PureCycle Technologies (PCT) Risk Analysis

The construction and commissioning of any new project, including pre-processing and purification facilities, is dependent on a number of contingencies, many of which are beyond PCT's control. There is also a risk that significant unanticipated costs or delays could arise due to, among other things, errors or omissions, unanticipated or concealed construction site conditions, including subsurface conditions, unforeseen technical issues or increases in plant and equipment costs, insufficiency of water supply and other utility infrastructure, or inadequate contractual arrangements. Should significant unanticipated costs arise, this could have a material adverse impact on PCT's business, financial performance and operations. No assurance can be given that construction will be completed, or will be completed without further delay.

PCT's global expansion model will require sourcing feedstock from suppliers around the world. The U.S. federal government or other governmental bodies may propose changes to international trade agreements, tariffs, taxes and other government rules and regulations. For example, the new U.S. presidential administration has announced substantial tariffs on foreign imports into the United States, particularly from China, Canada, and Mexico. If any restrictions or significant increases in costs or tariffs are imposed related to feedstock sourced from Asia, Europe, or elsewhere, as a result of amendments to existing trade agreements, and PCT's supply costs consequently increase, PCT may be required to raise PureFive™ resin product prices, which may result in decreased margins, the loss of customers, and a material adverse effect on PCT's financial results. The extent to which PCT's margins could decrease in response to any future tariffs is uncertain. PCT continues to evaluate the impact of effective trade agreements, as well as other recent changes in foreign trade policy on its supply chain, costs, sales and profitability, which could negatively impact PCT's business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. Any such impact could be material.

PCT has agreed to one or more strategic partnership term sheets to enter into offtake agreements with a term of 20 years, whereby PCT guarantees the PureFive™ resin products to meet specific criteria for color and opacity. There is no odor specification in the offtake agreements. Any such changes to the strategic partnership term sheet may require modifications to PCT's executed offtake agreements for both the Ironton Facility and the Augusta Facility. Pursuant to the strategic partnership term sheet and PCT's executed offtake agreements, PCT must provide samples of the product to each customer so that the customer may determine if the product meets specifications, regulatory and legal requirements, the customer's internal policies, and technical, safety, and other qualifications for PureFive™ resin use in the customer's products. The inability of PCT to provide product of sufficient quantity and quality for sale pursuant to the offtake agreements is likely to materially adversely affect PCT's business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. The premium pricing depicted in recent offtake agreements may also adversely affect the acquisition of new customers. Furthermore, future market trends for recycled product, changes in brand owner strategies and changes in consumer preferences for circular or low carbon footprint products could reduce PCT's customer's demand for PureFive™ resin, which would be likely to materially adversely affect PCT's business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

PCT relies on its proprietary intellectual property, including registered trademarks and certain licensed intellectual property under the License Agreement and other documents to market, promote and sell PureFive™ resin products. PCT monitors and protects against activities that might infringe, dilute, or otherwise harm its trademarks and other intellectual property and relies on the relevant patent, trademark and other laws of the U.S. and other countries. However, PCT may be unable to prevent third parties from using its intellectual property without authorization. In addition, the laws of some non-U.S. jurisdictions, particularly those of certain emerging markets, provide less protection for PCT's proprietary rights than the laws of the U.S. and present greater risks of counterfeiting and other infringement. To the extent PCT cannot protect its intellectual property, unauthorized use and misuse of PCT's intellectual property could harm its competitive position and have a material adverse effect on PCT's business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. Despite PCT's efforts to protect these rights, unauthorized third parties may attempt to duplicate or copy the proprietary aspects of its technology and processes. PCT's competitors and other third parties independently may design around or develop similar technology or otherwise duplicate PCT's services or products such that PCT could not assert its intellectual property rights against them. In addition, PCT's contractual arrangements may not effectively prevent disclosure of its intellectual property and confidential and proprietary information or provide an adequate remedy in the event of an unauthorized disclosure. Measures in place may not prevent misappropriation or infringement of PCT's intellectual property or proprietary information and the resulting loss of competitive advantage, and PCT may be required to litigate to protect its intellectual property and proprietary information from misappropriation or infringement by others, which is expensive, could cause a diversion of resources and may not be successful. PCT also may encounter disputes from time to time concerning intellectual property rights of others, and it may not prevail in these disputes. Third parties may raise claims against PCT alleging that PCT, or consultants or other third parties retained or indemnified by PCT, infringe on their intellectual property rights. Some third-party intellectual property rights may be extremely broad, and it may not be possible for PCT to conduct its operations in such a way as to avoid all alleged violations of such intellectual property rights. Given the complex, rapidly changing and competitive technological and business environment in which PCT operates, and the potential risks and uncertainties of intellectual property-related litigation, an assertion of an infringement claim against PCT may cause PCT to spend significant amounts to defend the claim, even if PCT ultimately prevails, pay significant money damages, lose significant revenues, be prohibited from using the relevant systems, processes, technologies or other intellectual property (temporarily or permanently), cease offering certain products or services, or incur significant license, royalty or technology development expenses. Moreover, it has become common in recent years for individuals and groups to purchase intellectual property assets for the sole purpose of making claims of infringement and attempting to extract settlements from companies such as PCT. Even in instances where PCT believes that claims and allegations of intellectual property infringement against it are without merit, defending against such claims is time consuming and expensive and could result in the diversion of time and attention of PCT's management and employees. In addition, although in some cases a third party may have agreed to indemnify PCT for such costs, such indemnifying party may refuse or be unable to uphold its contractual obligations. In other cases, insurance may not cover potential claims of this type adequately or at all, and PCT may be required to pay monetary damages, which may be significant.

