Note 5 – Lease

The Company leases 14,782 square feet of office and laboratory space located in Austin, Texas. In April  2018, the Company entered into an amendment to its existing operating lease which extended the lease term from May 31, 2018 to May 31, 2021. The annual base rent in the first year of the lease extension was $184,775 and increases by $7,391 in each succeeding year of the lease extension. In addition, the Company is required to pay its proportionate share of operating costs for the building under this triple net lease. The lease does not contain renewal or termination options.

On January 1, 2019, the Company adopted ASC 842 utilizing a modified retrospective approach with a date of initial application at the beginning of the period of adoption. At adoption, the Company recognized a right of use asset of $422,819 and lease liability of $427,131. As the discount rate implicit in the lease was not readily determinable and the Company did not have any outstanding indebtedness, the Company utilized market data, giving consideration to remaining term of the lease, to estimate its incremental borrowing rate at 8% per annum for purposes of calculating the right of use asset and lease liability.

In September 2019, the Company entered into a sublease with CE+T Energy pursuant to which the Company subleases approximately seventy-five (75%) percent of its Austin, Texas facility to CE+T Energy. Under the sublease, CE+T Energy is obligated to make monthly payments equal to 75% of all sums due under the master lease and 100% of any maintenance and repair costs related to the subleased premises. The sublease replaced a temporary agreement between the Company and CE+T Energy, effective July 22, 2019, that contained similar payment obligations by CE+T Energy for utilization of the subleased premises. Consistent with the master lease, the sublease terminates on May 31, 2021. During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020, CE+T Energy made payments of $51,459 and $154,383, respectively, to the Company related to the subleased premises. The payments included CE+T Energy’s share of rent as well as its proportionate share of operating costs for the building under the master lease. The Company recognized these payments as a reduction in general and administrative expenses.

Future minimum payments under the lease, as amended, are as follows:

For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020, operating cash flows for lease payments totaled $49,889 and $146,588, respectively. For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019, operating cash flows for lease payments totaled $48,042 and $141,045, respectively. For both the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019, operating lease cost, recognized on a straight-line basis, totaled $48,488 and $145,463, respectively. At September 30, 2020, the remaining lease term was 8 months.