BION ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGIES INC - Quarter Report: 2023 December (Form 10-Q)

From January 2024 to December 2024 Undiscounted cash flow Less imputed interest () Total

The weighted average remaining lease term and discounted rate related to the Company’s lease liability as of December 31, 2023 were 1 years and 10%, respectively. The Company’s lease discount rate is generally based on the estimates of its incremental borrowing rate as the discount rates implicit in the Company’s lease cannot be readily determined.

E: Litigation (and related matters):

1)  Website: Domain Sale/Resolved Litigation/Hacking/Theft

On March 23, 2022 The Company has been using www.bionenviro.com as its primary website (and domain) since July 2021 due to the events described below. The Company has not been using biontech.com as its primary website since July 2021 so domain name <biontech.com> no longer represented a core asset of the Company.

As previously reported, on Saturday morning, July 17, 2021, our historical website domain – biontech.com – and email services were compromised and disabled. Research indicated that an unknown party had ‘hijacked’ the domain in a theft attempt. On September 10, 2021, the Company filed a federal lawsuit ‘in rem’ to recover the <biontech.com> domain and the unknown ‘John Doe’ who hacked and attempted to steal the website. The litigation was filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria Division under the heading ‘Bion Environmental Technologies, Inc., Plaintiff, vs John Doe and <biontech.com>, Defendants’ (Case No. 1:21-cv-01034), seeking recovery of the domain name and other relief as set forth therein.

On November 19, 2021, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria Division issued an order stating that “… ORDERED, ADJUDGED and Decreed that plaintiff Bion Environmental Technologies, Inc. (‘plaintiff) Is the lawful owner of domain name <biontech.com> ….” under the heading ‘Bion Environmental Technologies, Inc., Plaintiff, vs John Doe and <biontech.com>, Defendants’ (Case No. 1:21-cv-01034). The Company has moved the domain name <biontech.com> to a new registrar and reactivated it for the Company’s use (paired currently with its current bionenviro.com website).

No shareholder, sensitive or confidential information was available to be breached which has limited damages from the hack/theft to date. However, the Company’s email operations were subjected to disruption and expenses were incurred related to the matter including legal fees.

The Company created ‘work-arounds’ as a result. These issues have been resolved and the Company has moved our website (and email) to a new domain: bionenviro.com. Website access is now www.bionenviro.com. To send emails to Bion personnel, one uses the same name identifier previously used, but in the address, substitute ‘bionenviro.com’ for “biontech.com’: For example cscott@biontech.com (no longer functional) is cscott@bionenviro.com and mas@biontech.com (no longer functional) is now mas@bionenviro.com.

2)  Pennvest Loan and Dissolution of Bion PA1, LLC (“PA1”)

PA1, the Company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, was dissolved on December 29, 2021 on which date it owed approximately $10,010,000 under the terms of the Pennvest Loan related to the construction of the Kreider 1 System including accrued interest and late charges totaling $ as of that date. Through the date of the dissolution, PA1 was a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company and its assets and liabilities were included on the Company’s consolidated balance sheet. At September 30, 2021, PA1’s total assets were $ and its total liabilities were $ (including the Pennvest Loan in the aggregate amount of $, accounts payable of $ and accrued liabilities of $950) which sums were included in the Company’s consolidated balance sheet in its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2021. Subsequent to the dissolution of PA1, its assets and liabilities are no longer consolidated and included in the Company’s consolidated balance sheet. As of December 29, 2021, PA1’s total assets were nil and its total liabilities were $ (including the Pennvest Loan in the aggregate amount of $, accounts payable of $212,263 and accrued liabilities of $. The net amount of $ was recognized as a gain on the legal dissolution of a subsidiary in other (income) expense.

As background, the terms of the Pennvest Loan provided for funding of up to $ which was to be repaid by interest-only payments for three years, followed by an additional ten-year amortization of principal. The Pennvest Loan accrued interest at % per annum for years 1 through 5 and % per annum for years 6 through maturity. The Pennvest Loan required minimum annual principal payments of approximately $ in fiscal years 2013 through 2021, and $ in fiscal year 2022, $ in fiscal year 2023 and $ in fiscal year 2024. The Pennvest Loan was collateralized by PA1’s Kreider 1 System and by a pledge of all revenues generated from Kreider 1 including, but not limited to, revenues generated from nutrient reduction credit sales and by-product sales. In addition, in consideration for the excess credit risk associated with the project, Pennvest was entitled to participate in the profits from Kreider 1 calculated on a net cash flow basis, as defined. The Company has incurred interest expense related to the Pennvest Loan of $ and $ for the years ended June 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Based on the limited development of the depth and breadth of the Pennsylvania nutrient reduction credit market, PA1 commenced discussions and negotiations with Pennvest related to forbearance and/or re-structuring the obligations under the Pennvest Loan during 2013. In the context of such negotiations, PA1 elected not to make interest payments to Pennvest on the Pennvest Loan since January 2013. Additionally, the PA1 did not make any principal payments, which were to begin in fiscal 2013, and, therefore, the Company classified the Pennvest Loan as a current liability through the dissolution of PA1 on December 29, 2021.

During August 2012, the Company provided Pennvest (and the PADEP) with data demonstrating that the Kreider 1 system met the ‘technology guaranty’ standards which were incorporated in the Pennvest financing documents and, as a result, the Pennvest Loan has been solely an obligation of PA1 since that date. Note, however, the Company’s consolidated balance sheet as of June 30, 2021 reflects the Pennvest Loan as a liability of $ despite the fact that the obligation (if any) was solely an obligation of PA1.

On September 25, 2014, the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority (“Pennvest”) exercised its right to declare the PA1’s Pennvest Loan in default, accelerated the Pennvest Loan and demanded that PA1 pay $ (principal, interest plus late charges) on or before October 24, 2014. PA1 did not make the payment and did/does not have the resources to make the payments demanded by Pennvest. PA1 commenced discussions and negotiations with Pennvest concerning this matter but Pennvest rejected PA1’s proposal made during the fall of 2014. PA1 made a final proposal to Pennvest during September 2021 which proposal was also rejected by Pennvest. PA1 provided Pennvest with its financial statements (which include a description of system status) annually. During the 2021 fiscal year, Pennvest’s auditors requested a ‘corrective action plan’ and PA1 informed Pennvest that “… there is no viable corrective action plan for the Pennvest Loan (‘Loan’). The facility funded by the Loan has been shut down for many years (which has been disclosed in the annual financial reports to Pennvest and in public filings by the parent of Bion PA 1, LLC) and the technology utilized in the facility is now obsolete. The facility has not been commercially operated for approximately six years and has generated zero income. We recommend that Pennvest take appropriate steps to remove and sell the equipment.” Pennvest responded favorably to the approach of selling the equipment.

On December 29, 2021, the Company approved and executed a ‘Consent of the Sole Member of Bion PA 1’ (the “Consent to Dissolution”) that authorized the complete liquidation and dissolution of PA1. A Statement of Dissolution was filed by PA1 with the Colorado Secretary of State on December 29, 2021.The liquidation value of Bion PA 1’s property is substantially below the current amount outstanding under the Funding Agreement dated October 27, 2010 by and between PA1 and Pennvest, the only known secured creditor of PA1. Post-dissolution, PA1’s activities will be limited entirely to activities required to properly distribute its net assets to creditors and wind down its business.

PA1 and Pennvest agreed to have the equipment sold by a third party auctioneer who arranged for the sale of its property and delivery of all proceeds (net of commissions and customary costs of sale) to Pennvest. The auction took place during the period of May 13-18, 2022. The Company’s personnel assisted PA1 with this process as needed at no cost to PA1. The net sum of $104,725 was realized from the asset sale, which sum was delivered to Pennvest on June 15, 2022. Pursuant to agreement with Pennvest and Kreider Farms, the remaining unsold assets have been transferred to Kreider Farms in order to complete the winding up of the Kreider 1 project.

