPS customer or customers to demonstrate the efficacy of our AOT product within the operating goals and requirements of the customer. If those customers’ goals and requirements are satisfied, we hope next to deploy our AOT product on the customer’s pipeline networks. As of the date of this filing, we have not entered into any agreement with any of VIPS’ customers for the deployment of our AOT technology and products. While we believe we have an opportunity to seek deployment of our AOT product on a VIPS customer’s pipeline network, we can offer no assurances that agreements will be signed with VIPS' customers or that such customers, if any, will approve or seek installation of our AOT product.

We believe the partnership between VIPS and QS Energy has significantly strengthened. This collaboration has advanced to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Australia Asia India Business Organization (AAIBO), as disclosed in our December 10, 2024, update, “QS Energy Achieves Phase 4 Milestone with Southeast Asia’s Leading Energy Producer.” Engagements with AAIBO and stakeholders in Malaysia have led to progress toward formalizing a contract. Still, no contract has been entered into between them and the Company.

As reported in our form 8-K, filed with the SEC on June 25, 2025, we entered into a Distributor Agreement with VIPS, providing for VIPS to serve as our exclusive distributor to promote, sell, and lease our AOT product in the territories of Malaysia, Ghana, and India, among other territories. To date, we have not received any purchase orders under the Distributor Agreement, nor has our AOT product been placed with, nor currently being used by, any of VIPS’ customers or anyone else. We have also amended the Distributor Agreement, as follows:

Section 3.2 (Additional Revenue), Section 3.3 (Order Process & Payment Terms), and Section 3.5 (Additional Consideration) of the Distributor Agreement was amended, effective September 3, 2025 (“Amended Distributor Agreement”).

Amendment No. 1 referenced in Section 3.3 of the Amended Distributor Agreement now provides for, among other things and conditions, an initial pre-phase purchase order of two (2) AOT units for a total purchase price of ten million dollars ($10,000,000), payment of which has not been made. Thereafter, Amendment No.1 of Section 3.3 provides for five (5) purchase order phases, the first of which (Phase 1) provides for an order of ten (10) AOT units for a total purchase price of $50,000,000 ($5,000,000 per unit), payable with a down payment of $25,000,000 followed by two payments of $12,500,000 each. These orders and payments are subject to satisfaction of several conditions including, without limitation, compliance and verification with SBLC and FAT conditions (defined and discussed in the paragraph below). Amendment No. 1 of Section 3.3 also provides for phase 2 through phase 5 order, payment, and funding conditions, as well as approval conditions and compliance. Sample purchase orders for pre-phase and phases 1 through 5 are, attached to the Amended Distribution Agreement, together with other sample invoices and sample orders. The samples do not represent actual orders or payments but establish only the form pursuant to which future orders and payments may be made. We can provide no assurances that conditions will be satisfied triggering any purchase or payment under the Amended Distributor Agreement or its attachments.

Amendment No. 3 referenced in Section 3.5 of the Amended Distributor Agreement now provides that upon the Company’s receipt of payment of ten million dollars ($10,000,000) for the purchase of two (2) AOT Units, the Company shall issue VIPS/Stephen Bosco a Stock Purchase Warrant (“Warrant”) providing VIPS the right to purchase 25,000,000 million restricted shares of common stock of the Company, at a price of $0.07 cents per share (“Exercise Price”). The Warrant will vest on issuance and expire three (3) years from the date of issuance. VIPS’ payment of the Exercise Price of $1,750,000 for all 25,000,000 shares shall be rebate-based, meaning, as previously reported in the Company’s Form 8-K filing on June 25, 2025, for every AOT Unit sold by the Company to VIPS for a purchase price per unit of $5,000,000, the Company will process a post-sale rebate of 15% of the purchase price, or $750,000, to VIPS. Post-sale rebates due VIPS, up to a maximum of $1,750,000, will be applied to, and be deemed payment of, the Exercise Price.

Amendment No.2 referenced in Section 3.2 of the Amended Distributor Agreement now provides a formula for the sharing of additional revenue between the Company and VIPS based on incremental barrels and carbon credits achieved through the use of the Company’s AOT Units.

A copy of the Amended Distributor Agreement, together with amendments and samples attached thereto are included in this Form 10-K filing as Exhibit 10.22. The above summary of the Amended Distributor Agreement provides selected information only and is qualified in its entirety by the Amended Distributor Agreement. The Amended Distributor Agreement and attachments thereto should be carefully read in their entirety.

Additionally, QS Energy, in coordination with VIPS, VIPS’ customer counterparties, and associated financial institutions, is engaged in negotiations seeking execution of an initial commercial deployment plan for the 3.0 generation AOT Units. The parties maintain active alignment on the master schedule, which incorporates a five-point Standby Letter of Credit (SBLC) trigger framework tied to Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT), completion of manufacturing by specified dates, scheduled delivery to destination countries, and defined installation windows coordinated with crude oil operators. Activities to date have resulted in some progress across all workstreams associated with the 3.0 deployment plan, but no revenue has been realized nor AOT purchases have been made under such deployment plan.

The multi-phase potential deployment of up to 400 AOT units previously disclosed under the VIPS Distributor Agreement was structured as an aggregate, multi territory framework across VIPS’s priority regions, including India, Malaysia and Ghana, rather than as a country specific order. This multi-territory framework has not yet produced any sales or revenue for the Company. We are now focusing on a potential sale of 150 units as an initial purchase order under the so-called Laksel LOI (discussed below). This represents a defined India focused initial program within our broader framework, targeting the region’s largest crude pipeline market, while the Amended VIPS Distributor Agreement continues to provide the contractual basis for pursuing additional opportunities in other territories, including potential applications in Malaysia where certain offshore to onshore crude transportation systems and related subsea infrastructure may, subject to further engineering evaluation, present longer term deployment use cases for the Company’s AOT technology.

The Company's commercialization efforts in India, initiated through its collaboration and distribution arrangements with VIPS have progressed with the formalization of a relationship with Laksel Corporation Pte Ltd, which will serve as the designated EPC partner for the region — a role Laksel has held since the inception of the VIPS India initiative by virtue of its regional expertise, longstanding relationships with the Indian public sector oil and gas enterprises, and extensive prior project execution experience across Asia Pacific and the Middle East. Our relationship with Laksel is reflected in the non-binding Laksel LOI described in Note 13 – Subsequent Events-- of the financial statements attached hereto. The Laksel LOI outlines a potential large-scale AOT deployment program on crude oil pipeline infrastructure in India but remains subject to financing, other conditions, and definitive documentation. We can provide no assurances that such conditions will be met and such definitive documentation will be achieved. We can provide no assurances that any such outsourcing will be at commercially acceptable rates or profitable.

To date, we have not received any purchase orders, nor generated any revenue, under the Amended Distributor Agreement, nor has our AOT product been placed with, nor is it currently being used by, any of VIPS’ customers or anyone else, and we can provide no assurances that our AOT product will be accepted or purchased by VIPS, or any of its customers, or anyone else.

