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VANCOUVER, BC – TheNewswire - May 19, 2026 – Plaid Technologies Inc. (CSE: STIF) (OTC: STIFF) (FRA: 5QX0) (“Plaid” or the “Company”), a Canadian materials science company, today announced significant progress in the development of its graphene-infused concrete composite (Plaid-GCC) technology, demonstrating unprecedented performance improvements in laboratory testing as the global infrastructure sector faces mounting pressure for faster, more sustainable building solutions.
With the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Pub.L.117-58)1 driving unprecedented construction activity and new EU carbon border taxes taking effect in 2026, the construction industry is actively seeking materials that deliver both enhanced performance and reduced environmental impact. Plaid-GCC directly addresses these dual challenges through advanced nanomaterial engineering.
"We're witnessing a perfect storm in the construction materials market," said Guy Bourgeois, Chief Executive Officer of Plaid Technologies. "Infrastructure spending is at historic highs, labor shortages are driving time-to-completion pressures, and increasingly stringent building requirements coupled with new carbon regulations are making traditional cement increasingly expensive. Our laboratory results indicate that graphene-enhanced concrete will be transformational—potentially essential for contractors who need to build faster, cleaner, stronger."
Promising Laboratory Results
Preliminary laboratory testing indicates that Plaid-GCC could deliver significant improvements over conventional Portland cement:
33% faster curing time: Early results suggest regulatory-compliant strength could be achieved in 8-10 hours versus 24-32 hours for conventional cement.
50% carbon reduction potential: Projected to significantly lower CO2 emissions compared to traditional cement production.
30-50% material efficiency: Testing indicates far less concrete may be required for equivalent structural performance.
Enhanced durability: Laboratory samples show lower permeability than conventional cement, with higher flexural strength.
Addressing Critical Market Needs
The timing of Plaid's commercial launch aligns with several converging industry pressures:
Environmental Regulations: Cement production accounts for approximately 8% of global CO2 emissions2. New carbon pricing mechanisms and environmental standards are driving demand for lower-carbon alternatives.
Labor and Time Pressures: Project timeline pressures make faster-curing materials increasingly valuable. Plaid-GCC's accelerated strength development can reduce project timelines by days or weeks.
Abandoned Well Crisis: With millions of orphaned oil and gas wells requiring environmental remediation, superior plugging materials are essential for groundwater protection3.
Target Applications and Market Opportunity
Upon successful field validation, Plaid Technologies plans to focus on three high-value market segments:
Oil & Gas Well Cementing: Superior sealing properties and faster operations and lower costs in well plugging and abandonment projects, with potential applications in the growing orphaned well remediation market.
Infrastructure Construction: Bridges, tunnels, and critical infrastructure projects where accelerated construction timelines and extended service life could potentially offset premium pricing.
Specialty Industrial Applications: Marine construction (eg. saltwater environments), chemical facilities, and other demanding environments requiring exceptional durability and chemical resistance.
Research Foundation and Validation Progress
Plaid Technologies' development approach builds on extensive peer-reviewed research demonstrating graphene's potential benefits in concrete applications. The Company has conducted preliminary testing in collaboration with certified laboratories and is working toward future certifications from major standards organizations.
Future Partnerships and Commercialization Plans
The Company plans to develop partnerships with established construction materials companies, focusing initially on the North American market before potential international expansion. Plaid Technologies is exploring both direct supply opportunities for specialty applications and licensing partnerships that could enable broader market penetration through existing distribution networks.
About Plaid Technologies Inc.
Plaid Technologies Inc. is a Canadian advanced materials company focused on the development and commercialization of graphene-enhanced technologies, including applications in construction, energy, and industrial materials.
On Behalf of the Board of Directors
"Guy Bourgeois"
Guy Bourgeois
Director & Chief Executive Officer
Telephone: 1-800-585-7517
Email: info@plaidtechnologiesinc.com
Website: https://www.plaidtechnologiesinc.com
Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains “forward-looking information” and “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking information in this news release includes, but is not limited to, statements regarding: the Company’s graphene-infused concrete composite technology, including Plaid-GCC; the potential performance, curing time, carbon reduction, material efficiency, durability, permeability, flexural strength and other benefits of Plaid-GCC; the ability of the Company to validate preliminary laboratory results through field trials, third-party testing or certification; the potential use of Plaid-GCC in oil and gas well cementing, orphaned well remediation, infrastructure construction, marine construction, chemical facilities and other specialty industrial applications; the Company’s plans to pursue certifications from major standards organizations; the Company’s plans to develop partnerships with established construction materials companies; the potential for direct supply opportunities, licensing partnerships, broader market penetration, North American commercialization and international expansion; the potential market opportunity for advanced cement and concrete materials; and the anticipated impact of infrastructure spending, labour shortages, project timeline pressures, carbon pricing mechanisms, carbon border taxes and environmental regulations on demand for lower-carbon construction materials.
Forward-looking information is based on a number of assumptions that management considers reasonable as of the date of this news release, including assumptions that: the Company’s preliminary laboratory results are repeatable and capable of being validated through additional testing, field trials and certification processes; Plaid-GCC will continue to demonstrate favourable performance characteristics under relevant testing conditions; the Company will be able to advance the development, scale-up, certification and commercialization of Plaid-GCC on commercially reasonable terms; industry participants, potential customers, research institutions, certified laboratories and standards organizations will continue to support or engage with the Company’s development efforts; demand for faster-curing, lower-carbon and higher-performance construction materials will continue to grow; infrastructure spending programs, environmental regulations, carbon pricing mechanisms and construction industry pressures will continue to support market interest in advanced cement and concrete technologies; and the Company will have access to sufficient capital, personnel, technical expertise, facilities, raw materials and commercial opportunities to pursue its business objectives.
Although the Company believes that the assumptions and expectations reflected in such forward-looking information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: the risk that preliminary laboratory results may not be replicated in additional testing, field trials or commercial applications; the risk that Plaid-GCC may not achieve anticipated curing, strength, carbon reduction, material efficiency, durability, permeability, flexural strength or other performance characteristics; risks associated with research and development, product scale-up, manufacturing, quality control, certification and regulatory acceptance; the risk that the Company may be unable to obtain required certifications, approvals, validations or customer acceptance; the risk that potential industry partners, customers or licensees may not enter into agreements with the Company on acceptable terms or at all; competition from existing and emerging cement, concrete and construction material technologies; changes in infrastructure spending, environmental regulations, carbon pricing, carbon border taxes, construction activity, market demand or customer preferences; availability and cost of graphene nanoplatelets, cement, aggregates and other inputs; technical, operational, financing and commercialization risks; and general economic, market and industry conditions.
Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The forward-looking information contained in this news release is made as of the date hereof, and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws.
1 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Pub. L. 117-58, 135 Stat. 429 (Nov. 15, 2021); European Commission, Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), Regulation (EU) 2023/956.
2 International Energy Agency (IEA), "Cement," IEA, Paris, https://www.iea.org/energy-system/industry/cement (accessed May 2026).
3 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990–2022," EPA 430-R-24-004 (April 2024), https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/inventory-us-greenhouse-gas-emissions-and-sinks.
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