Upon the complete distribution of all assets of PA1, whether by transfer or sale and distribution of net proceeds as provided above, PA1 will use commercially reasonable efforts to cause the cessation of all activities. No distributions of PA1’s assets will be made to the Company or its affiliates. The Consent to Dissolution authorized Mark A. Smith, the Company’s President and the sole manager of PA1, to cause to be delivered for filing the Statement of Dissolution, to give notice of the dissolution, and to take any other act necessary to wind up and liquidate the business.

PA1 has made no payments to vendors or other creditors in connection with the dissolution other than the payment to Pennvest set forth above. No distributions or payments of any kind have ever been made to the Company, the sole member of PA1 since inception, and no payment will be made to the Company or any affiliate in connection with the dissolution.

For more information regarding the history and background of the Pennvest Loan and PA1, please review our Form’s 10-K for the years from 2008 through 2021 including the Notes to the Financial Statements included therein.

3)  Bank Account Hacking

On June 23, 2023, an officer of the Company with personal accounts with Signature Bank was hacked and $ was transferred from the Company’s accounts at Signature Bank to the officer’s personal accounts. The bank was notified and all Company accounts were placed on hold. Subsequently, the funds were released and transferred back to the Company prior to June 30, 2023, the end of the fiscal year, and there were no losses incurred. The Company has reviewed the authorized individuals on all accounts and further limited access after the hacking incident.

The Company currently is not involved in any other material litigation or similar events.

4)  Bridge Loan/Default

On September 29, 2023 the Company entered into an agreement for a $ Bridge Loan and executed documents including a convertible promissory note (“Note”) and a binding subscription agreement (“Subscription”) (collectively the Note and the Subscription are the “Bridge Loan Agreements”) with SEB LLC, a non-affiliated party (“Lender”). The Bridge Loan Agreements require the Lender to loan the Company $ in six monthly tranches of $ commencing October 2023. All sums advanced under the Bridge Loan Agreements (and accrued interest thereon) would due and payable (with interest accrued at % per annum) on October 1, 2024 if not previously converted into securities of the Company. The Note is convertible at $ per unit, at the sole election of the Lender, into units consisting of one share of the Company’s Common Stock and a warrant to purchase one-half share. The initial $ tranche was received by the Company on October 5, 2023. However, no further funds were received by the Company from the Lender. During early November 2023 the Lender informed the Company verbally that it did not intend to fulfill its obligations pursuant to the Bridge Loan Agreements and since such time the lender has been in default (“Default”). The Default (which is continuing) has created substantial problems for and materially damaged the Company and rendered the Company unable to meet its current creditor obligations on a timely basis. The Company is currently evaluating its rights regarding the Default by the Lender.

. During the current quarter the Company will commence depreciation of this asset.

On January 1, 2024, Smith elected to convert the $ remaining balance of his Adjusted 2020 Convertible note into units (each unit consisting of one share and one warrant with the exercise price of $ until July 21, 2026). Smith made gifts/donations of 122,231 units and 200,000 to his spouse.

On January 18, 2024, the Company entered into a subscription agreement to sell units at a price of $, with each unit consisting of one share of the Company’s restricted common stock and one half warrant to purchase one share of the Company’s restricted common stock for $ per share with an expiry date of , and pursuant thereto, the Company issued 10,000 units for total proceeds of $.

From January 1, 2024 to February 13, 2024, the Company issued shares of the Company’s common stock upon cashless exercise of outstanding warrants held by non-affiliates of the Company.

From January 1, 2024 to February 13, 2024, the Company issued shares of the Company’s common stock upon cashless exercise of outstanding warrants held by Mark Smith (which includes 700,062 by his wife.)

ITEM 2. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS.

Statements made in this Form 10-Q that are not historical or current facts, which represent the Company's expectations or beliefs including, but not limited to, statements concerning the Company's operations, performance, financial condition, business strategies, and other information, involve substantial risks and uncertainties. The Company's actual results of operations, most of which are beyond the Company's control, could differ materially. These statements often can be identified by the use of terms such as "may," "will," "expect," "believe," anticipate," "estimate," or "continue" or the negative thereof. We wish to caution readers not to place undue reliance on any such forward looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Any forward-looking statements represent management's best judgment as to what may occur in the future. However, forward looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and important factors beyond our control that could cause actual results and events to differ materially from historical results of operations and events and those presently anticipated or projected.

These factors include adverse economic conditions, entry of new and stronger competitors, inadequate capital and limited ability to obtain financing, needed personnel and equipment, unexpected costs, failure (or delay) to gain product certifications and/or regulatory approvals in the United States (or particular states) or foreign countries, loss (permanently or for any extended period of time) of the services of members of the Company’s small core management team (many of whom are age 70 or older) and failure to capitalize upon access to new markets. Additional risks and uncertainties that may affect forward looking statements about Bion's business and prospects include: i) the possibility that markets for nutrient reduction credits (discussed below) and/or other ways to monetize nutrient reductions and other environmental benefits will be slow to develop (or not develop at all), ii) PA1’s dissolution and its effect on how the Company is viewed, (if any), iii) the possibility that competitors will develop more comprehensive and/or less expensive environmental solutions, iv) delays in market awareness of Bion and our Systems, v) uncertainties and costs increases related to research and development efforts to update and improve Bion’s technologies and applications thereof, and/or vi) delays and/or costs exceeding expectations relating to Bion's development of the Initial Project, JVs and/or Projects and vii) failure of marketing strategies, each of which could have both immediate and long term material adverse effects by placing us behind our competitors and requiring expenditures of our limited resources.

THESE RISKS, UNCERTAINTIES AND FACTORS BEYOND OUR CONTROL ARE MAGNIFIED DURING THE CURRENT UNCERTAIN PERIOD RELATED TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND THE UNIQUE ECONOMIC, FINANCIAL, GOVERNMENTAL AND HEALTH-RELATED CONDITIONS IN WHICH THE COMPANY, THE ENTIRE COUNTRY AND THE ENTIRE WORLD NOW RESIDE. TO DATE THE COMPANY HAS EXPERIENCED DIRECT IMPACTS IN VARIOUS AREAS INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION: I) GOVERNMENT-ORDERED SHUTDOWNS WHICH HAVE SLOWED THE COMPANY’S RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS AND OTHER INITIATIVES, II) SHIFTED FOCUS OF STATE AND FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WHICH IS LIKELY TO NEGATIVELY IMPACT THE COMPANY’S LEGISLATIVE INITIATIVES IN PENNSYLVANIA AND WASHINGTON DC, III) STRAINS AND UNCERTAINTIES IN BOTH THE EQUITY AND DEBT MARKETS HAVE MADE DISCUSSION AND PLANNING OF FUNDING OF THE COMPANY AND ITS INITIATIVES AND PROJECTS WITH INVESTMENT BANKERS, BANKS AND POTENTIAL STRATEGIC PARTNERS MORE TENUOUS, IV) STRAINS AND UNCERTAINTIES IN THE AGRICULTURAL SECTOR AND MARKETS HAVE MADE DISCUSSION AND PLANNING OF FUNDING OF THE COMPANY AND ITS INITIATIVES AND PROJECTS MORE DIFFICULT AS FUTURE INDUSTRY CONDITIONS ARE NOW MORE DIFFICULT TO ASSESS/PREDICT, V) CONSTRAINTS DUE TO PROBLEMS EXPERIENCED IN THE GLOBAL INDUSTRIAL SUPPLY CHAIN WHICH HAVE INCREASED ANTICIPATED PROJECT DEVELOPMENT COSTS, VI) DUE TO THE AGE AND HEALTH OF OUR CORE MANAGEMENT TEAM, MOST OF WHOM ARE AGE 70 OR OLDER AND HAVE HAD ONE OR MORE EXISTING HEALTH ISSUES, THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC PLACES THE COMPANY AT GREATER RISK THAN WAS PREVIOUSLY THE CASE (TO A HIGHER DEGREE THAN WOULD BE THE CASE IF THE COMPANY HAD A LARGER, DEEPER AND/OR YOUNGER CORE MANAGEMENT TEAM), AND VII) THERE ALMOST CERTAINLY WILL BE OTHER UNANTICIPATED CONSEQUENCES FOR THE COMPANY AS A RESULT OF THE CURRENT PANDEMIC EMERGENCY AND ITS AFTERMATH.