QS Energy has collaborated with its manufacturing partners to ensure readiness for anticipated production demands. This proactive approach positions us to efficiently scale operations and support anticipated growth, if we are able to secure contacts for the deployment and use of our AOT products and technology.

We believe the supply chain is ready for production of our AOT product, if we are able to secure a contract for its deployment. We also believe investments are being made by potential third-party users of our AOT product in technology and data analysis, which we hope will lead to contracts for the deployment and use of our AOT product and technology.

As part of our ongoing commitment to advancing QS Energy’s strategic objectives, we have initiated preparations to deploy an AOT™ Midstream Viscosity Reduction Unit in Corpus Christi, Texas in collaboration with ReadyFlo Systems. Final engineering and design work was performed for a 300-meter flow loop, which will enable us to conduct operational trials of the AOT™ under live-flow conditions utilizing customer crude oil streams.

The development of this flow loop marks a significant milestone in enhancing our customer support infrastructure and demonstrates our continued investment in operational excellence. We plan to repurpose the vessel from the demonstration site and integrate it with an upgraded stack, ensuring alignment with current customer project requirements. Importantly, this flow loop will serve not only as a resource for customer-driven projects but also as a platform for ongoing product improvement and innovation initiatives. This proactive approach supports our objective to deliver robust, value-added solutions to our clients and stakeholders.

The design and implementation of the flow loop have been successfully completed. The system is operational and has delivered positive initial results, validating its utility for future testing and qualification efforts.

We have initiated consultations with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other relevant stakeholders to evaluate the requirements for operating the loop with crude oil. These discussions have been constructive, and as anticipated, only minor system modifications are necessary to accommodate crude oil safely and compliantly.

It is important to note that the decision to construct the flow loop was a strategic initiative—not a requirement. Our team identified the loop as a proactive investment to improve testing fidelity, accelerate development timelines, and strengthen stakeholder confidence. To mark this milestone, we invited key stakeholders to participate in a christening event on September 8, 2025, reinforcing our commitment to transparency, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

Our expenses to date have been funded through the sale of shares of common stock and convertible debt, as well as proceeds from the exercise of stock purchase warrants and options. We will need to raise substantial additional capital through 2026, and beyond, to fund work on our AOT, our sales and marketing efforts, continuing research and development, and certain other expenses, including without limitation, legal and accounting expenses, until we are able to achieve a revenue base. We can provide no assurances that additional capital will be available to us, or if it is, that such additional capital will be offered at acceptable terms.

There are significant risks associated with our business, our Company and our stock. See “Risk Factors,” below.

Our Business Strategy

Assuming we are able to raise sufficient capital, we intend to continue to seek commercialization and marketing of our current technologies. Our current and primary product portfolio is dedicated to the crude oil production and transportation marketplace, with a specifically targeted product (AOT) offering for enhancing the flow-assurance parameters of new and existing pipeline gathering and transmission systems.

Our primary goal is to provide the oil industry with a cost-effective method by which to increase the number of barrels of oil able to be transported per day through the industry’s existing and newly built pipelines. The greatest impact on oil transport volume may be realized through reductions in pipeline operator reliance on diluent for viscosity reduction utilizing AOT technology; a process the Company refers to as electronic diluent, or “eDiluent”. Costly and time-consuming litigation could be necessary to enforce and determine the scope of our proprietary rights, and failure to obtain or maintain trade secret protection could adversely affect our competitive business position. The Company filed for trademark protection of the term eDiluent in 2017. We also seek to provide the oil industry with a way to reduce emissions from operating equipment. We believe our goals are realizable via viscosity reduction using our AOT product line.

We believe QS Energy’s technologies will enable the petroleum industry to gain key value advantages boosting profit, while satisfying the needs of regulatory bodies at the same time. Key players in the pipeline industry continue to demonstrate interest in our technologies.

Our manufacturing strategy is to contract with third-party vendors and suppliers, each with a strong reputation and proven track record in the pipeline industry. These vendors are broken up by product component subcategory, enabling multiple manufacturing capacity redundancies and safeguards to be utilized. In addition, this strategy allows the Company to eliminate the prohibitively high capital expenditures such as costs of building, operating and maintaining its own manufacturing facilities, ratings, personnel and licenses, thereby eliminating unnecessary capital intensity and risk.

Our identified market strategy is to continue meeting with oil and gas industry executives in the upstream, gathering, and midstream sectors from both domestic and foreign companies. Our goal is to introduce our technology to oil and gas companies and to demonstrate potential value for the purposes of negotiating commercial implementation of our AOT technology to their existing infrastructures.

Our strategy includes:

Market Analysis Overview

QS Energy’s AOT crude oil viscosity reduction technology directly targets the heavy crude oil transportation industry, initially targeting the midstream crude oil pipeline operations which deliver high volumes of heavy crude oil to market. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) forecasts U.S. crude oil production will average 13.2 million barrels per day in 2024 and predicts it to grow to an average of 13.5 million barrels per day in 2025. Worldwide, EIA forecasts Brent crude oil prices averaging $74 per barrel in 2025, decreasing to $66 per barrel in 2026. These forecasts and the forecasts discussed below were completed prior to additional sanctions targeting Russia’s oil sector, which have the potential to reduce Russia’s oil exports to the global market, and also completed prior to initiation of the current war in the Middle East, current oil and gas production and transport disruptions as a result of that war, and the ongoing implementation of tariffs imposed on importers by the United States and other countries.

In 2024, global demand for crude oil averaged approximately 102.9 million barrels per day (b/d). The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) projects that this demand will increase by 1.3 million b/d in 2025 and by an additional 1.2 million b/d in 2026, primarily driven by consumption in non-OECD Asia. Looking further ahead, the EIA forecasts that global oil demand in 2030 could range from a 3% to 10% increase compared to 2022 levels, depending on various economic and policy factors.

Regarding global crude oil production, the EIA's February 2025 Short-Term Energy Outlook anticipates that production will average 104.2 million b/d in 2025 and 105.8 million b/d in 2026. This growth is expected to result from a combination of gradual increases in OPEC+ production and further expansion from non-OPEC countries, including the United States, Canada, Brazil, and Guyana. Focusing on the United States, crude oil production is projected to reach 13.61 million b/d in 2025 and 13.76 million b/d in 2026. The Federal Gulf of Mexico is expected to contribute approximately 1.80 million b/d to these totals, while Alaska's output is projected at 0.42 million b/d in 2025 and 0.44 million b/d in 2026.

In terms of transportation, the EIA estimates that a significant portion of crude oil production continues to be transported via midstream pipelines. While specific recent percentages are not provided, historically, a substantial share of both global and North American crude oil has relied on pipeline infrastructure for transportation. Assuming a transportation cost of $5 per barrel, as estimated in previous analyses, and applying it to the projected production rates, the annual midstream crude oil transportation costs can be approximated. However, it's important to note that these figures are subject to change based on market conditions, infrastructure developments, and other economic factors.

