American Battery Technology Company Ramps its Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling Facility and Operates at Over 115% Design Rate

Rhea-AI Summary

American Battery Technology Company (ABTC) has achieved a significant milestone by demonstrating a fixed duration operation of its commercial-scale lithium-ion battery recycling facility at over 115% of its maximum design rate. This accomplishment signifies the company's capability to increase battery metals manufacturing for U.S.-based strategic customers through cutting-edge recycling technologies. With support from the U.S. Department of Energy grants and recent tax credit awards, ABTC is set to introduce battery grade metals into the North American supply chain, reducing reliance on imported materials.

Positive

• ABTC has successfully ramped up its lithium-ion battery recycling facility to operate at over 115% of its design rate, showcasing its commitment to advancing recycling operations and increasing battery metals manufacturing for U.S.-based strategic customers.

• The facility's capabilities highlight the effectiveness of ABTC's internally-developed, first-of-kind battery recycling technologies, demonstrating high yields, low cost, and a low environmental footprint.

• The company's achievements have been fueled by U.S. Department of Energy grant awards and 48C tax credit awards, positioning ABTC to introduce responsibly-sourced battery grade metals into the North American supply chain, reducing reliance on imported materials.

Negative

• None.

Insights

Environmental & Energy Analyst

The optimization of American Battery Technology Company's recycling facility to operate beyond its intended capacity is a substantial development, given the growing demand for sustainable and secure supply chains for critical materials. The ability to increase throughput while potentially lowering operational costs could enhance the company's competitive position in the battery recycling market. Moreover, the strategic focus on end-to-end recycling processes, from de-manufacturing to the production of battery-grade materials, aligns with the circular economy goals, which are increasingly valued by investors mindful of environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) criteria. This advancement may also strengthen the company's bid to acquire additional tax credits and governmental support, as it exemplifies alignment with U.S. policy objectives in reducing dependence on foreign entities for critical materials.

Technology & Innovation Analyst

ABTC's demonstration of a greater than 115% operational rate reflects significant innovation in battery recycling technology and process efficiency. The implementation of in-house developed tech, with roots in the founding team of the Tesla Gigafactory, indicates a strong pedigree in scaling up novel industrial processes. This could signal potential for robust intellectual property and technical moats against competitors. As the second phase of recycling is implemented, the ability to refine into battery-grade lithium hydroxide and other materials may further consolidate ABTC's market position, offering a vertically integrated solution to battery manufacturing – a key factor for tech-savvy investors evaluating the company's growth trajectory and long-term value proposition.

Financial Analyst

From a financial perspective, operating at over 115% design rate suggests ABTC may achieve higher revenue streams without a proportional increase in capital expenditures. The receipt of over $60 million in tax credits is also notable, as it could substantially offset capital costs for the expansion and optimization of their operations. However, as with any facility operating beyond designed capacity, there is a potential risk of increased wear and tear or a need for more frequent maintenance, which could impact future operational expenditure. Investors should monitor how the increased throughput translates into financial performance, considering that revenue gains must offset the costs associated with maintaining higher output levels.

• Accomplishing a major commercialization milestone, the company continues to aggressively advance recycling operations to increase battery metals manufacturing for U.S.-based strategic customers
• Achievement marks capabilities of the company's internally-developed, first-of-kind, commercial-scale battery recycling technologies for recovery of battery materials with high yields, low cost, and a low environmental footprint
• Spurred by U.S. Department of Energy grant awards and recent 48C tax credit awards, the facility is on-track for introducing IRA-compliant and responsibly-sourced, battery grade metals into the North American supply chain in support of diminishing reliance on imported materials from Foreign Entities of Concern (FEOC)

RENO, Nev., May 13, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- American Battery Technology Company (ABTC) (NASDAQ: ABAT), an integrated critical battery materials company that is commercializing its technologies for both primary battery minerals manufacturing and secondary minerals lithium-ion battery recycling, has achieved a significant milestone by demonstrating a fixed duration operation of  its commercial-scale lithium-ion battery recycling facility at a steady-state throughput of greater than 115% of its maximum design rate. At full production capacity, this facility was initially designed to nominally process 20,000 metric tonnes per year of battery feedstock, and surpassing this design rate demonstrates the impact of the continued process enhancements that have been implemented in the commissioning of the facility.

