Company: VGASW
Filing Date: 2025-03-28
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001628280-25-015480
Chunk: 46

Company: Verde Clean Fuels, Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-03-28
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1A
Chunk 46
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 in the incumbent petroleum-based industry as well as those in the emerging renewable fuels industry. The petroleum-based industry benefits from a large established infrastructure, production capability and business relationships. The greater resources and financial strength in this industry provide significant competitive advantages that we may not be able to overcome in a timely manner.

Our ability to compete successfully will depend on our ability to develop proprietary products that reach the market in a timely manner and are technologically superior to and/or are less expensive than other products on the market. Many of our competitors have substantially greater production, financial, research and development, personnel and marketing resources than we do. In addition, certain of our competitors may also benefit from local government subsidies and other incentives that are not available to us. As a result, our competitors may be able to develop competing and/or superior technologies and processes, and compete more aggressively and sustain that competition over a longer period of time than we could. Our technologies and products may be rendered obsolete or uneconomical by technological advances or entirely different approaches developed by one or more of our competitors. As more companies develop new intellectual property in our markets, the possibility of a competitor acquiring patent or other rights that may limit our business or operations increases, which could lead to litigation. Furthermore, to secure purchase agreements from certain customers, we may be required to enter into exclusive supply contracts, which could limit our ability to further expand our sales to new customers. Likewise, major potential customers may be locked into long-term, exclusive agreements with our competitors, which could inhibit our ability to compete for their business.

Our ability to compete successfully also depends on our ability to identify, hire, attract, train and develop and retain highly qualified personnel. We may not be able to recruit and hire a sufficient number of such personnel which may adversely affect our results of operations, sales capabilities and financial position. New hires require significant training and time before they achieve full productivity and the ability to attract, hire and retain them depends on our ability to provide competitive compensation. There is significant competition for personnel with strong sales skills and technical knowledge. We may be unable to hire or retain sufficient numbers of qualified individuals and such failure could adversely affect our business, including the execution of our proposed growth projects.

In addition, various governments have recently announced a number of spending programs focused on the development of clean technologies, including alternatives to petroleum-based fuels and the reduction of carbon emissions. Such spending programs could lead to increased funding for our competitors or a rapid increase in the number of competitors within those markets.

We also may face substantial competition as we develop our