Please note that these projections are based on current data and are subject to change due to various factors, including economic conditions, technological advancements, and policy decisions related to climate change and energy transition efforts.

The energy sector continues to operate in a dynamic period marked by both rapid change and expansion. Advancements in oilfield drilling and completion technologies, particularly enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques, have significantly increased the recoverability of “tight” oil and gas from shale formations across North America and worldwide. This historic surge in upstream crude oil production has led to persistent transportation bottlenecks when moving upstream production to downstream storage, offloading facilities, and refineries. These bottlenecks continue to stimulate substantial investments in both new and existing pipeline infrastructure while also increasing reliance on less efficient alternative transportation methods such as rail and freight trucks.

Since the initial application of EOR or tertiary recovery techniques in the 1970s, oil and gas producers have increasingly relied on gas and chemical injection, as well as thermal recovery. These advanced extraction methods, combined with a significantly higher number of new wells in active oilfields, have increased reservoir output by 30% to 60% over traditional primary and secondary recovery practices. The rapid adoption of these cutting-edge extraction technologies in the U.S. energy industry reversed a 34-year decline in domestic oil and gas production in 2006. High output from massive shale formations, including North Dakota’s Bakken, Texas’ Eagle Ford and Permian Basin, Colorado’s Green River, and Utah’s Uintah Basin, continues to drive production growth through 2025 and beyond.

Other nations with substantial exploitable shale formations include Russia, China, Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Libya, Australia, Venezuela, Mexico, and many others. These countries present a growing market for crude oil pipeline optimization technologies as production comes online. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) currently estimates that approximately 345 billion barrels of identified and recoverable shale oil exist worldwide, positioning many regions for sustained production growth.

Despite advancements, oil production continues to outpace the capacity of existing pipeline infrastructure in the U.S., Canada, South and Central America, and various other global regions, leading to delivery delays to refineries and increased dependence on higher-cost rail and tanker truck transport. This imbalance between production and infrastructure capacity highlights the critical need for innovations in pipeline optimization.

Additionally, fluctuating global oil prices since the early 2020s have encouraged producers and transporters to reduce costs and seek technologies that increase operational efficiency. The Applied Oil Technology (AOT) system is specifically designed to enhance pipeline throughput capacity, reduce the use of diluents, lower pipeline operating costs, and optimize overhead, ultimately improving margins and delivering measurable competitive advantages. As the industry moves through 2026, 2030, and beyond, we believe AOT’s ability to increase efficiency and reduce transportation costs will remain vital to maintaining profitability in an increasingly competitive market.

Projected Pipeline Infrastructure Investment

Among the challenges facing the global crude oil production and transportation sectors, few are as intransigent or detrimental to the industry as the transportation bottlenecks and well-to-market delivery delays that are endemic here in North America and overseas. While new pipeline infrastructure projects are underway here in the U.S., Canada and in foreign markets, gaining legislative approval is a lengthy process and their construction is highly capital-intensive.

Although pipelines are by far the safest and most economical transportation method, outmoded pipeline infrastructure constructed primarily in the 1950s and 1960s cannot provide the capacity necessary to move production downstream to storage, refinery and offloading facilities. Consequently, delivery delays to refineries and reliance on less desirable rail and tanker truck transport have increased exponentially since 2008 when the shale boom began in earnest. Data compiled by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, IHS Global and the American Petroleum Institute identify billions in lost revenue opportunities for E&P companies and tax collection agencies in leading oil producing states such as Texas, North Dakota, Alaska, California, Colorado, Wyoming and Utah directly attributable to production takeaway constraints.

Despite the recently depressed price level of global oil benchmarks, experts forecast continued growth in crude oil pipeline capital expenditures. In June 2018, the Interstate National Gas Association of America published a study titled “North America Midstream Infrastructure through 2035.” Among its key findings, this report estimates $321 billion will be invested in midstream crude oil infrastructure between 2018 and 2035. This demand is largely due to capacity constraints coupled with the high cost of delivering crude oil by truck or rail.

We believe QS Energy’s AOT technology is strategically aligned with the major requirements and challenges facing the petroleum pipeline economy. The AOT is designed to increase pipeline flowrate while relaxing pipeline viscosity requirements, effectively increasing pipeline capacity and reducing or eliminating bottlenecks. This has the ancillary benefit of reducing the need to add diluent or heat to reduce viscosity while reducing reliance on more costly truck and rail transport to meet increasing capacity demands. Our AOT technology may also mitigate costly operating factors such as vapor pressure, pigging (pipeline cleaning) frequency, power consumption, and onset of turbulent flow. Of these factors, vapor pressure, which may be mitigated by AOT through reduced reliance on diluent and a reduction in heat buildup in transit, is of high importance to many pipeline operators as vapor pressure is tightly controlled by the EPA and is very expensive to mitigate by other means. We are now seeking to commercialize AOT as a cost-efficient solution for both new and existing pipeline operations.

Target Markets

The oil and gas sector market can be segmented into three primary categories: Upstream Producers, Midstream Transporters and Downstream Refiners:

Upstream Producers

The Upstream segment has the greatest exposure to commodity prices. When prices fall as has been the case recently, they feel the brunt of this realignment. They also have the most to gain from additional flow throughput capacity and therefore would see immediate benefit from QS Energy’s AOT.

This sector is typically nimble and faces few barriers to entry. With clear financial upside for every additional barrel of crude oil that they are able to transport, these companies are often open to new and innovative technology capable of providing greater efficiencies, lower costs and improved cash flow. Upstream producers physically move the most volume of product. They are customers to the Midstream transporters and enter into long-term contractual shipping obligations (tariff-based transportation contracts) with Midstream transporters to secure the movement of product from their fields to the refiners and markets downstream.

Producers make the spot market price for every barrel delivered to refinery, minus the transport costs, tariffs, and marketing discounts associated with bringing the product to market. A rough rule of thumb for this market is that the further away they are from the refinery, the higher the transport costs to deliver the product. Discussions with Upstream entities has uncovered strong interest in solutions that unlock chokepoints from their field equipment to the transmission line loading terminals through viscosity reduction (AOT). In addition, this group would also benefit from transporters implementing our AOT transmission-line series due to its ability to increase the overall flow capacity of pipelines transporting product from loading terminals to market.

Midstream Gathering Transporters

A subset of the Midstream transporters sector is the gathering line operators. This group often functions as a part of the Upstream producers’ operations, or within the Midstream transporter’s operations. Midstream gathering lines are the regional transportation infrastructure that connect Upstream oilfield gathering lines to Midstream long-distance main trunk lines. Typically, these pipelines are of a relatively short length (20-100 miles) and have diameters between 6” and 12”, and could benefit from our smaller, lower cost AOT technology.

Midstream entities transport the bulk of the world’s crude oil output via the 400,000 miles of crude oil pipelines globally. Domestically, they deliver a large percentage of the U.S. daily production of 9.2 million barrels per day through 160,000 miles of crude pipelines. Midstream operators represent a strong and ready market for AOT, and field test deployments for both solutions are underway.