Bion disclaims any obligation subsequently to revise any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events.

The following discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements filed with this Report.

BUSINESS OVERVIEW AND PLAN

THE COMPANY HAS BEEN UNDER SUBSTANTIAL FINANCIAL AND MANAGEMENT STRESS OF THE PAST SIX MONTHS (AND THE CURRENT QUARTER TO DATE) DUE TO THE RECENT DEATH (FOLLOWING EXTENDED ILLNESS) OF DOMINIC BASSANI (WHO MOST RECENTLY SERVED AS OUR COO (FROM MAY 2022) AFTER SERVING AS OUR CEO FOR THE PRIOR DECADE) AND DIFFICULTIES IN RAISING NEEDED FUNDS (WHICH RE-EMERGED LATE IN THE 2023 FISCAL YEAR AND HAS CONTINUED). THE COMPANY IS FACING INCREASED CAPITAL NEEDS AND THE NEED TO TRANSITION TO A YOUNGER MANAGEMENT TEAM (MARK A. SMITH, THE COMPANY’S PRESIDENT AND GENERAL COUNSEL PROVIDED NOTICE DURING EARLY 2023 OF HIS INTENT TO PHASE OUT HIS MANAGEMENT ROLES EARLY THIS CALENDAR YEAR). THESE ITEMS HAVE BEEN PREVIOUSLY DISCLOSED BUT THE COMPANY BELIEVES IT IS IMPORTANT TO FEATURE THEM ‘UPFRONT’ AT THIS POINT.

PLEASE NOTE:

A: The Company is not currently generating any significant revenues. Further, the Company’s anticipated revenues, if any, from existing Projects, JVs and proposed Projects will not be sufficient to meet the Company’s anticipated operational and capital expenditure needs for many years. Current liabilities were approximately $4.2 million and $1.6 million at December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. There was an increase of approximately $2.6 million (which was largely due to an increase in ‘accounts payable and accrued expenses’ totaling approximately $2.0 million and an increase in ‘deferred compensation’ of approximately $.35 million as a result of the Company’s limited success in raising new financing (equity and/or debt) during the recent period combined with continued expenses (including those related to the Initial Project). See NOTE 1, “Going Concern and Management’s Plans” above and “Plan of Operations and Outlook” below.

B: On September 28, 2023 the Company entered into an agreement for a $1,500,000 bridge loan and executed documents including a convertible promissory note (“Note”) and a binding subscription agreement (“Subscription”) (collectively the Note and the Subscription are the “Bridge Loan Agreements”) with SEB LLC, a non-affiliated party (“Lender”). The Bridge Loan Agreements require the Lender to loan the Company $1,500,000 in six monthly tranches of $250,000 commencing October 2023. All sums advanced under the Bridge Loan Agreements (and accrued interest thereon) would due and payable (with interest accrued at 8% per annum) on October 1, 2024 if not previously converted into securities of the Company. The Note is convertible at $1.00 per unit, at the sole election of the Lender, into units consisting of one share of the Company’s common stock and a warrant to purchase one half share. The initial $250,000 tranche was received by the Company on October 5, 2023. However, no further funds were received by the Company from the Lender. During early November 2023 the Lender informed the Company verbally that it did not intend to fulfill its obligations pursuant to the Bridge Loan Agreements and since such time the Lender has been in default (“Default”). The Default (which is continuing) has created substantial problems for and materially damaged the Company and rendered the Company unable to meet its current creditor obligations on a timely basis. The Company is currently evaluating its rights regarding the Default by the Lender. This situation has contributed to the substantial increase in the Company’s ‘Current Liabilities’ including ‘accounts payable’ over recent periods. See Consolidated Financial Statements (above) and ‘Management’s Discussion and Analysis’ (below). The Company is in discussion/negotiation with its larger creditors (including its largest creditor--- the primary contractor on the Initial Project) and anticipates reaching agreements re payments during the current quarter (or soon thereafter).

Bion Environmental Technologies, Inc.'s ("Bion," "Company," "We," "Us," or "Our") was incorporated in 1987 in the State of Colorado. Bion’s mission is to make livestock production more sustainable, profitable and transparent. We intend to accomplish this by deploying our Gen3Tech platform/business model (discussed below) in ventures focused on the ‘feeder’ space of the livestock production/value chain to provide the consumer with verifiably sustainable premium meat products (together with environmentally friendly, sustainable and/or organic co-products from the production process). Bion believes this approach can create extraordinary value for our shareholders and employees (all of whom own securities in the Company) and for livestock/agriculture industry ‘partners’ who join us in our ventures. We anticipate pursuing the opportunity created by our third generation technology (“Gen3Tech”) and business/technology platform in conjunction with other industry practices (“Gen3Tech Platform” or “Platform”).

Our patented and proprietary technology provides advanced waste treatment and resource recovery for large-scale livestock production facilities (also known as “Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations” or “CAFOs"). Livestock production and its waste, particularly from CAFOs, has been identified as one of the greatest soil, air, and water quality problems in the U.S. today. Application of our Gen3Tech can largely mitigate these environmental problems, while simultaneously improving operational/ resource efficiencies by recovering high-value co-products from the CAFOs’ waste stream. These waste ‘assets’ – nutrients and methane – have traditionally been wasted or underutilized and are the same ‘pollutants’ that today fuel harmful algae blooms, contaminate surface groundwater, and exacerbate climate change.

We anticipate this will result in substantial long-term value for Bion. In the context of such JVs, we believe that the verifiable sustainable branding opportunities (conventional and organic) in meat will represent one of the largest enhanced revenue contributors provided by Bion to the JVs (and Bion licensees). The Company believes that the largest portion of its business with be conducted through such JVs, but a material portion may involve licensing and or other approaches.

Bion’s Gen3Tech was designed to capture and stabilize these assets and produce renewable energy, fertilizer products, and clean water as part of the process of raising verifiably sustainable livestock. All steps and stages in the animal raising and waste treatment process will be third-party verified, providing the basis for additional revenues, including carbon and/or renewable energy-related credits and, eventually, payment for a range of ecosystem services, including nutrient credits as described below. The same verified data will be used to substantiate the claims of a USDA-certified sustainable brand that will support premium pricing for the meat/ animal protein products that are produced in Bion facilities.

During the first half of calendar 2022 Bion began pre-marketing our sustainable beef opportunity to retailers, food service distributors and the meat industry in the U.S. In general, the response has been favorable. During our 2023 fiscal year, Bion entered into three (3) letters of intent (“LOIs”): a) July 2022 letter of intent to develop a large-scale commercial project - a 15,000-head sustainable beef cattle feeding operation together with the Ribbonwire Ranch (“Ribbonwire LOI”), in Dalhart, Texas (with a provision to expand to 60,000 head) (“Dalhart Project”), (b) January 2023 letter of intent to develop a large-scale commercial project - a 15,000-head sustainable beef cattle feeding operation together with the Olson Feeders and TD Angus (“Olson LOI”), near North Platte, Nebraska (with a provision to expand to 45,000 head or more) (“Olson Project”) and c)April 2023 letter of intent to develop a large-scale commercial project - a 15,000-head sustainable beef cattle feeding operation together with Dakota Valley Growers (“DVG LOI”) near Bathgate, North Dakota (“DVG Project”). The Company is in discussions with additional parties regarding potential further LOIs. Based on our experience to date, we believe we will not have difficulty in securing participation in our Projects from additional feeders/cattlemen. The Olson, Dalhart and DVG Projects (and subsequent Projects) will be developed to produce blockchain-verified, sustainable beef in customized covered barns (resulting in reduced stress on cattle caused by extreme weather and temperatures and resulting higher feed/weight gain efficiency) with ongoing manure transfer (through slatted floors) to anaerobic digesters (AD) to capture nitrogen from the manure stream before loss to the atmosphere and generate renewable natural gas (RNG) for sale while remediating the environmental/carbon impacts usually associated with cattle feedlots and CAFOs. Bion’s patented Gen3Tech platform will refine the waste stream into valuable coproducts that include clean water, RNG, photovoltaic solar electricity and fertilizer (‘climate smart’ and/or organic) products. We anticipate converting tone or more of these LOIs into definitive JV agreements and creating related distribution agreements with key retailers and food service distributors during the current calendar year.

