2012 Clean Energy Challenge Winner Brings Total Funding to $2.4 Million for Commercializing Disruptive Gas Storage Technology

CHICAGO – June X, 2013 – The Clean Energy Trust congratulates 2013 Clean Energy Challenge winner, NuMat Technologies, on closing a $2 million seed round to commercialize its disruptive gas storage and separations technologies.

The GOOSE Society of Texas, a nonprofit angel network, led the round, which included participation from Owl Investment Group. Both investors are primary funders of the Rice Business Plan Competition, at which NuMat won more than $800,000 in 2012.

NuMat's materials technology enables fundamental performance shifts in the gas storage and separations industries that could dramatically increase the storage capacity of gas tanks.

NuMat earned top honors at the Clean Energy Trust's 2012 Clean Energy Challenge, followed by wins at the inaugural U.S. Dept. of Energy National Clean Technology Business Plan Competition and the 2012 Global Venture Lab Investment Competition.

"Investors understand the tremendous potential in NuMat's technologies and are ready to put their faith and funds in this remarkable company," said Amy Francetic, Clean Energy Trust CEO. "We are gratified to help NuMat to get their game changing technologies into the marketplace."

NuMat recently moved into a new research facility at the Illinois Science and Technology Park in Skokie, Ill., and named a Board of Directors, which includes co-founders Ben Hernandez and Omar Farha along with Luka Ercep, former CEO of Simbol Materials, and Robert Winters, DaVinci Capital Partners principal.

About NuMat Technologies

NuMat Technologies is commercializing nanoporous materials that can increase gas storage capacity by up to 500,000 percent. Founded in 2012, the company is a Northwestern University spin-out founded on groundbreaking research focused on the computation design and synthesis of metal organic frames (MOFs). NuMat's proprietary computational approach allows it to rapidly design and synthesize novel structures using patent-protected chemical processes.

About the Clean Energy Trust

The Clean Energy Trust was founded by prominent business and civic leaders to accelerate the pace of clean energy innovation in the Midwest. The trust is supported by grants from the U.S. Department of Energy, the Small Business Administration and donations from more than 70 investors, corporations, universities, foundations and trade groups. For more information, visit www.cleanenergytrust.org.