The pipeline transport operators’ business model is to charge a tariff to transport each barrel of oil through their pipeline. Due to the high daily volume of oil being transported and its value as a commodity, even incremental performance efficiencies can drive significant reductions in overhead reduction and increases in toll revenues. AOT may also provide pipeline operators the opportunity to offer on-demand electronic diluent as a service at a premium fee to customers highly dependent on diluent to meet viscosity requirements.

The potential benefits of AOT includes increased flow, reduced pipeline operating pressure and reduced friction losses and friction-induced heat build-up, providing economic benefits through increased capacity and toll rate income, and regulatory benefits through reductions in BTU per ton-mile, off-gassing and reduced carbon emissions (CO2).

Other heavy crude oil transporters

Truck, rail and marine crude oil carriers rely on heat and other costly and potentially hazardous measures to address the difficulties of onloading and offloading thick, heavy crudes. The Company is investigating AOT equipment designs specifically targeting this market’s viscosity and vapor pressure requirements and related evaporation mitigation practices mandated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Our Products and Technology

AOT Commercial Products

See Item 1., above, (Business) under the section Overview. The following discussion is qualified in its entirety by the aforementioned discussion in Item 1, above, (Business). Beginning in the second quarter of 2012, the Company began the design and engineering efforts required to transition from laboratory and prototype testing to AOT units designed for full-scale commercial testing. The Company established its supply chain, designs, drawings, engineering, certifications and specifications to comply with the engineering audit processes as dictated by the energy industry regulation processes and North American regulatory bodies. We have built, delivered and tested, under limited duration and conditions, AOT equipment on a high-volume commercial pipeline. We believe we have established the commercial viability of this product. Please see “ITEM 1A, Risk Factors”, for a discussion associated with the commercial viability of our products.

The first commercial deployment of AOT occurred on the Keystone Pipeline in Udall, Kansas in May 2014, utilizing four AOT pressure vessels in a parallel “4-Pack” configuration for a cumulative capacity of 600,000 barrels per day. This system was operated under normal pipeline operating conditions as reported in the ATS RheoSystems field test summary report dated February 5, 2015. See section titled “Laboratory and Scientific Testing” below for more information on test procedures and results. Subsequent to testing and termination of the TransCanada lease, the AOT 4-Pack was uninstalled and reconfigured for deployment as four individual AOT units.

Our second AOT commercial installation was a single AOT deployment initially installed in March 2015 on the Kinder Morgan Crude & Condensate pipeline, which provides takeaway capacity for the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas, primarily delivering light crude oil. As discussed in the Overview section above, equipment was installed limited operations and tests were performed in 2015 and 2016. Based on final analysis of in-field test results, SCADA operating data and subsequent analysis of crude oil samples at Temple University, it is unlikely Kinder Morgan would use the AOT at the original test location or other condensate pipeline. Kinder Morgan may consider AOT operations at one of their heavy crude pipeline locations subject to results of other AOT demonstration projects.

The Company continues to optimize and value engineer its AOT product line, targeting both midstream and upstream markets. The Company has installed an AOT demonstration project in cooperation with a major U.S. pipeline operator. As described in the Overview section above, this project has experienced numerous failures during initial testing which the Company is working to correct. As reported above, the project was removed from the demonstration site.

Joule Heat Product Development

The Company began development of its Joule Heat product in 2014, based around the new electrical heat system which reduces oil viscosity through a process known as joule heat, specifically targeting the upstream crude oil transportation market. The Company’s first Joule Heat prototype was installed for testing purposes under a joint development agreement with Newfield Exploration Company in June 2015 and the system was operational; however, changes to the prototype configuration will be required to determine commercial effectiveness of this unit. In December 2015, we suspended Joule Heat development activities to focus Company resources on finalizing commercial development of the AOT. We may resume Joule Heat development in the future depending on the availability of sufficient capital and other resources.

AOT Commercial Supply Chain

The Company has developed a supply chain for fabrication of the commercial AOT. The supply chain consists of multiple component suppliers and manufacturing companies engaged under Independent Contractor Agreements according to their respective fields of expertise. The supply chain entities have been chosen for their ability to work collaboratively with QS Energy and for their existing relationships with current and potential future customers of QS Energy technologies. The external components such as pressure vessels, inlet and outlet piping header systems, personnel and equipment shelters have been manufactured under contract with Power Service Inc. with offices in Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, and Texas. Internal components such as grid packs, electrical connections and other machined parts have been manufactured by Industrial Screen and Maintenance, with offices in Wyoming and Colorado. All equipment is manufactured in the United States of America, using only approved raw materials and vendors for quality control and import/export compliance purposes and meet the certifications and specifications as dictated by our customers and their independent oversight and auditing authorities.

Other components such as power systems, electrical junction boxes, cabling, hardware, switches, circuit breakers, computer equipment, sensors, SCADA/PLC, software and other power and integration equipment are purchased as complete units from various suppliers with operations based throughout North America. All component vendors are required to meet or exceed the same specifications as the parts manufacturers to maintain compliance as dictated by our customers and their independent oversight and auditing authorities.

AOT Intellectual Property

The Company began its own independent audit process for the updating of its intellectual property portfolio in 2012. The goal of this process was to streamline unnecessary legacy items left over from prior management, consolidate efforts to countries and regions of interest and retire items that were no longer valid or had been replaced with new intellectual property developments. In 2013, the Company retained the law firm of Jones Walker LLP, with operations based in New Orleans, Louisiana and began consolidation and streamlining efforts to manage intellectual properties.

QS Energy is currently maintaining and licensing from Temple University a portfolio of domestic and international patents, which have either been granted or have been published and are pending subject to final approval by the respective patent agency. We have amended the licensing agreements with Temple University, but are not current on payments due thereunder. See Note 6 of financial statements attached hereto for details of the licensing agreements with Temple University. See Note 6 of our financial statements attached hereto for a discussion and status of our license agreements with Temple University. Each of these intellectual properties are related to QS Energy’s AOT, Joule Heat and Fuel Injector technologies. Subject to additional capital funding, we intend actively to continue to develop and market our AOT technology. Development of QS Energy’s Fuel Injector and Joule Heat technologies have been suspended. The Company continues to maintain a license agreement with Temple University with respect to the underlying Fuel Injector patents, and is considering its options to re-start commercialization, sublicense the technology, or terminate the fuel injector license agreement with Temple. For details of the licensing agreements with Temple University, see Financial Statements attached hereto, Note 6. Please also see ITEM 1A, Risk Factors below for a discussion of risks associated with these intellectual properties.

Current Business Status

As reported above, our AOT technology had design and operational flaws, and continues to require substantial testing and development, requiring a substantial infusion of capital in the Company. We can provide no assurances that we will be able to raise additional capital required to continue our efforts to commercialize our AOT technology. With limited capital, reported above, the Company is currently seeking to correct the failures associated with its AOT technology. Once operational, the Company plans to analyze and use AOT performance data to re-engage current and new prospective customers in our primary target North American and South American midstream crude oil markets. See the Overview section above for details.