During the 2023 calendar year, the Company has constructed (construction is largely completed) our 3GTech Ammonia Recovery System (‘ARS’) located near Fair Oaks, Indiana and begun operations of phase 1 of our Initial Project (our commercial scale demonstration facility) located near Fair Oaks, Indiana. The Initial Project has been deemed ‘placed in service’ effective January 1, 2024. Operating results to date at Fair Oaks indicate ARS performance will exceed initial expectations for ammonia recovery and related economics. The Company recently announced that we have achieved key objectives in the optimization of its ARS and will now begin the final design process for full-scale systems based on results to date (and testing over the remainder of this fiscal year) at the Initial Project. The ARS has achieved and maintained controlled steady-state operations under a variety of conditions. When operated at steady state, the system produces an ammonium distillate (solution), the base of Bion’s nitrogen fertilizer products. Bion has begun optimizing the ARS’s operating parameters with the goal of meeting and/or exceeding the results needed for Bion’s economic models for large-scale commercial projects. The Company expects the current optimization phase will continue during the next quarter (or longer) and provide data required to support final design/engineering for commercial project modules. We believe this data will also provide additional potential stakeholders (cattle producers, cattle feeders, packers, distributors, retailers and financial institutions) with the information they need to proceed with confidence in collaborating with Bion on multiple new projects (see below). Final economic and energy efficiency models will be validated during the final design process. The Company intends to engage a third party engineering firm during the next quarter to prepare a third-party evaluation of the ARS while also moving forward on final commercial design process.

The patented ARS is the core of Bion’s Gen3Tech platform. It recovers and upcycles problem ammonia contained in the effluent from anaerobic digestion (where methane is captured and more ammonia is released) of the livestock manure waste stream. The ARS captures the ammonia, minimizing its environmental impacts and creating low-carbon and/or organic nitrogen fertilizer products with it. During the last three (3) months,, the Company has produced ammonium distillate and ammonium bicarbonate solutions at the Initial Project in several concentrations and plans to initiate the application process for organic certification for each concentration of liquid fertilizer product. Multiple applications to OMRI (Organic Materials Review Institute) and CDFA (California Department of Food and Agriculture) are being prepared for listing/certification of new organic products. Bion received an OMRI-Listing in 2020 for its initial product. Bion will continue producing liquid and crystal fertilizers at the Initial Project to support testing and life-cycle analysis, product trials, and ongoing organic initiatives. Bion will produce a solid/granular nitrogen fertilizer product at the Initial Project (when the crystalizer module is ready for operation) which we believe will be both ‘Climate-Smart’ and ‘Water-Smart’ – a pure nitrogen fertilizer with a low carbon footprint, that is water soluble and readily available to plants. Samples of the granular product will also be utilized to support organic certification applications. See Fertilizer---Organic and ‘ClimateSmart’ below.

Bion’s business model and technology platform can create the opportunity for joint ventures (in various contractual forms)(“JVs”) between the Company and large livestock/food/fertilizer industry participants based upon the supplemental cash flow generated by implementation of our Gen3Tech business model, which cash flows will support the costs of technology implementation (including servicing related debt). We anticipate this will result in substantial long-term value for Bion. To accomplish Bion’s goals, we anticipate the we will ‘partner’ with other technology companies who provide solutions for different links of the beef (and other livestock) value chain and with strategic partners up and down the supply chain. In the context of such JVs, we believe that the verifiable sustainable branding opportunities (conventional and organic) in meat will represent one of the single largest enhanced revenue contributor provided by Bion to the JVs (and, in some cases, Bion licensees). The Company believes that the largest portion of its business with be conducted through such JVs, but a material portion may involve licensing and or other approaches.

Bion expects the Initial Project data will document the effectiveness of our Gen3Tech in a commercial-scale setting during the current fiscal year and support development of one or more of the LOI Projects (and/or other Gen3Tech beef JV projects) commencing later this fiscal year. We do not presently know the order in which the JV Projects will be developed as that decision will be made based on many factors not yet in place. We believe the Initial Project data will also provide additional potential stakeholders (cattle producers, cattle feeders, packers, food distributors and retailers and financial institutions) with the information they need to proceed with confidence in collaborating with Bion on multiple new projects (see below).

Note that Bion recently announced its intention to establish strategic partnerships to market the ARS as a stand-alone addition to anaerobic digestion (“AD”) nitrogen control solution in two sectors:

INDUSTRIAL AND MUNICIPAL WASTEWATER. AD is now used at 1,269 water resource recovery facilities in the U.S., with another 102 stand-alone systems that digest food waste. The American Biogas Council estimates an additional 8,600 sites with development potential. Germany, by comparison, has almost 10,000 operating AD sites. In the U.S., wastewater and AD digestate from industrial and municipal sources is already regulated for ammonia and nitrates. The EPA recently proposed tougher standards for slaughter facilities. Bion believes ARS ammonia treatment costs will be competitive in these markets and that its unique premium fertilizer byproducts will create an advantage, especially with waste streams that are still considered ‘organic’, like slaughter and food waste.

ANIMAL WASTE. According to the American Biogas Council here are 473 animal waste digesters operating in the U.S. today, most on dairy operations. The American Biogas Council and USDA’s AgSTAR program estimate more than 8,000 additional sites with development potential. The ARS was designed specifically for this purpose: control ammonia from livestock waste and produce the highest value byproducts with it. Digestate from animal waste AD has enjoyed the same reduced regulatory requirements as land applying raw manure. Recent trends in Michigan and California indicate they will treat animal waste digestate as any industrial source, subject to groundwater permitting requirements. Bion believes its proven technology and value-added fertilizers will give it a significant competitive advantage in this evolving market.

Bion is now focused primarily on: i) operation and further testing at the Initial Project, our initial commercial-scale Gen3Tech installation, for support of design/feasibility studies/reports related to our initial JV Projects (and further optimization of its operational parameters), ii) pre-development planning of the LOI Projects (and/or other Gen3Tech beef JV projects) including steps toward distribution agreements, iii) developing applications and markets for its low carbon ‘ClimateSmart’ and organic fertilizer products (including listings/certifications of multiple liquid and solid products) and its sustainable (conventional and organic) animal protein products, and iv) discussions regarding initiation and development of agreements and joint ventures (“JVs” as discussed herein) (and related Projects) based on the augmented capabilities of our Gen3Tech business platform (in the sustainable beef and other livestock segments), (v) exploring JVs re stand-alone ARS markets, while (vi) continuing to pursue business opportunities related to large retrofit projects (such as the Kreider poultry project JV described below) and vi) ongoing R&D activities.

At present, there is essentially no traceable and verifiable ‘sustainable beef’ available to the US market except for niche products. In response to consumer demand for transparency and sustainability, Bion expects the meat industry in general, and beef specifically, to evolve towards using new technologies to deliver these attributes in their products. While we anticipate a faster adoption of tracking, verification and sustainability technologies in other perishable food categories like produce and dairy due to their shorter product cycles (and related harvest and production techniques), meat industry leaders have also announced their willingness to move forward with initiatives in this area. Many companies have announced ‘sustainability’ initiatives but most appear to consist largely of ‘greenwashing’ marketing commitments rather than substantive undertakings at this date. Note, however, that Tyson’s Brazen beef initiative (which was announced during March 2023) may develop into a substantive competitive factor in the sustainable beef marketplace. Bion predicts that within approximately five-six years, consumers will be able to track and verify claims including sustainability on 25% (or more) of the products merchandised in the meat department. Bion believes that the retail market share of verifiably sustainable beef in the US will approach 7-10 % within three-four (3-4) years (end of 2028) and 25% in five-six (5-6) years (end of 2029-30) (approximately 6-7,000,000 cattle annually) (and more thereafter).