PCT is subject to extensive air, water and other environmental and workplace safety laws and regulations at the federal and state level. In addition, PCT will be subject to additional regulatory regimes upon expanding to new regions, including foreign regulatory authorities in the European Union such as the European Commission, the European Food Safety Authority, and similar regulatory authorities elsewhere, such as in Asia. Some of these laws require or may require PCT to operate under a number of environmental permits. These laws, regulations and permits can often require pollution control equipment or operational changes to limit actual or potential impacts to the environment. These laws, regulations and permit conditions may change and become more difficult to comply with. A violation of these laws, regulations or permit conditions could result in substantial fines, damages, criminal sanctions, permit revocations and/or a plant shutdown. In addition, proposals relating to recycling or recycling content and prohibitions on certain types of plastic products have been introduced and/or adopted in various jurisdictions, and we anticipate that similar legislation or regulations may be proposed in the future at federal, state, and local levels, both within the United States and elsewhere. Any such action may have a material adverse effect on PCT's business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Climate change resulting from increased concentrations of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere could present risks to PCT's future operations from natural disasters and extreme weather conditions, such as hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, wildfires or flooding. Such extreme weather conditions could pose physical risks to PCT's facilities and disrupt operation of PCT's supply chain and may impact operational costs. The impacts of climate change on global resources may result in scarcity, which could in the future impact PCT's ability to access sufficient equipment and materials in certain locations and result in increased costs. Additionally, concern over climate change could result in new legal or regulatory requirements designed to mitigate the effects of climate change on the environment. If such laws or regulations are more stringent than current legal or regulatory requirements, PCT may experience increased compliance burdens and costs to meet the regulatory obligations and may adversely affect raw material sourcing, manufacturing operations and the distribution of PCT's products. Likewise, a failure to comply with any current or future sustainability-related reporting requirements, as established by regulators in the United States, Europe, and beyond, may result in loss of business, regulatory penalties, litigation, and/or reputational damage.

PCT expects the price of its PureFive™ resin to continue to command a premium over the price of virgin resin and generally not be subject to fluctuations in the price of virgin polypropylene, but there is no guarantee of this result. While most offtake agreements have been executed using the Feedstock + pricing model, certain of PCT's legacy strategic partnership agreements' pricing formulas for PureFive™ resin use a pricing formula based on fixed and index pricing using historical and forecast pricing for virgin resin produced from fossil fuels. If PCT is unable to modify the legacy terms to a Feedstock+ pricing or should the modeled index price for virgin resin be materially lower than the cost to produce PureFive™ resin from waste polypropylene feedstock, PCT would have to absorb the cost difference between virgin resin and PureFive™ resin production for those customers, and PCT's business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may be materially adversely impacted.