Throughout 2025 and continuing through the date of this report, our efforts have been tightly focused on executing our AOT demonstration project strategy. A number of companies in North America, South America and the Middle East have expressed interest in our technology and a desire to review demonstration project test results and visit the demonstration site. Assuming successful operations, we believe our AOT project should provide data requested by prospective customers such as real-time changes in viscosity, pipeline pressure drop reduction and increases in pipeline operating flowrates. All collected data will be normalized such that it can be used to evaluate the financial and operational benefits across a wide range of commercial operating scenarios without disclosing confidential details of our operations. We believe that real-world data from our AOT project could be used to accelerate our desire to achieve commercial adoption of our AOT technology, positioning us to re-engage with industry executives.

Laboratory and Scientific Testing

From 2010 through 2013, the Company worked with the U.S. Department of Energy (“US DOE”) to test its technology at the Department of Energy’s Rocky Mountain Oilfield Testing Center (“RMOTC”), near Casper, Wyoming. This third-party testing independently verified the efficacy of the Company’s technology operating in a controlled facility, using commercial-scale prototype of our AOT equipment. These tests were summarized in the US DOE Rocky Mountain Oilfield Test Center report dated April 4, 2012 (“ROMRC Report”), which reported AOT measured pressure loss reduction of 40% and viscosity reduction of 40%; and reported observed reductions in line-loss and gains in pump operation efficiency across the entire length of the 4.4-mile test pipeline. A subsequent long-duration (24-hour) test at the RMOTC facility tested the effectiveness of AOT in treating oil overnight, as pipeline oil temperatures and viscosities drop. In its report dated May 3, 2012 to May 4, 2012, US DOE engineers recorded 56% reduction in viscosity of the AOT-treated oil versus untreated oil, with AOT effectively stabilizing oil viscosity throughout the overnight run despite dropping temperatures.

Laboratory testing of our AOT technology has been conducted by Dr. Rongjia Tao. Testing of the technology as applied to crude oil transmission has been conducted at Temple University in their Physics Department, in addition to the US DOE, at their Rocky Mountain Oilfield Testing Center, located on the Naval Petroleum Reserve #3 Teapot Dome Oilfield, north of Casper, Wyoming. In addition, a group led by Dr. Rongjia Tao, Chairman, Department of Physics of Temple University conducted experiments, using the laboratory-scale Applied Oil Technology apparatus at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Center for Neutron Research (CNR). NIST is an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce, founded in 1901 in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

Independent laboratory testing was also conducted as a collaborative effort by Temple University and PetroChina Pipeline R&D Center (“PetroChina”) in 2012. In its report dated June 26, 2012 (“PetroChina Report”), PetroChina concluded, “The above series of tests show that it is very effective to use AOT to reduce the viscosity of crude oil. We can see that AOT has significantly reduced the viscosity of Daqing crude oil, Changqing crude oil, and Venezuela crude oil, and greatly improved its flow rate.”

As previously reported in 2014, QS Energy installed and tested its commercial AOT equipment, leased and operated by TransCanada on TransCanada’s high-volume Keystone pipeline operation. The first full test of the AOT equipment on the Keystone pipeline was performed in July 2014, with preliminary data analyzed and reported by Dr. Rongjia Tao of Temple University. Upon review of the July 2014 test results and preliminary report by Dr. Tao, QS Energy and TransCanada mutually agreed that this initial test was flawed due to, among other factors, the short-term nature of the test, the inability to isolate certain independent pipeline operating factors such as fluctuations in upstream pump station pressures, and limitations of the AOT device to produce a sufficient electric field to optimize viscosity reduction. Although Dr. Tao’s preliminary report indicated promising results, QS Energy and TransCanada mutually agreed that no conclusions could be reliably reached from the July 2014 test or from Dr. Tao’s preliminary report. As a result of this test, the Company modified its testing protocols and contracted with an independent laboratory, ATS RheoSystems, a division of CANNON (“ATS”), to perform follow-up tests at the TransCanada facility. This independent laboratory performed viscosity measurements at the TransCanada facility during subsequent testing in September 2014. As detailed in its field test report dated October 6, 2014, ATS measured AOT viscosity reductions of 8% to 23% depending on flow rates and crude oil types in transit. Over the duration of a 24-hour test intended to measure the recovery of the AOT treated oil from its reduced-viscosity treated state to its original pre-treated viscosity, ATS measured viscosity reductions of 23% three hours after treatment and 11% thirteen hours after treatment, with the crude oil returning to its untreated state approximately twenty-two hours after treatment. In its summary report dated February 5, 2015, ATS concluded that i) data indicated a decrease in viscosity of crude oil flowing through the TransCanada pipeline due to AOT treatment of the crude oil; and ii) the power supply installed on our equipment would need to be increased to maximize reduction in viscosity and take full advantage of the AOT technology.

Although, as reported by ATS, the efficacy of the AOT technology operated in the TransCanada field test was constrained due to limitations of the electric field applied by that unit’s power supply, subsequent analysis by QS Energy personnel of ATS test results compared against laboratory tests performed at Temple University on oil samples provided by TransCanada revealed a single test run in which the electric field generated by the AOT was sufficient to fully treat the oil given operating conditions at the time of the test. In this test run, ATS measured a 23% reduction in viscosity three hours after AOT treatment. Laboratory tests at Temple University performed on a sample of crude oil provided by TransCanada of the same type treated in that specific field test measured a 27% reduction in viscosity in the laboratory immediately following treatment. Allowing for the actual three-hour of recovery time of the field test measurement, the resulting field test viscosity reduction of 23% correlates very well to the 27% viscosity reduction achieved in the laboratory setting.

Due to the small sample size of tests performed during the TransCanada field test, results reported by ATS are statistically inconclusive and cannot be relied upon to provide proof of AOT efficacy. While more testing is required to establish the efficacy of our AOT technology, we are encouraged by the findings of our independent research laboratory and the results of subsequent comparative analysis of data collected under laboratory and commercial operating conditions. We look forward to further development and commercialization of our technology. The TransCanada Lease was terminated by TransCanada, effective October 15, 2014. The Company has modified the design of the AOT power supply such that future installations of the AOT device are expected to achieve sufficient electric field to optimize viscosity reduction.

The Company contracted Southern Research Company (“SRI”) in 2015 to perform independent laboratory tests on its prototype Joule Heat units AOT Upstream units. SRI performed tests on a prototype Joule Heat unit in September 2015, which showed promising results in which the Joule Heat prototype was observed to increase crude oil temperatures. In December 2015, we suspended Joule Heat and AOT Upstream development activities to focus Company resources on finalizing commercial development of the AOT Midstream.

See also our discussion above in Item 1., under the section labeled Overview (Business”).