Based on these trends, Bion has set an aspirational target---which will require that Bion can successfully execute on its sustainable beef business plan (which is subject to many contingencies ---including raising extremely large amounts of project financing for its JVs and the acquisition of adequate senior and operating management personnel to implement the business plan---and is not assured). We believe that facilities utilizing Bion’s Gen3Tech platform will potentially supply one-third (1/3) or more of that of the premium market segment (and a higher portion of meat that is actually traceable and verifiably sustainable). Our goal is to have multiple sustainable beef projects under development (within 3-5 distinct JVs) by the end of 2025-6. Our first commercial project is likely to be one of our current LOI Projects (however, a different project might move to the foreground) with the target of commencing development of an initial sustainable beef project during the current calendar year. Our current target is to have at least three (3) facility modules (15,000 head per module)(“Modules”) in development and/or under construction during 2024-5 in three (3) different JVs with the initial barns being populated with livestock during 2025-6. Further expansion in the number of distinct JVs is projected through 2026-7 aiming at 5-10 JVs in process --- each of which JVs will be pursuing development of multiple Modules with targets of 12-15 populated Modules by the end of 2026-7 (approximately 2%-3% of the US beef market) and 30-45 Modules constructed and being populated by 2029-30 (approximately 6%-8% of the US beef market) with further expansion thereafter. Bion’s current goal is that its Gen3Tech platform will be utilized to produce 33% of the verifiable “sustainable beef” category at the end of the period (which will equal approximately 2 million cattle annually)(45 Modules).

During this 5-6 year period, the Company also anticipates having additional Gen3Tech projects underway in the pork/dairy/egg sectors of the US animal protein market.

There is no assurance that the Company will reach or approach the goals/targets set forth above. Reaching such goals/targets will require access to very large amounts of capital (equity and debt) as each module is projected to cost in excess of $50 million (debt/equity/grants) to construct and require mobilization of substantial personnel, technical resources and management skills. The Company does not possess either the financial or personnel resources required internally and will need to source such resources from outside itself.

For additional information regarding our ‘HISTORY, BACKGROUND AND CURRENT ACTIVITIES’, see discussion in Notes to the Financial Statements (particularly Notes 1, 3, 5 and 9) included in this report and Item 1 in our annual report on Form 10-K.

COVID-19 PANDEMIC RELATED MATTERS:

The Company faces risks and uncertainties and factors beyond our control that are magnified during the current Covid-19 pandemic and the unique economic, financial, governmental and health-related conditions in which the Company, the country and the entire world now reside. To date the Company has experienced direct impacts in various areas including but without limitation: i) government ordered shutdowns which have slowed the Company’s research and development projects and other initiatives, ii) shifted focus of state and federal governments which is likely to negatively impact the Company’s legislative initiatives in Pennsylvania and Washington D. C., iii) strains and uncertainties in both the equity and debt markets which have made discussion and planning of funding of the Company and its initiatives and projects with investment bankers, banks and potential strategic partners more tenuous, iv) strains and uncertainties in the agricultural sector and markets have made discussion and planning more difficult as future industry conditions are now more difficult to assess and predict, v) constraints due to problems experienced in the global industrial supply chain since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, which have delayed certain research and development testing and have delayed and/or increased the cost of construction of the Company’s initial 3G Tech installation as equipment/services remain difficult to acquire in a timely manner, vi) due to the age and health of our core management team, many of whom are age 70 or older and have had one or more existing health issues (including brief periods of Covid-19 infection), the Covid-19 pandemic places the Company at greater risk than was previously the case (to a higher degree than would be the case if the Company had a larger, deeper and/or younger core management team), and vii) there almost certainly will be other unanticipated consequences for the Company as a result of the current pandemic emergency and its aftermath.

CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Revenue Recognition

The Company currently does not generate revenue and if and when the Company begins to generate revenue the Company will comply with the provisions of Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 606 “Revenue from Contracts with Customers”.

Stock-based compensation

The Company follows the provisions of ASC 718, which generally requires that share-based compensation transactions be accounted and recognized in the statement of income based upon their grant date fair values.

Pursuant to ASC Topic 815 “Derivatives and Hedging” (“Topic 815”), the Company reviews all financial instruments for the existence of features which may require fair value accounting and a related mark-to-market adjustment at each reporting period end. Once determined, the Company assesses these instruments as derivative liabilities. The fair value of these instruments is adjusted to reflect the fair value at each reporting period end, with any increase or decrease in the fair value being recorded in results of operations as an adjustment to fair value of derivatives. As of September 30, 2023 and 2022, there are no derivative financial instruments.

Options:

The Company has issued options to employees and consultants under its 2006 Plan to purchase common shares of the Company. Options are valued on the grant date using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model. The expected volatility is based on the historical price volatility of the Company’s common stock. The dividend yield represents the Company’s anticipated cash dividend on common stock over the expected term of the stock options. The U.S. Treasury bill rate for the expected term of the stock options was utilized to determine the risk-free interest rate. The expected term of stock options represents the period of time the stock options granted are expected to be outstanding based upon management’s estimates.

Warrants:

The Company has issued warrants to purchase common shares of the Company. Warrants are valued using a fair value based method, whereby the fair value of the warrant is determined at the warrant issue date using a market-based option valuation model based on factors including an evaluation of the Company’s value as of the date of the issuance, consideration of the Company’s limited liquid resources and business prospects, the market price of the Company’s stock in its mostly inactive public market and the historical valuations and purchases of the Company’s warrants. When warrants are issued in combination with debt or equity securities, the warrants are valued and accounted for based on the relative fair value of the warrants in relation to the total value assigned to the debt or equity securities and warrants combined.

Lease Accounting:

The Company accounts for leases under ASC 842, Leases (“ASC 842”). Accordingly, the Company will determine whether an arrangement contains a lease at the inception of the arrangement. If a lease is determined to exist, the term of such lease is assessed based on the date on which the underlying asset is made available for the Company’s use by the lessor. The Company’s assessment of the lease term reflects the non-cancelable term of the lease, inclusive of any rent-free periods and/or periods covered by early-termination options which the Company is reasonably certain of not exercising, as well as periods covered by renewal options which the Company is reasonably certain of exercising. The Company also determines lease classification as either operating or finance at lease commencement, which governs the pattern of expense recognition and the presentation reflected in the consolidated statements of operations over the lease term.

For leases with a term exceeding 12 months, a lease liability is recorded on the Company’s consolidated balance sheet at lease commencement reflecting the present value of its fixed minimum payment obligations over the lease term. A corresponding right-of-use (“ROU”) asset equal to the initial lease liability is also recorded, adjusted for any prepaid rent and/or initial direct costs incurred in connection with execution of the lease and reduced by any lease incentives received. For purposes of measuring the present value of its fixed payment obligations for a given lease, the Company uses its incremental borrowing rate, determined based on information available at lease commencement, as rates implicit in its leasing arrangements are typically not readily determinable. The Company's incremental borrowing rate reflects the rate it would pay to borrow on a secured basis and incorporates the term and economic environment of the associated lease.

THREE MONTHS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2023 COMPARED TO THE THREE MONTHS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2022

Revenue

Total revenues were nil for both the three months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022.

Current Liabilities

Current liabilities were approximately $4.2 million and $1.6 million at December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. There was an increase of approximately $2.6 million (which was largely due to an increase in ‘accounts payable and accrued expenses’ totaling approximately $2.0 million and an increase in ‘deferred compensation’ of approximately $.35 million) as a result of the Company’s limited success in raising new financing (equity and/or debt) during the recent period combined with continued expenses (including those related to the Initial Project).

General and Administrative

Total general and administrative expenses were $636,000 and $631,000 for the three months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

Salaries and related payroll tax expenses were $161,000 and $176,000 for the three months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Consulting costs were $168,000 and $101,000 for the three months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. The $67,000 increase in consulting costs is due an increase in activity with outside consultants during the second quarter. Investor relations expenses were $76,000 and $174,000 for the three months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, and the $98,000 decrease was due to less investor related activity during the second quarter in order to conserve cash. Legal costs were $7,000 and $23,000 for the three months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

Stock-based compensation for the three months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 were $67,000 and nil, respectively.

