Progressive Planet Hires Seasoned CTO

KAMLOOPS, BC, Sept. 29, 2025 /CNW/ - Progressive Planet (TSXV: PLAN) (OTCQB: ASHXF) ("Progressive Planet", "PLAN", or the "Company") is proud to provide a detailed shareholder update.

PLAN adds accomplished CTO and expands presence in Calgary

Progressive Planet is pleased to announce that Dr. Doug Brown has joined the Progressive Planet Group of Companies. Dr. Brown has assumed the role of President and CTO of Progressive Planet Alberta, a wholly owned subsidiary of Progressive Planet Solutions.

In conjunction with the hiring of Dr. Brown, Progressive Planet Alberta is opening a new cement materials research lab in Calgary. The cement lab located in Kamloops will remain fully functional and will continue to operate as usual and will continue to be the lab which supports the PozGlass Pilot Plant which is under construction. It will perform all quality control testing of PozGlass produced at the pilot plant. The new Calgary lab will enable the Plan Group of Companies to accelerate product development on multiple new, early-stage cementitious material initiatives.

Dr. Brown has been on the Advisory Board of Progressive Planet since May of 2020. With this new full-time role, Dr. Brown is responsible to open and operate the new C-Quester^™ Cement Lab in Calgary. In addition, Dr. Brown will oversee all research and development activities for the PLAN Group of Companies.

Dr. Brown will also oversee all grant and non-dilutive funding applications for the PLAN Group of Companies. Over the last four years, Dr. Brown has been the author or co-author of grant applications that have resulted in over $10M in approved grants for combined federal and provincial funding from technology support programs in Canada including SDTC, Ngen, Alberta Innovates, Emissions Reduction Alberta, and IRAP. As a consultant to Progressive Planet, Doug was the co-author of grant applications which resulted in Progressive Planet's announced grants of up to $5.7 million in the last year.

Dr. Brown holds a Bachelor of Science from McGill University and a Ph.D. in Chemistry with a focus on green materials from the University of Calgary. Dr. Brown is the inventor or co-inventor on over ten patents and/or patents pending and has published many peer-reviewed papers on subject matters including carbon capture and waste-to-cement.

In 2022, Dr. Brown was recognized by Avenue Magazine as a Top 40 under 40 Recipient and his employer was a finalist in Milestone 1 of the world's largest X-Prize at the time, a $100M global competition supported by Elon Musk on carbon removal technologies.

Dr. Brown started his career as a research scientist at the University of Calgary working on Direct-Air-Capture (DAC) where he was part of the team of one of Canada's most successful clean tech unicorns, Carbon Engineering Group. Carbon Engineering Group was eventually acquired by Occidental Petroleum in 2023 for approximately $1.1 billion USD.

More recently, Dr. Brown was part of the founding team of ZS2 Technologies, where he led the development of various magnesium-based cement products as the CTO.

"I am delighted to welcome Doug to his new full-time role with the PLAN Group of Companies. In the past, Doug joined a cleantech company at its inception and later enjoyed the benefits of his early involvement when the company was sold for $1.1 billion USD. Doug knows the effort it takes to grow a company and has already been instrumental in helping build shareholder value for Progressive Planet. Doug adds incremental depth to our world class team of professionals," stated CEO, Steve Harpur.

"When I first met Steve in 2018, he cold called me and asked if he could drop off a sample of natural pozzolan powder at my place of work in Calgary. He had a clear vision of building a company using industrial minerals to create products for a healthier planet. Today, I am delighted to focus all my professional efforts into working with the team to grow this company by creating and selling products that support sustainable living and sustainable construction," stated Dr. Brown.

Progressive Planet Alberta has been the wholly owned research subsidiary of Progressive Planet Solutions Inc. since 2018, The Progressive Planet Group of Companies has a growing number of team members who reside in Calgary including an account executive, a director, and now Dr. Doug Brown. Progressive Planet Alberta expects to lease space in Calgary that will host our second cement lab as well as office space and a presentation room. Progressive Planet Alberta will be hiring cement technician(s) before the end of 2025 once it has equipped the new lab with the necessary equipment for it to operate.

About Progressive Planet:

Progressive Planet, with its head office based in Kamloops, British Columbia, is redefining sustainability with our Products for a Healthy Planet^™. By leveraging owned mineral assets and recycled materials, we develop patented and patent-pending innovations that promote a healthier planet.

Our C-Quester^™ Centre of Sustainable Solutions leads advancements in low-carbon cement technologies. Progressive Planet's products are proudly available in over 10,000 retail locations across North America. For more information, visit progressiveplanet.com.

Progressive Planet provides regular information for investors on its website: progressiveplanet.com/investors/. This includes press releases and other information about financial performance, patents filed, and information on corporate governance.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-Looking Statements:
Certain statements in this release are forward-looking statements, which reflect the expectations of management regarding the matters described herein including statements regarding the development of future products. Forward-looking statements consist of statements that are not purely historical, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations, or intentions regarding the future. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance, or developments to differ materially from those contained in the statements. No assurance can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will occur or, if they do occur, what benefits the Company will obtain from them. These forward-looking statements reflect management's current views and are based on certain expectations, estimates and assumptions which may prove to be incorrect. A number of risks and uncertainties could cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including factors beyond the Company's control. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release.

Disclaimer:
This news release, required by Canadian laws, does not constitute an offer of securities and is not for distribution or dissemination outside Canada.

SOURCE Progressive Planet Solutions Inc.

For further information or investor relations inquiries, please contact: Steve Harpur, CEO, 1 [phone], [email protected]