Competition

QS Energy's Applied Oil Technology (AOT) operates within the competitive landscape of crude oil pipeline optimization, where several companies offer solutions aimed at enhancing pipeline efficiency and reducing operational costs. Key competitors include:

While these competitors offer established solutions, QS Energy's AOT distinguishes itself through its innovative approach:

As QS Energy progresses towards the commercialization of AOT, understanding the competitive landscape is crucial for strategic positioning. The company's focus on leveraging electrostatic technology to address viscosity reduction presents a unique value proposition in the pipeline optimization market.

Government Regulation and Environmental Matters

Our research and development activities are not subject to any governmental regulations that would have a significant impact on our business and we believe that we are in compliance with all applicable regulations that apply to our business as it is presently conducted. Our products, as such, are not subject to certification or approval by the EPA or other governmental agencies domestically or internationally. Depending upon whether we manufacture or license our products in the future and in which countries such products are manufactured or sold, we may be subject to regulations, including environmental regulations, at such time.

Non-Disclosure Agreements

To protect our intellectual property, we have entered into agreements with certain employees and consultants, which limit access to, and disclosure or use of, our technology. There can be no assurance, however, that the steps we have taken to deter misappropriation of our intellectual property or third-party development of our technology and/or processes will be adequate, that others will not independently develop similar technologies and/or processes or that secrecy will not be breached. In addition, although management believes that our technology has been independently developed and does not infringe on the proprietary rights of others, there can be no assurance that our technology does not and will not so infringe or that third parties will not assert infringement claims against us in the future. Management believes that the steps they have taken to date will provide some degree of protection; however, no assurance can be given that this will be the case.

Employees

As of December 31, 2025, in addition to the Company’s CEO/CFO, the Company had one full-time employee. We also utilized the services of part-time consultants and independent contractors on an as-needed basis to assist us with various matters, including engineering, logistics, investor relations, public relations, accounting and sales and marketing. We intend to hire additional personnel to provide services when they are needed on a full-time basis. We recognize that our efficiency largely depends, in part, on our ability to hire and retain additional qualified personnel as and when needed and we have adopted procedures to assure our ability to do so.

Item 1A. Risk Factors

We have a history of losses, and we cannot assure you that we will ever become or remain profitable. As a result, you may lose your entire investment.

We generated insignificant revenues from operations in late 2006 and subsequently did not generate any revenues until 2014, and thereafter we have generated no revenues, and we have incurred recurring net losses every year since our inception in 1998. For the fiscal years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, we had net losses of $15,305,000 and $1,934,000 respectively. To date, we have dedicated most of our financial resources to research and development, general and administrative expenses (including the payment of salaries and bonuses) and initial sales and marketing activities. To date, we have dedicated most of our financial resources to research and development, general and administrative expenses and initial sales and marketing activities. We have funded all of our activities through sales of our debt and equity securities for cash. We anticipate net losses and negative cash flow to continue until such time as our products are brought to market in sufficient amounts to offset operating losses. Our ability to achieve profitability is dependent upon our continuing research and development, product development, and sales and marketing efforts, to deliver viable products and the Company’s ability to successfully bring them to market. Although our management is optimistic that we will succeed in marketing products incorporating our technologies, there can be no assurance that we will ever generate significant revenues or that any revenues that may be generated will be sufficient for us to become profitable or thereafter maintain profitability. If we cannot generate sufficient revenues or become or remain profitable, we may have to cease our operations and liquidate our business.

There is substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern, which may hinder our ability to obtain future financing.

During the year ended December 31, 2025, we incurred a net loss of $15,305,000 and used cash in operations of $4,008,000 and had a stockholders’ deficit of $5,780,000 as of December 31, 2025. As a result, management has concluded, and our independent registered public accounting firm has agreed with our conclusion that there is a substantial doubt regarding the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least 12 months beyond the filing of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. As a result, the report of our independent registered public accounting firm on our financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2025, includes an explanatory paragraph regarding the existence of substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. Our ability to continue as a going concern is subject to our ability to obtain significant additional capital to fund our operations and to generate revenue from sales, of which there is no assurance. If we fail to raise sufficient capital, we may have to liquidate our business and you may lose your investment.

Since we have not yet begun to generate positive cash flow from operations, our ability to continue operations is dependent on our ability to either begin to generate positive cash flow from operations or our ability to raise capital from outside sources.

We have not generated cash flow from operations since our inception in February 1998 and have relied on external sources of capital to fund operations. We had $6,000 in cash at December 31, 2025 and used cash in operations of $4,008,000 (a substantial portion of which has been used to pay salaries and bonuses to employees and consultants) for the year ended December 31, 2025.

We currently do not have credit facilities available with financial institutions or other third parties, and historically have relied upon best efforts third-party funding. Though we have been successful at raising capital on a best-efforts basis in the past, we can provide no assurance that we will be successful in any future best-efforts financing endeavors. We will need to continue to rely upon financing from external sources to fund our operations for the foreseeable future. If we are unable to raise sufficient capital from external sources to fund our operations, we may need to curtail operations.

We will need substantial additional capital to meet our operating needs, and we cannot be sure that additional financing will be available.

During fiscal 2025, our cash burn rate amounted to approximately $334,000 per month (a substantial portion of which has been used to pay salaries and bonuses to employees and consultants) and could increase during the remainder of fiscal 2026. In order to fund our capital needs, we conducted private offerings of our securities in 2024 and 2025. While discussion regarding additional interim and permanent financings are being actively conducted, management cannot predict with certainty that an equity line of credit will be available to provide adequate funds, or any funds at all, or whether any additional interim or permanent financings will be available at all or, if it is available, if it will be available on favorable terms. If we cannot obtain needed capital, our research and development, and sales and marketing plans, business and financial condition and our ability to reduce losses and generate profits will be materially and adversely affected.

Our business prospects are difficult to predict because of our limited operating history, early stage of development and unproven business strategy. Since our incorporation in 1998, we have been and continue to be involved in development of products using our technology, establishing manufacturing and marketing of these products to consumers and industry partners. Although we believe our technology and products in development have significant profit potential, we may not attain profitable operations and our management may not succeed in realizing our business objectives.

If we are not able to devote adequate resources to product development and commercialization, we may not be able to develop our products.

Our business strategy is to develop, manufacture and market products incorporating our AOT technology. We believe that our revenue growth and profitability, if any, will substantially depend upon our ability to raise additional necessary capital for research and development, complete development of our products in development and successfully introduce and commercialize our products.

If we are not able to devote adequate resources to product development and commercialization, we may not be able to develop our products.

Our business strategy is to develop, manufacture and market products incorporating our AOT technology. We believe that our revenue growth and profitability, if any, will substantially depend upon our ability to raise additional necessary capital for research and development, complete development of our products in development and successfully introduce and commercialize our products.

Certain of our products are still under various stages of development. Because we have limited resources to devote to product development and commercialization, any delay in the development of one product or reallocation of resources to product development efforts that prove unsuccessful may delay or jeopardize the development of other product candidates. Although our management believes that it may finance our product development through private placements and other capital sources, if we do not develop new products and bring them to market, our ability to generate revenues will be adversely affected.