"One of the key advantages of commercializing an internally-developed technology is that the team members have a fundamental understanding of every unit operation within the processing train. This allows them to be constantly evaluating the data and operating conditions from the facility in real-time and continuously enhancing the operations, both through incremental day-to-day as well as step-change disruptive improvements," stated ABTC CEO Ryan Melsert. "We're incredibly proud of this team who have taken ownership of the success of this facility as we move to 24/7 operations."

The ABTC recycling facility utilizes a first-of-kind integrated set of recycling processes based on a strategic de-manufacturing approach that utilizes a deconstruction process combined with a targeted selective hydrometallurgical process. This system is agnostic to feedstock form factors and can process lithium-ion batteries and manufacturing scrap of a variety of sizes and shapes, and with a wide range of internal chemistries. The first phase of the recycling process produces recycled products that includes copper, aluminum, steel, a lithium intermediate, and a black mass intermediate material, and the integrated second phase further refines these materials into battery grade nickel sulfate, cobalt sulfate, manganese sulfate, and lithium hydroxide.

"Having in-house expertise is critical to our continued success and ability to rapidly advance our operations, and I am extremely proud of the tenacity, creativity, and collaboration demonstrated by our team every day," said ABTC COO Andrés Meza. "Pushing this volume of material through a fully customized, large-scale, complex system is no easy feat, and I am extremely pleased with how smoothly the system is performing overall. Our reliability improvements are paying dividends, and we are now laser-focused on sustainable rate improvements, further operational expenditure reductions, and cost efficiencies through automation."

The company is already in the process of implementing the second phase of this integrated recycling facility, where the lithium intermediate from its first phase process will be further refined into a battery grade lithium hydroxide product, and the black mass intermediate material will be further refined into battery grade nickel, cobalt, manganese, and lithium hydroxide products.

The company's battery recycling technologies utilized at this recycling facility were developed in-house by the ABTC R&D, engineering, and technical projects team members, many of whom were previously members of the founding Tesla Gigafactory design and engineering teams. These ABTC team members have significant experience scaling processes and bringing first-of-kind commercial-scale facilities online and have leveraged this expertise to de-risk ABTC's commercialization of its battery recycling facility. The teams work symbiotically to drive the development and implementation of ABTC's first-of-kind technologies and commercial-scale facilities for domestic critical battery material manufacturing.

ABTC has been validating and optimizing its first-of-kind recycling technologies for several years, and has showcased its innovation through winning the battery recycling portion of the competitively awarded BASF-sponsored Circularity Challenge; through a battery recycling grant from the U.S. Advanced Battery Consortium (USABC), which is comprised of the U.S. Department of Energy, General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis for a commercial-scale project currently underway to demonstrate that recycled battery metal products from domestic U.S. resources can be produced at lower cost than, and at significantly improved social and environmental impact, than conventionally mined virgin minerals; and through a competitive U.S. DOE grant for a project to develop and commercialize a set of Next Generation battery recycling technologies to even further enhance the recovery of recycled products and reduce the cost of operations.

Additionally, the company has recently been selected for two competitively awarded tax credits totaling over $60 million through the Qualifying Advanced Energy Project Credits program (48C) for the reimbursement of capital expenses at its current Nevada recycling facility, to support the capital expenditures for the second phase processes at this facility, and to support the construction of a significantly larger additional battery recycling facility to process material from new strategic suppliers.

About American Battery Technology Company 
American Battery Technology Company (ABTC), headquartered in Reno, Nevada, has pioneered first-of-kind technologies to unlock domestically manufactured and recycled battery metals critically needed to help meet the significant demand from the electric vehicle, stationary storage, and consumer electronics industries.  Committed to a circular supply chain for battery metals, ABTC works to continually innovate and master new battery metals technologies that power a global transition to electrification and the future of sustainable energy.

Forward-Looking Statements  
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are "forward-looking statements." Although the American Battery Technology Company's (the "Company") management believes that such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot guarantee that such expectations are, or will be, correct. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, which could cause the Company's future results to differ materially from those anticipated. Potential risks and uncertainties include, among others, risks and uncertainties related to the Company's ability to continue as a going concern; inability to obtain permits required for development or production, general economic conditions and conditions affecting the industries in which the Company operates; the uncertainty of regulatory requirements and approvals; fluctuating mineral and commodity prices, final investment approval and the ability to obtain necessary financing on acceptable terms or at all. Additional information regarding the factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements is available in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended June 30, 2023. The Company assumes no obligation to update any of the information contained or referenced in this press release. 

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SOURCE American Battery Technology Company