Accounting Policies, by Policy (Policies)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2014

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Basis of Accounting, Policy [Policy Text Block]

a. Basis of Presentation

        The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC for interim financial reporting. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring adjustments) necessary for a fair presentation have been reflected. The results reported in these unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements should not necessarily be taken as indicative of results that may be expected for the entire year. Certain financial information that is normally included in annual financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”), but is not required for interim reporting purposes, has been condensed or omitted. The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and related notes included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2013.

        Discontinued Operations - Standard Exhaust and Specialty Parts Business

In July 2014, the Company committed to a plan to sell substantially all of the assets of its Reno, Nevada-based standard exhaust and specialty parts business (the “Reno Business”). The sale of this non-core business is expected to increase the Company’s ability to fund key investments to broaden its growing intellectual property portfolio and to bring to market new products. The assets and liabilities of the Reno Business are classified as held for sale and its operations are classified as discontinued operations, and the Company has reclassified its balance sheets and statements of operations for all periods presented in this report to reflect the Reno Business as discontinued operations. Depreciation and amortization has been eliminated from discontinued operations from the date the Company committed to the plan to sell the Reno Business. In the statements of cash flows, the cash flows of discontinued operations are separately classified and aggregated. See Notes 15 and 16 for further information. 

        All discussions and amounts in the consolidated financial statements and related notes for all periods presented relate to continuing operations only, unless otherwise noted.

Consolidation, Policy [Policy Text Block]

b. Principles of Consolidation

        The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements include the financial statements of the Company and its wholly owned subsidiaries. Intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated in consolidation.

        Investments in which the Company has at least a 20%, but not more than a 50% interest are generally accounted for under the equity method. Investment interests below 20% are generally accounted for under the cost method, except if the Company could exercise significant influence, the investment would be accounted for under the equity method. The Company’s judgment regarding the level of influence over each equity method investment includes considering key factors such as the Company’s ownership interest, representation on the Board of Directors, participation in policy-making decisions and material intercompany transactions. The Company includes its proportionate share of the net income or loss of equity-method investees in its unaudited condensed consolidated statements of comprehensive loss.

Use of Estimates, Policy [Policy Text Block]

c. Use of Estimates

 The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management of the Company to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses, and related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. These estimates and assumptions are based on management’s best estimates and judgment. On an ongoing basis, the Company evaluates its estimates and assumptions, including those related to impairment of goodwill and long-lived assets, stock-based compensation, the fair value of financial instruments including warrants, allowance for doubtful accounts, inventory valuation, taxes and contingent and accrued liabilities. The Company bases its estimates on historical experience and various other factors, including the current economic environment, which it believes to be reasonable under the circumstances. Estimates and assumptions are adjusted when facts and circumstances dictate. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions and conditions. Management believes that the estimates are reasonable.

Concentration Risk, Credit Risk, Policy [Policy Text Block]

d. Concentration of Risk

        For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2014, one automotive original equipment manufacturer (“OEM”) customer within the Catalyst segment accounted for 60% and 50%, respectively, of the Company’s revenues. This customer accounted for 46% and 45% of the Company’s revenues for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2013, respectively. This customer accounted for 65% and 26% of the Company’s accounts receivable at September 30, 2014 and December 31, 2013, respectively. No other customers accounted for 10% or more of the Company’s revenues or accounts receivable for these periods.   

        For the periods presented below, certain vendors accounted for 10% or more of the Company’s raw material purchases as follows:

		Three Months Ended September 30,		Nine Months Ended September 30,
Vendor	Supplies	2014	2013	2014	2013
A	Substrates	33%	19%	24%	18%
B	Substrates	6%	17%	9%	14%
C	Catalysts	6%	16%	11%	15%
D	Rare Earth Materials	8%	12%	8%	12%

Earnings Per Share, Policy [Policy Text Block]

e. Net Loss per Share

Basic net loss per share is computed using the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted net loss per share is computed using the weighted average number of common shares and dilutive potential common shares. Dilutive potential common shares include employee stock options and restricted share units (“RSUs”) and warrants and debt that are convertible into the Company’s common stock.

        Diluted net loss per share excludes certain dilutive potential common shares outstanding as their effect is anti-dilutive. Because the Company incurred net losses in the three and nine months ended September 30, 2014 and 2013, the effect of potentially dilutive securities has been excluded in the computation of net loss per share as their impact would be anti-dilutive. Potentially dilutive common stock equivalents excluded were 2.4 million and 3.2 million shares during the three months ended September 30, 2014 and 2013, respectively. Potentially dilutive common stock equivalents excluded were 2.2 million and 2.6 million shares during the nine months ended September 30, 2014 and 2013, respectively.