The commercial viability of QS Energy’s technologies remains largely unproven and we may not be able to attract customers.

Despite the fact that we leased AOT equipment in 2014 to a major oil pipeline operator and tested the equipment on their high-volume pipeline under normal operating conditions, entered into a lease agreement with a second major oil pipeline operator to operate and test AOT equipment in 2015, and have initiated a project to demonstrate our AOT technology on a commercial pipeline in 2019, the commercial viability of our devices is not known at this time. If commercial opportunities are not realized from the use of products incorporating the AOT technology, our ability to generate revenue would be adversely affected. There can be no assurances that we will be successful in marketing our products, or that customers will ultimately purchase our products. Failure to have commercial success from the sale of our products will significantly and negatively impact our financial condition. There can be no assurances that we will be successful in marketing our products, or that customers will ultimately purchase our products. Failure to have commercial success from the sale of our products will significantly and negatively impact our financial condition.

If our products and services do not gain market acceptance, it is unlikely that we will become profitable and it is unlikely that we will be able to stay in business.

At this time, our technology is commercially unproven, and the use of our technology by others is limited. Specific examples of use to date include:

The commercial success of our products will depend upon the adoption of our technology by the oil industry. Market acceptance will depend on many factors, including:

·

the willingness and ability of consumers and industry partners to adopt new technologies;

·

our ability to convince potential industry partners and consumers that our technology is an attractive alternative to other technologies;

·

our ability to manufacture products and provide services in sufficient quantities with acceptable quality and at an acceptable cost; and,

·

our ability to place and service sufficient quantities of our products.

If our products do not achieve a significant level of market acceptance, demand for our products will not develop as expected and it is unlikely that we will become profitable, and unlikely that we will be able to stay in business.

We outsource and rely on third parties for the manufacture of our products.

Our business model calls for the outsourcing of the manufacture of our products in order to reduce our capital and infrastructure costs, capital expenditure and personnel. Accordingly, we must enter into agreements with other companies that can assist us and provide certain capabilities that we do not possess, and to increase our manufacturing capacity as necessary. We can provide no assurances that any such outsourcing will be at commercially acceptable rates or profitable. Moreover, we do not have the required financial and human resources or capability to manufacture, market and sell our products. Our business model calls for the outsourcing of the manufacture, and sales and marketing of our products in order to reduce our capital and infrastructure costs as a means of potentially improving our financial position and the profitability of our business. Accordingly, we must enter into agreements with other companies that can assist us and provide certain capabilities that we do not possess. We may not be successful in entering into additional such alliances on favorable terms or at all. Furthermore, any delay in entering into agreements could delay the development and commercialization of our products and reduce their competitiveness even if they reach the market. Any such delay related to our existing or future agreements could adversely affect our business.

If any party to which we have outsourced certain functions fails to perform its obligations under agreements with us, the development and commercialization of our products could be delayed or curtailed.

To the extent that we rely on other companies to manufacture, sell or market our products, we will be dependent on the timeliness and effectiveness of their efforts. If any of these parties do not perform its obligations in a timely and effective manner, the commercialization of our products could be delayed or curtailed because we may not have sufficient financial resources or capabilities to continue such development and commercialization on our own.

Any revenues that we may earn in the future are unpredictable, and our operating results are likely to fluctuate from quarter to quarter.

We believe that our future operating results will fluctuate due to a variety of factors, including delays in product development, market acceptance of our new products, changes in the demand for and pricing of our products, competition and pricing pressure from competitive products, manufacturing delays and expenses related to and the results of proceedings relating to our intellectual property.

A large portion of our expenses, including salaries, bonuses, expenses for our facilities, equipment and personnel, is relatively fixed and not subject to further significant reduction. In addition, we expect our operating expenses will increase in the future as we continue our commercialization efforts and increase our production and marketing activities, among other activities. Although we expect to generate revenues from sales of our products, revenues may decline or not grow as anticipated and our operating results could be substantially harmed for a particular fiscal period. Moreover, our operating results in some quarters may not meet the expectations of stock market analysts and investors. In that case, our stock price most likely would decline.

Nondisclosure agreements with employees and others may not adequately prevent disclosure of trade secrets and other proprietary information.

In order to protect our proprietary technology and processes, we rely in part on nondisclosure agreements with our employees, licensing partners, customers, consultants, agents and other organizations to which we disclose our proprietary information. These agreements may not effectively prevent disclosure of confidential information and may not provide an adequate remedy in the event of unauthorized disclosure of confidential information. In addition, others may independently discover trade secrets and proprietary information, and in such cases, we could not assert any trade secret rights against such parties. Costly and time-consuming litigation could be necessary to enforce and determine the scope of our proprietary rights, and failure to obtain or maintain trade secret protection could adversely affect our competitive business position. Since we rely on trade secrets and nondisclosure agreements, in addition to patents, to protect some of our intellectual property, there is a risk that third parties may obtain and improperly utilize our proprietary information to our competitive disadvantage. We may not be able to detect unauthorized use or take appropriate and timely steps to enforce our intellectual property rights.

The manufacture, use or sale of our current and proposed products may infringe on the patent rights of others, and we may be forced to litigate if an intellectual property dispute arises.

We have taken measures to protect ourselves from infringing on the patent rights of others; however, if we infringe or are alleged to have infringed another party’s patent rights, we may be required to seek a license, defend an infringement action or challenge the validity of the patents in court. Patent litigation is costly and time consuming. We may not have sufficient resources to bring these actions to a successful conclusion. In addition, if we do not obtain a license, do not successfully defend an infringement action or are unable to have infringed patents declared invalid, we may incur substantial monetary damages ,encounter significant delays in marketing our current and proposed product candidates, be unable to conduct or participate in the manufacture, use or sale of product, candidates or methods of treatment requiring licenses, lose patent protection for our inventions and products; or find our patents are unenforceable, invalid, or have a reduced scope of protection.

Parties making such claims may be able to obtain injunctive relief that could effectively block our ability to further develop or commercialize our current and proposed product candidates in the United States and abroad and could result in the award of substantial damages. Defense of any lawsuit or failure to obtain any such license could substantially harm the company. Litigation, regardless of outcome, could result in substantial cost to and a diversion of efforts by the Company to operate its business.

We may face costly intellectual property/ license agreements disputes.

Our ability to compete effectively will depend in part on our ability to develop and maintain proprietary aspects of our technologies and either to operate without infringing the proprietary rights of others or to obtain rights to technology owned by third parties. Our pending patent applications, specifically patent rights of the AOT technology and Joule Heating process may not result in the issuance of any patents or any issued patents that will offer protection against competitors with similar technology. Patents we have licensed for our technologies, and which we may receive, may be challenged, invalidated or circumvented in the future or the rights created by those patents may not provide a competitive advantage. We also rely on trade secrets, technical know-how and continuing invention to develop and maintain our competitive position. Others may independently develop substantially equivalent proprietary information and techniques or otherwise gain access to our trade secrets. See Note 6 of our financial statements attached hereto for a discussion and status of our license agreements with Temple University.