Depreciation

Total depreciation expense was $461 and $394 for the three months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

Research and Development

Total research and development expenses were $7,000 and $15,000 for the three months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, representing an $8,000 decrease was due to less consulting expense being allocated to research and development.

Salaries and related payroll tax expenses were $1,000 and $3,000 for the three months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Consulting costs were $1,000 and $10,000 for the three months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. The decrease of $9,000 was due to a smaller portion of Brightcap’s consulting cost being allocated to research and development.

Loss from Operations

As a result of the factors described above, the loss from operations was $644,000 and $646,000 for the three months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 respectively.

Other Expense

Other expense was $75,000 and $84,000 for the three months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

Interest expense related to deferred compensation, loan payable and convertible notes prior to capitalization was $91,000 and $121,000 for the three months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. The decrease of $30,000 is due to debt modifications and reduction of principal balances.

Net Loss Attributable to the Noncontrolling Interest

The net loss attributable to the noncontrolling interest was nil and nil for the three months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

Net Loss Attributable to Bion’s Common Stockholders

As a result of the factors described above, the net loss attributable to Bion’s stockholders was $719,000 and $730,000 for the three months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, and the net loss per basic common share was $.01 and $.02 for the three months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

SIX MONTHS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2023 COMPARED TO THE SIX MONTHS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2022

Revenue

Total revenues were nil for both the six months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022.

General and Administrative

Total general and administrative expenses were $1,302,000 and $1,497,000 for the six months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

Salaries and related payroll tax expenses were $327,000 and $347,000 for the six months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Consulting costs were $354,000 and $219,000 for the six months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. The $135,000 increase in consulting costs is due an increase in activity with outside consultants during the first and second quarter. Investor relations expenses were $122,000 and $422,000 for the six months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, and the $300,000 decrease was due to less investor related activity during the first and second quarters in order to conserve cash. Legal costs were $15,000 and $32,000 for the six months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

Stock-based compensation for the six months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 were $129,000 and nil, respectively.

Depreciation

Total depreciation expense was $921 and $724 for the six months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

Research and Development

Total research and development expenses were $16,000 and $44,000 for the six months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, representing a $28,000 decrease was due to less consulting expense being allocated to research and development.

Salaries and related payroll tax expenses were $3,000 and $6,000 for the six months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Consulting costs were $4,000 and $26,000 for the six months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. The decrease of $22,000 was due to a smaller portion of Brightcap’s consulting cost being allocated to research and development. Legal expenses were $7,000 and $5,000 for the six months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

Loss from Operations

As a result of the factors described above, the loss from operations was $1,319,000 and $1,541,000 for the six months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 respectively.

Other Expense

Other expense was $145,000 and $108,000 for the six months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. The increase of $37,000 was a result of a greater interest expense for warrant modifications.

Interest expense related to deferred compensation, loan payable and convertible notes prior to capitalization was $172,000 and $177,000 for the six months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

Net Loss Attributable to the Noncontrolling Interest

The net loss attributable to the noncontrolling interest was nil and nil for the six months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

Net Loss Attributable to Bion’s Common Stockholders

As a result of the factors described above, the net loss attributable to Bion’s stockholders was $1,464,000 and $1,649,000 for the six months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, and the net loss per basic common share was $.03 and $.04 for the six months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES

The Company's condensed consolidated financial statements for the six months ended December 31, 2023 have been prepared on a going concern basis, which contemplates the realization of assets and the settlement of liabilities and commitments in the normal course of business. The Report of our Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm on the Company's consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended June 30, 2023 includes a "going concern" explanatory paragraph which means that the auditors stated that conditions exist that raise substantial doubt about the Company's ability to continue as a going concern.

Current Liabilities

Current liabilities were approximately $4.2 million and $1.6 million at December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. There was an increase of approximately $2.6 million (which was largely due to an increase in ‘accounts payable and accrued expenses’ totaling approximately $2.0 million and an increase in ‘deferred compensation’ of approximately $.35 million) largely as a result of the Company’s limited success in raising new financing (equity and/or debt) during the recent period combined with continued expenses (including those related to the Initial Project).

Operating Activities

As of December 31, 2023, the Company had cash of approximately $385,000. During the six months ended December 31, 2023, net cash used in operating activities was $451,000, primarily consisting of cash operating expenses related to salaries and benefits, and other general and administrative costs such as insurance, legal, accounting, consulting and investor relations expenses as well as the purchase of property and equipment. Cash expenditures were offset by proceeds from financing activities, primarily the exercise of warrants and sale of common shares. As previously noted, the Company is currently not generating significant revenue and accordingly has not generated cash flows from operations. The Company does not anticipate generating sufficient revenues to offset operating and capital costs for a minimum of two to five years. While there are no assurances that the Company will be successful in its efforts to develop and construct its Projects and market its Systems, it is certain that the Company will require substantial funding from external sources. Given the unsettled state of the current credit and capital markets for companies such as Bion, there is no assurance the Company will be able to raise the funds it needs on reasonable terms.

Investing Activities

During the six months ended December 31, 2023, the Company invested $484,000 in the purchase of property and equipment, primarily related to the Initial Project construction in process.

Financing Activities

During the six months ended December 31, 2023, the Company received gross cash proceeds of $415,000 from subscription agreements of $421,000 less commissions of $6,000.

During the six months ended December 31, 2023, the Company entered into subscription agreements to sell 28,589 units at a price of $1.60, with each unit consisting of one share of the Company’s restricted common stock and one half warrant to purchase one share of the Company’s restricted common stock for $2.40 per share with an expiry date of June 30, 2024, and pursuant thereto, the Company issued 28,589 units for total proceeds of $45,742.

During the six months ended December 31, 2023, the Company entered into subscription agreements to sell 75,000 units at a price of $1.00, with each unit consisting of one share of the Company’s restricted common stock and one half warrant to purchase one share of the Company’s restricted common stock for $1.25 per share with an expiry date of December 31, 2024, and pursuant thereto, the Company issued 75,000 units for total proceeds of $75,000.

During the six months ended December 31, 2023, the Company entered into subscription agreements to sell 300,000 units at a price of $1.00, with each unit consisting of one share of the Company’s restricted common stock and one half warrant to purchase one share of the Company’s restricted common stock for $1.25 per share with an expiry date of December 31, 2024, and pursuant thereto, the Company issued 300,000 units for total proceeds of $300,000.

During the six months ended December 31, 2023, the Company received gross cash proceeds of $28,500 from the exercise of 38,000 warrants to purchase 38,000 shares of the Company’s common stock at $0.75 per share.

During the six months ended December 31, 2023, the Company received gross cash proceeds of $250,000 from a convertible bridge loan.

As of December 31, 2023, the Company has debt obligations consisting of: a) deferred compensation of $1,225,000, b) convertible notes payable – affiliates of $1, 740,000, and c) current note payable including accrued interest of $255,000

Plan of Operations and Outlook

As of December 31, 2023, the Company had cash of approximately $385,000.

The Company continues to explore sources of additional financing to satisfy its current operating requirements as it is not currently generating any significant revenues. During fiscal years 2023 and 2022 (as a whole), the Company faced less difficulty in raising equity funding (but was subject to substantial equity dilution from the larger amounts of equity financing during the periods) than was experienced in the prior 3 years. However, this positive trend did not continue during the last quarter of the 2023 fiscal year and first and second quarters of the current fiscal year (and the third quarter through the date of this report). The Company raised only raised very limited equity funds during such periods to meet its some of its immediate needs, therefore, the Company needs to raise substantial additional funds in the upcoming periods. The Company has faced substantial increases in demand for capital and operating expenditures for the fiscal year 2024 to date (and we anticipate such increased demands will continue during the remainder of the 2024 fiscal year and periods thereafter) as it moves toward commercial implementation of its 3G Tech and development of JVs (including costs associated with additions of personnel to carry out the business activities of the Company) and, therefore, is likely to continue to face, significant cash flow management issues due to limited capital resources and working capital constraints which had only recently begun to be alleviated. As a result, the Company has faced, and continues to face, significant cash flow management challenges due to material working capital constraints. To partially mitigate these working capital constraints, the Company's core senior management and some key employees and consultants have been deferring most of their cash compensation and/or are accepting compensation in the form of securities of the Company and members of the Company's senior management have from time-to-time made loans to the Company in the past and may do so in future periods. The Company continues to explore sources of additional financing (including potential agreements with strategic partners – both financial and ag-industry) to satisfy its current and future operating and capital expenditure requirements as it is not currently generating any significant revenues.