Fair Value Measurement, Policy [Policy Text Block]

f. Fair Value Measurements

The Company measures certain financial assets and liabilities at fair value in accordance with a hierarchy which requires an entity to maximize the use of observable inputs which reflect market data obtained from independent sources and minimize the use of unobservable inputs. There are three levels of inputs that may be used to measure fair value:

· Level 1: Quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets or liabilities;

· Level 2: Inputs other than quoted prices included within Level 1 that are either directly or indirectly observable including quoted prices for similar instruments in active markets and quoted prices for identical or similar instruments in markets that are not active; and

· Level 3: Unobservable inputs in which little or no market activity exists, therefore requiring an entity to develop its own assumptions about the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing.

The Company records its liability-classified warrants at fair value in accordance with the fair value measurement framework. See Note 10 for further information on these liability-classified warrants. The valuation inputs hierarchy classification for the warrant liability measured at fair value on a recurring basis is summarized as follows (in thousands):  

Warrant liability	Level 1	Level 2	Level 3
September 30, 2014	-	-	$	910
December 31, 2013	-	-	$	939

  The following is a reconciliation of the warrant liability measured at fair value using Level 3 inputs (in thousands):

	Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2014		2013
Balance at beginning of period	$	939	$	10
Issuance of common stock warrants		1,531		749
Exercise of common stock warrants		(2,505)		-
Remeasurement of common stock warrants		945		151
Balance at end of period	$	910	$	910

Fair Value of Financial Instruments, Policy [Policy Text Block]

g. Fair Value of Financial Instruments

        Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 825, “Financial Instruments,” requires disclosure of the fair value of financial instruments for which the determination of fair value is practicable. The fair values of the Company’s cash, trade accounts receivable, prepaid expenses and other current assets, accounts payable and accrued expenses and other current liabilities approximate carrying values due to the short maturity of these instruments. The fair value of borrowings under the line of credit approximates their carrying value due to the variable interest rates. The fair value of shareholder notes payable calculated using level 3 inputs, using a Black-Scholes option-pricing model to value the debt’s conversion factor and a net present value model was $7.6 million and $7.5 million at September 30, 2014 and December 31, 2013, respectively.

Reclassification, Policy [Policy Text Block]

h. Reclassifications 

        Certain prior-period amounts have been reclassified to conform to the current period presentation. These changes had no impact on the previously reported consolidated results of operations or stockholders' equity.

New Accounting Pronouncements, Policy [Policy Text Block]

i. Recent Accounting Pronouncements 

        In April 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2014-08, "Presentation of Financial Statements (Topic 205) and Property, Plant, and Equipment (Topic 360): Reporting Discontinued Operations and Disclosures of Disposals of Components of an Entity". ASU 2014-08 raises the threshold for a disposal to qualify as a discontinued operation and requires new disclosures of both discontinued operations and certain other disposals that do not meet the definition of a discontinued operation. It is effective for annual reporting periods beginning on or after December 15, 2014. Early adoption is permitted but only for disposals that have not been reported in financial statements previously issued. The Company has not elected to early adopt, and it does not expect the impact of the adoption of ASU 2014-08 to be material to its consolidated financial statements.

        In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-09, "Revenue from Contracts with Customers". ASU 2014-09 supersedes the revenue recognition requirements in "Revenue Recognition (Topic 605)". ASU 2014-09 requires entities to recognize revenue when it transfers promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled to in exchange for those goods or services. It is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016, including interim periods within that reporting period. ASU 2014-09 provides for either full retrospective adoption or a modified retrospective adoption by which it is applied only to the most current period presented. Early adoption is not permitted. The Company is currently in the process of evaluating the impact of the adoption of ASU 2014-09 on its consolidated financial statements.

        In August 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-15, “Presentation of Financial Statements-Going Concern (Subtopic 205-40): Disclosure of Uncertainties about an Entity’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern”. ASU 2014-15 defines management's responsibility to assess an entity's ability to continue as a going concern, and to provide related footnote disclosures in certain circumstances. It is effective for annual reporting periods ending after December 15, 2016, and for annual and interim reporting periods thereafter. Early adoption is permitted. The Company is currently in the process of evaluating the impact of the adoption of ASU 2014-15 on its consolidated financial statements.