Changes in governmental regulations and policies may affect export of our technologies.

The Company recognizes domestic and foreign governmental actions, including but not limited to trade restrictions and tariffs, the current war in the Middle East leading to the disruption of oil and gas production and the worldwide transport of oil and gas, may adversely affect our ability to export our technologies, or may adversely affect the economics of cross-border transactions.

We may not be able to attract or retain qualified senior personnel.

We believe we are currently able to manage our current business with our existing management team. However, as we expand the scope of our operations, we will need to obtain the full-time services of additional senior management and other personnel. Competition for highly skilled personnel is intense, and there can be no assurance that we will be able to attract or retain qualified senior personnel. Our failure to do so could have an adverse effect on our ability to implement our business plan. As we add full-time senior personnel, our overhead expenses for salaries and related items will increase compensation packages, these increases could be substantial.

If we lose our key personnel or are unable to attract and retain additional personnel, we may be unable to achieve profitability.

Our future success is substantially dependent on the efforts of our senior management. The loss of the services of members of our senior management may significantly delay or prevent the achievement of product development and other business objectives. Because of the scientific nature of our business, we depend substantially on our ability to attract and retain qualified marketing, scientific and technical personnel, including consultants. If we lose the services of, or do not successfully recruit key marketing, scientific and technical personnel, the growth of our business could be substantially impaired. We do not maintain key man insurance for any of these individuals.

Currently, there is only very limited trading in our stock, so you may be unable to sell your shares at or near the quoted bid prices if you need to sell your shares.

The shares of our common stock are thinly traded on the OTC Bulletin Board (pink sheets), meaning that the number of persons interested in purchasing our common shares at or near bid prices at any given time may be relatively small or non-existent. This situation is attributable to a number of factors, including the fact that we are a small company with no revenue, engaged in a high-risk business which is relatively unknown to stock analysts, stock brokers, institutional investors and others in the investment community that can generate or influence daily trading volume and valuation. This situation is attributable to a number of factors, including the fact that we are a small company engaged in a high-risk business which is relatively unknown to stock analysts, stock brokers, institutional investors and others in the investment community that can generate or influence daily trading volume and valuation. Should we even come to the attention of such persons, they tend to be risk-averse and would be reluctant to follow an unproven, early stage company such as ours or purchase or recommend the purchase of our shares until such time as we became more seasoned and viable. As a consequence, there may be periods of several days or more when trading activity in our shares is minimal or non-existent, as compared to a seasoned issuer which has a large and steady volume of trading activity that will generally support continuous trading without negatively impacting share price. We cannot provide any assurance that a broader or more active public trading market for shares of our common stock will develop or be sustained. Due to these conditions, we cannot give any assurance that shareholders will be able to sell their shares at or near bid prices or at all.

The market price of our stock is volatile.

The market price for our common stock has been volatile during the last year, ranging from a closing price of $0.12 on June 10, 2025 to a closing price of $0.33 on March 28,2025, and a closing price of $0.10 on March 27, 2026. See Part II, item 5, below. Additionally, the price of our stock has been both higher and lower than those amounts on an intra-day basis in the last year. Because our stock is thinly traded, its price can change dramatically over short periods, even in a single day. The market price of our common stock could fluctuate widely in response to many factors, including, developments with respect to patents or proprietary rights, announcements of technological innovations by us or our competitors, announcements of new products or new contracts by us or our competitors, actual or anticipated variations in our operating results due to the level of development expenses and other factors, changes in financial estimates by securities analysts and whether any future earnings of ours meet or exceed such estimates, conditions and trends in our industry, new accounting standards, general economic, political and market conditions and other factors.

Substantial sales of common stock could cause our stock price to fall.

In the past year, there have been times when average daily trading volume of our common stock has been extremely low, and there have been many days in which no shares were traded at all. At other times, the average daily trading volume of our common stock has been high. Nevertheless, the possibility that substantial amounts of common stock may be sold in the public market may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our common stock and could impair a shareholder’s ability to sell our stock or our ability to raise capital through the sale of our equity securities.

Potential issuance of additional shares of our common stock could dilute existing stockholders.

Effective February 14, 2025, we are authorized to issue up to 750,000,000 shares of common stock and up to 100,000,000 of preferred stock. To the extent of such authorization, our Board of Directors has the ability, without seeking stockholder approval, to issue additional shares of common stock or preferred stock in the future for such consideration as the Board of Directors may consider sufficient. The issuance of additional common stock or preferred stock in the future may reduce the proportionate ownership and voting power of shareholders.

We may not be successful in identifying, making, financing, and integrating acquisitions.

Currently, a minor component of our business strategy is to make selective acquisitions that will strengthen our core services or presence in selected markets. The success of this strategy will depend, among other things, on our ability to identify suitable acquisition candidates, to obtain acceptable financing, to timely and successfully integrate acquired businesses or assets and to retain the key personnel and the customer base of acquired businesses. Any future acquisitions could present a number of risks, including but not limited to:

If we are unable to identify, make and successfully integrate acquired businesses, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Our common stock is subject to penny stock regulation, which may make it more difficult for us to raise capital.

Our common stock is considered penny stock under SEC regulations. It is subject to rules that impose additional sales practice requirements on broker-dealers who sell our securities. For example, broker-dealers must make a suitability determination for the purchaser, receive the purchaser’s written consent to the transaction prior to sale, and make special disclosures regarding sales commissions, current stock price quotations, recent price information and information on the limited market in penny stock. Because of these additional obligations, some broker-dealers may not affect transactions in penny stocks, which may adversely affect the liquidity of our common stock and shareholders’ ability to sell our common stock in the secondary market. This lack of liquidity may make it difficult for us to raise capital in the future.

Cyber Security and Information Technology Risks.

We rely on our information technology (“IT”) in connection with our efforts to commercialize our AOT technology. However, at this time, we have no process, including Board oversight, to assess, identify, and manage material risks from cybersecurity threats. If there would be a significant problem with our IT infrastructure, such as an IT system failure or system disruption, it could halt or delay our ability to develop and commercialize our AOT technology. Remote work by our personnel and remote access to our systems have also increased, which could increase our cybersecurity risk profile. We believe our cybersecurity risks will further increase when, and if, we commercialize our AOT technology. Hacking, phishing attacks, ransomware, insider threats, physical breaches or other actions may cause our confidential and proprietary information to be stolen or misused. We currently are unable to anticipate any of these actions, and if such actions occur, we would not be able to react to or cure them in a timely manner, which would have a material adverse effect on our business and technology. Cyber attacks and security breaches may also persist undetected over extended periods of time and may not be mitigated in a timely manner to minimize the impact of such a cyber attack or security breach. Any significant cybersecurity incident could expose us to risks of litigation and liability, disrupt our business, or otherwise have a material adverse effect on our business and efforts to commercialize our AOT technology.

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments

None.

Item 1C. Cybersecurity

Risk Management and Strategy