During the years ended June 30, 2023 and 2022, the Company received gross proceeds of approximately $4,038,000 and $1,737,000, respectively, from the sale of its debt and equity securities. The Company paid commissions on the exercise of warrants in the amount of $86,000 and $19,000 in 2023 and 2022, respectively.

During the six months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 the Company received total proceeds of approximately $443,000 and $602,000, respectively, from the sale of its debt and equity securities. During the six months ended December 31, 2023 the Company received proceeds of $250,000 from a convertible bridge loan but the provider of the bridge loan during November 2023 (and on an ongoing basis since such time) breached its contractual obligation/binding subscription agreement to fund an additional $1,250,000 to the Company, which breach (combined with management stresses related to the final illness and passing of Dominic Bassani, Bion’s COO and former CEO, and required management transitions) has created substantial cash flow difficulties for the Company which are ongoing. See Notes 6 and 9 Bridge Loan/Default. During the current quarter, the Company has entered into discussions/negotiations with its largest creditor that have resulted in an agreement regarding repayment terms. Related discussions are taking place with other creditors. See Note 10 Subsequent Events.

The Company anticipates substantial increases in demand for capital and operating expenditures for the balance of fiscal year 2024 (and we anticipate such increased demands will continue during the 2025 fiscal year and periods thereafter) as it moves toward commercial implementation of its 3G Tech and development of JVs (including costs associated with additions of management and operating personnel to carry out the business activities of the Company) and, therefore, is likely to continue to face, significant cash flow management issues due to limited capital resources and working capital constraints which had only recently begun to be alleviated during the 2023 fiscal year. As a result, the Company has faced, and continues to face, significant cash flow management challenges due to material working capital constraints. To partially mitigate these working capital constraints, the Company's core senior management and some key employees and consultants have been deferring most of their cash compensation and/or are accepting compensation in the form of securities of the Company and members of the Company's senior management have from time-to-time made loans to the year ended June 30, 2018, senior management and certain core employees and consultants agreed to a one-time extinguishment of liabilities owed by the Company which in aggregate totaled $2,404,000. Additionally, the Company made reductions in its personnel during the years ended June 30, 2014 and 2015 and again during the year ended June 30, 2018. As set forth in detail elsewhere herein, during the year ended June 30, 2023 senior management (and family members) who held convertible obligations of the Company adjusted the terms of their outstanding notes and agreed to debt modifications that reduced of the Company’s debt by $3,516,000 and increased shareholders equity by the same amount. The constraints on available resources have had, and continue to have, negative effects on the pace and scope of the Company’s efforts to operate and develop its business.

The Company has had to delay payment of trade obligations and has had to economize in many ways that have potentially negative consequences. If the Company is able to raise needed funds during the remainder of the current fiscal year (and subsequent periods), of which there is no assurance, management will not need to consider deeper cuts (including additional personnel cuts) and/or curtailment of ongoing activities including research and development activities. The Company will need to obtain additional capital to fund its operations and technology development, to satisfy existing creditors, to develop Projects (including the Initial Project, JV Projects (including the Dalhart, Olson and DVG Projects), and the Kreider 2 facility) and CAFO Retrofit waste remediation systems. The Company anticipates that it will seek to raise from $20,000,000 to $80,000,000 or more debt and/or equity through joint ventures, strategic partnerships and/or sale of its equity securities (common, preferred and/or hybrid) and/or debt (including convertible) securities, and/or through use of ‘rights’ and/or warrants (new and/or existing) and/or through other means during the next twelve months. However, as discussed above, there is no assurance, especially in light of the difficulties the Company has experienced in many recent years and the extremely unsettled capital markets that presently exist for small companies like us, that the Company will be able to obtain the funds that it needs to stay in business, complete its technology development or to successfully develop its business and Projects.

There is no realistic likelihood that funds required during the next twelve months (or in the periods immediately thereafter) for the Company’s basic operations, the Initial Project and/or proposed JVs and/or Projects will be generated from operations. Therefore, the Company will need to raise sufficient funds from external sources such as debt or equity financings or other potential sources. The lack of sufficient additional capital resulting from the inability to generate cash flow from operations and/or to raise capital from external sources would force the Company to substantially curtail or cease operations and would, therefore, have a material adverse effect on its business. Further, there can be no assurance that any such required funds, if available, will be available on attractive terms or that they will not have a significantly dilutive effect on the Company’s existing shareholders. All of these factors have been exacerbated by the extremely limited and unsettled credit and capital markets presently existing for small companies like Bion.

Covid-19 pandemic related matters:

CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS

We have the following material contractual obligations (in addition to employment and consulting agreements with management and employees):

The Company entered into an agreement on September 23, 2021, to lease approximately four acres of land near Fair Oaks, Indiana, for the development site of its Initial Project.

The future minimum lease payment under noncancelable operating lease with terms greater than one year as of December 31, 2023:


From January 2024 to December 2024	75,000
Undiscounted cash flow	75,000
Less imputed interest	(3,909	)
Total	71,091

OFF-BALANCE SHEET ARRANGEMENTS

The Company does not have any off-balance sheet arrangements (as that term is defined in Item 303 of Regulation S-K) that are reasonably likely to have a current or future material effect on our financial condition, revenue or expenses, results of operations, liquidity, capital expenditures or capital resources.

Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk.

Not applicable.

Item 4. Controls and Procedures.

(a) Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures.

The term "disclosure controls and procedures" is defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"). This term refers to the controls and procedures of a company that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by a company in the reports that it files under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the required time periods. Our Chief Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer has evaluated the effectiveness of the design and operations of our disclosure controls and procedures as of the end of the period covered by this quarterly report, and has concluded that, as of that date, our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective at ensuring that required information will be disclosed on a timely basis in our reports filed under the Exchange Act, as a result of the material weakness in internal control over financial reporting discussed in Item 9(A) of our Form 10-K for the year ended June 30, 2023.

(b) Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting.

No change in our internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act) occurred during the period covered by this report that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

PART II – OTHER INFORMATION

Item 1. Legal Proceedings.

The Company is not currently involved (and has not been involved in recent periods) in any litigation matters except:

A:Website: Domain Sale/Resolved Litigation/Hacking/Theft

On March 23, 2022 the Company entered into an agreement to sell domain name <biontech.com> and other related assets to BioNTech SE (“BNTX”) for the sum of $950,000 (before expenses related to the transaction) which sale was closed/completed on April 2, 2022 with a one-time gain of $902,490. The Company has been using www.bionenviro.com as its primary website (and domain) since July 2021 due to the events described below. The Company has not been using biontech.com as its primary website since July 2021 so domain name <biontech.com> no longer represented a core asset of the Company.

No shareholder, sensitive or confidential information was available to be breached which has limited damages from the hack/theft to date. However, the Company’s email operations were subject to short term disruption and expenses were incurred related to the matter including legal fees.

