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Exhibit 10.53
 Lease Agreement
 Basic Lease Information
 A. Lease Date
    
    December 16, 2002B. Landlord
    
    Clariant CorporationC. Landlords Address
    
    4000 Monroe Road, Charlotte, NC 28205D. Tenant
    
    SCR-Tech LLCE. Tenants Address
    
    11701 Mt. Holly Road, Charlotte, NC 28214F. Premises
    
    as identified on attached Schedule FG. Premises Address
    
    11701 Mt. Holly Road, Charlotte, NC 28214H. Buildings
    
    as identified on attached Schedule FI. Occupancy Dates
    
    as identified on attached Schedule IJ. Initial Term of Lease
    
    December 12, 2002 to June 30, 2012 (ten years); each Lease Year is from July 1 to June 30K. Renewal Terms
    
    two (2) sequential 5 year terms, at Tenants optionL. Base Rent
    
    as identified on attached Schedule LM. Adjustments to Base Rent
    
    as identified on attached Schedule MN. Security Deposit
    
    as identified on attached Schedule NO. Site Service Expenses
    
    Tenant pays as per attached Schedule OP. Tax Expenses
    
    Tenant pays as per attached Schedule PQ. Utility Expenses
    
    Tenant pays as per attached Schedule QR. Permitted Uses
    
    production, R&D, lab, storage and administration (office)S. Brokers, if any
    
    noneT. Right of Recession
    
    either party may rescind lease without any further
liability to the other party if WWTP re-permitting is
finally denied
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Schedules to Lease Agreement
 Schedule F Premises (see also Attachment 2  Plot Plan)
 Parcel A 
    
    Building 48 (28,800 sf)  ProductionParcel B1 
    
    Building 21A (13,280 sf)  WarehouseParcel B2 
    
    Building 21 (20,477 sf)  WarehouseParcel C 
    
    Building 37 South Wing (800 sf)  OfficeParcel D 
    
    Building 11 (400 sf)  Laboratory
 Schedule I Occupancy Dates
 Parcels A & C 
    
    on lease commencement date (July 1, 2002)Parcel B1 
    
    no later than June 30, 2003Parcel B2 
    
    at Tenant option to lease and right of first refusal within 3 yrs. (June 30, 2005)Parcel C 
    
    on lease commencement date (July 1, 2002), at Tenant option can expand to 3,185
sf within 1 yr. (June 30, 2003)Parcel D 
    
    at Tenant production start date (est. Oct. 2002)
 Schedule L Base Rent
 Initial Term:
    
    Parcel A
    
    $ 4.00/sf yr. ($115,200 per year, or $9,600.00 per month)Parcels B1 & B2
    
    $ 2.40/sf yr.Parcels C & D
    
    $11.00/sf yr. ($13,200 per year, or $1,100.00 per month)
 st st
 st
 Schedule M Adjustments to Base Rent
 st st
 Example: On July 1, 2004, the last published monthly CPI Index is for the month of May 2004,
and such CPI Index is 182. The corresponding CPl Index 12 months earlier is May 2003, and
such CPI Index is 176. The percentage change is
[182 -178] +176 = .034, or 3.40%. The annual Base Rent for the period July 1, 2004 to June 30,
2005 will be increased by 3.40%.
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Schedule N Security Deposit
     Schedule O Site Service Expenses
  st
 th
   Schedule P Tax Expenses
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Schedule Q Utility Expenses
  (a) Electricity:
    
    metered actual cost(b) Steam:
    
    metered, price = natural gas cost + fixed cost + mark-up(c) Proc. H2O:
    
    metered $1.75/1000 gal.(d) Waste H2O:
    
    $0.03/gal. during lease years 1 & 2 (July 1, 2002  June 30, 2004);
then $0.032/gal. during lease years 3 & 4 (July 1, 2004  June 30,
2006); then $0.035/gal. thereafter for remainder of Initial Term.(e) Permitting:
    
    Cost reimbursement for re-permitting WWTP (cost estimation: $18,000)(f) Solid waste:
    
    Production/office debris disposal included in Site Service Expense
fee (disposal of production chemical sludge by Tenant)(g) Admin. fee for (a)-(f):
    
    $350 per month
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LANDLORD: CLARIANT CORPORATION/s/ C Barnard
    
    12 -16-2002By:
    
    Signature
    
    DateTitle:
    
    Sr. V.P.LegalTENANT: SCR-TECH LLC/s/ Brigitte Hartenstein
    
    12 -16-2002By:
    
    Signature
    
    DateTitle:
    
    CFO
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First Amendment to Lease Clariant / SCR-Tech, LLC
    
    2/18/2004
 FIRST AMENDMENT TO LEASE AGREEMENT
 Amendment st Effective Date Landlord Tenant
 Recitals
 Lease
 Office Transferred Office Property
  NOW THEREFORE
 Additional Leased Space Office Surrendered Office
 Surrender of Surrendered Office




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Expense Adjustment:
 A)
    
    Schedule L  Base Rent. As of the Effective Date, the existing
reference to Base Rent for Parcels C&D in Schedule L shall be deleted
and replaced with the following:Parcels C&D  $11.00/sf-yr, ($ 38,522 per year or $3210.16 per month) based on 3502 sq.
ft (reflecting 552 sq. ft of laboratory space in Parcel D and 2950 square feet of space
in Parcel C-2, Building 5), subject to the terms of paragraph 4 of the Amendment.B)
    
    Schedule O  Site Services. The Site Service Expenses for the Office
shall be calculated as follows:2.950 sqft. x US$ 1.67 = US $ 4,926.50 per year subject to the terms of paragraph 4
below.
    
 Term
 Bill of Sale Exhibit A
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First Amendment to Lease Clariant / SCR-Tech, LLC
    
    2/18/2004
  Landlord:CLARIANT CORPORATIONBy:
    
    /s/ Heiner MeierTitle:
    
    Sr. V.P. & C.F.OPrintName:
    
    Heiner MeierDate:
    
    02-18-04[SEAL]TenantSCR-TECH, LLCBy:
    
    /s/ Brigitte HartensteinTitle:
    
    CFO and VP Contract ManagementPrintName:
    
    Brigitte HartensteinDate:
    
    02-18-04