B: Dissolution of Bion PA1, LLC (“PA1”)

PA1, the Company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, was dissolved on December 29, 2021 on which date it owed approximately $10,010,000 under the terms of the Pennvest Loan related to the construction of the Kreider 1 System including accrued interest and late charges totaling $2,255,802 as of that date. Through the date of the dissolution, PA1 was a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company and its assets and liabilities were included on the Company’s condensed consolidated balance sheet. At September 30, 2021, PA1’s total assets were $297 and its total liabilities were $10,154,334 (including the Pennvest Loan in the aggregate amount of $9,939,148, accounts payable of $214,235 and accrued liabilities of $950) which sums were included in the Company’s condensed consolidated balance sheet in its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2021. Subsequent to the dissolution of PA1, its assets and liabilities are no longer consolidated and included in the Company’s balance sheet. As of December 29, 2021, PA1’s total assets were nil and its total liabilities were $10,234,501 (including the Pennvest Loan in the aggregate amount of $10,009,802, accounts payable of $212,263 and accrued liabilities of $12,436. The net amount of $10,234,501 was recognized as a gain on the legal dissolution of a subsidiary in other (income) expense.

As background, the terms of the Pennvest Loan provided for funding of up to $7,754,000 which was to be repaid by interest-only payments for three years, followed by an additional ten-year amortization of principal. The Pennvest Loan accrued interest at 2.547% per annum for years 1 through 5 and 3.184% per annum for years 6 through maturity. The Pennvest Loan required minimum annual principal payments of approximately $5,886,000 in fiscal years 2013 through 2021, and $846,000 in fiscal year 2022, $873,000 in fiscal year 2023 and $149,000 in fiscal year 2024. The Pennvest Loan was collateralized by PA1’s Kreider 1 System and by a pledge of all revenues generated from Kreider 1 including, but not limited to, revenues generated from nutrient reduction credit sales and by-product sales. In addition, in consideration for the excess credit risk associated with the project, Pennvest was entitled to participate in the profits from Kreider 1 calculated on a net cash flow basis, as defined. The Company has incurred interest expense related to the Pennvest Loan of $123,444 and $246,887 for the years ended June 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Based on the limited development of the depth and breadth of the Pennsylvania nutrient reduction credit market, PA1 commenced discussions and negotiations with Pennvest related to forbearance and/or re-structuring the obligations under the Pennvest Loan during 2013. In the context of such negotiations, PA1 elected not to make interest payments to Pennvest on the Pennvest Loan since January 2013. Additionally, the PA1 did not make any principal payments, which were to begin in fiscal 2013, and, therefore, the Company classified the Pennvest Loan as a current liability through the dissolution of PA1 on December 29, 2021.

During August 2012, the Company provided Pennvest (and the PADEP) with data demonstrating that the Kreider 1 system met the ‘technology guaranty’ standards which were incorporated in the Pennvest financing documents and, as a result, the Pennvest Loan has been solely an obligation of PA1 since that date. Note, however, the Company’s condensed consolidated balance sheet as of June 30, 2021 reflects the Pennvest Loan as a liability of $9,868,495 despite the fact that the obligation (if any) was solely an obligation of PA1.

On September 25, 2014, the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority (“Pennvest”) exercised its right to declare the PA1’s Pennvest Loan in default, accelerated the Pennvest Loan and demanded that PA1 pay $8,137,117 (principal, interest plus late charges) on or before October 24, 2014. PA1 did not make the payment and did/does not have the resources to make the payments demanded by Pennvest. PA1 commenced discussions and negotiations with Pennvest concerning this matter but Pennvest rejected PA1’s proposal made during the fall of 2014. PA1 made a final proposal to Pennvest during September 2021 which proposal was also rejected by Pennvest. PA1 provided Pennvest with its financial statements (which include a description of system status) annually. During the 2021 fiscal year, Pennvest’s auditors requested a ‘corrective action plan’ and PA1 informed Pennvest that “… there is no viable corrective action plan for the Pennvest Loan (‘Loan’). The facility funded by the Loan has been shut down for many years (which has been disclosed in the annual financial reports to Pennvest and in public filings by the parent of Bion PA 1, LLC) and the technology utilized in the facility is now obsolete. The facility has not been commercially operated for approximately six years and has generated zero income. We recommend that Pennvest take appropriate steps to remove and sell the equipment.” Pennvest responded favorably to the approach of selling the equipment.

PA1 has made no payments to vendors or other creditors in connection with the dissolution other than the payment to Pennvest described above. No distributions or payments of any kind have ever been made to the Company, the sole member of PA1, since inception and no payment will be made to the Company or any affiliate in connection with the dissolution.

C: Bank Account Hacking

On June 23, 2023, an officer of the Company with personal accounts with Signature Bank was hacked and $75,000 was transferred from the Company’s accounts at Signature Bank to the officer’s personal accounts. The bank was notified and all Company accounts at Signature Bank were placed on hold. Subsequently, the funds were released and transferred back to the Company prior to June 30, 2023, the end of the fiscal year, and there were no losses incurred. The Company has reviewed the authorized individuals on all accounts and further limited access after the hacking incident.

D: Convertible Bridge Loan/Default

On September 28, 2023 the Company entered into an agreement for a $1,500,000 bridge loan and executed documents including a convertible promissory note (“Note”) and a binding subscription agreement (“Subscription”) (collectively the Note and the Subscription are the “Bridge Loan Agreements”) with SEB LLC, a non-affiliated party (“Lender”). The Bridge Loan Agreements require the Lender to loan the Company $1,500,000 in six monthly tranches of $250,000 commencing October 2023. All sums advanced under the Bridge Loan Agreements (and accrued interest thereon) would due and payable (with interest accrued at 8% per annum) on October 1, 2024 if not previously converted into securities of the Company. The Note is convertible at $1.00 per unit, at the sole election of the Lender, into units consisting of one share of the Company’s common stock and a warrant to purchase one half share. The initial $250,000 tranche was received by the Company on October 5, 2023. However, no further funds were received by the Company from the Lender. During early November 2023 the Lender informed the Company verbally that it did not intend to fulfill its obligations pursuant to the Bridge Loan Agreements and since such time the Lender has been in default (“Default”). The Default (which is continuing) has created substantial problems for and materially damaged the Company and rendered the Company unable to meet its current creditor obligations on a timely basis. The Company is currently evaluating its rights regarding the Default by the Lender. See Notes re Bridge Loan/Default.

The Company currently is not involved in any other material litigation or similar events.

Item 1A. Risk Factors.

Not applicable.

Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds.

During the quarter ended December 31, 2023, the Company sold the following restricted securities: a) 375,000 units at $1.00 per unit consisting of one share of the Company’s restricted common stock and ½ warrant to purchase one share of the Company’s restricted common stock at $1.25 until December 31, 2024 and received gross proceeds of $375,000 and b) 449,261 shares were issued pursuant to our 2006 Consolidated Incentive Plan (“Plan”) upon the conversion of debt and c) 265,639 shares were issued when 321,554 warrants were exercised (using the “cashless exercise” provision of the warrants) and d) 36,506 shares were issued for consulting services.

Item 3. Defaults Upon Senior Securities.

Not applicable.

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures.

Not applicable.

Item 5. Other Information.

Not applicable.

Item 6. Exhibits.

(a)

Exhibits required by Item 601 of Regulation S-K.

Exhibit		Incorporated by Reference			Filed/Furnished
No.	Description	Form	Exhibit	Filing Date	Herewith
31.1*	Certification of Principal Executive Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act				X
31.2*	Certification of Principal Accounting Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act				X
32.1**	Certification of Principal Executive Officer Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act				X
32.2**	Certification of Principal Accounting Officer Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act				X
101.INS*	Inline XBRL Instance Document - the instance document does not appear in the Interactive Data File because its XBRL tags are embedded within the Inline XBRL document.				X
101.SCH*	Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document				X
101.CAL*	Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document				X
101.DEF*	Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document				X
101.LAB*	Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document				X
101.PRE*	Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document				X
104*	Inline XBRL for the cover page of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, included in the Exhibit 101 Inline XBRL Document Set.				X

*	Filed herewith.

**	Furnished herewith.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

		BION ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGIES, INC.


Date: February 14, 2024	By:	*/s/ Mark A. Smith*
		Mark A. Smith, President and Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)



Date: February 14, 2024	By:	*/s/ William O’Neill*
		William O’Neill, Chief Executive Officer

BION ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGIES INC - Quarter Report: 2023 December (Form 10-Q)

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