Full Circle Lithium's FCL-X™ Achieves Major Technical Milestone By Rapidly Extinguishing Two EV Fires in Controlled Burns

Rhea-AI Summary

Full Circle Lithium Corp. (FCLIF) has achieved a significant breakthrough in EV fire safety with its FCL-X™ firefighting agent. In controlled demonstrations, the product successfully extinguished two EV fires - a Nissan Leaf and Kia EV9 - in under six minutes using minimal agent amounts. The FCL-X Pro™ concentrate effectively controlled fires using only 250-350 gallons, compared to traditional methods requiring up to 40,000 gallons of water and 4-8 hours to extinguish. The tests were conducted by AEST Fire & Safety, FCL's US distributor, before 50+ firefighters and industry experts.

Positive

• Successful demonstration of FCL-X™ product effectiveness in extinguishing EV fires
• Superior performance metrics: 250-350 gallons vs. traditional 40,000 gallons requirement
• Significantly faster fire control: 5-6 minutes vs. traditional 4-8 hours

Negative

• Cessation of recycling and processing operations due to challenging lithium markets
• Departure of key executives including Chief Operating Officer and Chief Technical Officer

• Using FCL's concentrated FCL-X Pro™ agent, two controlled EVs fires were fully extinguished in minutes with no reignition, using limited amounts of agent.
• This major milestone for LIB fire safety was organized by FCL-X™'s new US distributor - AEST Fire & Safety - in front of over 50 US firefighters and fire-safety industry experts. 

TORONTO, Nov. 5, 2024 /PRNewswire/ - Full Circle Lithium Corp. ("FCL" or the "Company") (TSXV: FCLI) (OTCQB: FCLIF), a USA-based lithium-ion firefighting agent product manufacturer, announces the resounding success of its innovative proprietary lithium-ion battery firefighting agent - FCL-X™ -  quickly and safely extinguishing controlled burns of two electric vehicles (EV) - a Nissan Leaf and a Kia EV9 - with no reignition.

Organized by the technical team at FCL-X™'s US distributor AEST Fire & Safety ("AEST") with the assistance of regional expert firefighters in Jefferson, Troup, and Harris County, Georgia, FCL demonstrated the effectiveness of FCL-X™ in two real-life EV fires. The demonstrations used the FCL-X Pro™ concentrate product. FCL developed FCL-X Pro™ to assist firefighters in utilizing FCL-X™ in a more efficient format for adding to fire engines' tanks. FCL-X Pro™ comes in a box of two pails containing enough material to mix with 250 gallons (g) of water per pail or 500g per box of two pails. Most fire engines have tank capacities varying from 250g to over 1,000g which makes our format ideal depending on the size of the tank on the fire engine.

"FCL-X™, a proprietary product under patent application, is the first and only product in the world that we are aware of to truly extinguish lithium-ion battery fires, from small to large EV batteries," said David Laviner, Founder & President of AEST. "The fire service and industrial customers alike are years behind in being able to extinguish lithium-ion battery fires effectively.  Before the creation of the FCL-X™ fire suppression agent, there was no great way to extinguish lithium-ion battery fires, and this has cost lives and significant property damage.  Now, together with FCL, AEST can change that."

Carlos Vicens, CEO and Director of FCL stated, "We are on the verge of something transformative for the fire and safety industry. The FCL-X™ fire suppression agent has demonstrated time and again that it is uniquely effective in safely extinguishing and mitigating the risks associated with dangerous lithium-ion battery fires. We look forward to having this product in the hands of first responders, and every person that needs it, consistent with our mission to ensure accessibility to this critical safety solution that should ultimately safeguard lives and property."

Controlled EV Burns

The first burn was performed on a fully equipped and functioning 2014 Nissan Leaf with a 40-kWh battery at approximately 50% battery charge. AEST's team of firefighters ignited the vehicle using a blow torch from beneath the car and started extinguishing the vehicle only after it was fully engulfed in flames and the battery was in a full thermal runaway. The fire was first attacked with an extinguisher and immediately after with a 30-gallon per minute (gpm) pressure hose and nozzle. Usually, firefighters attack these fires with one or two 125 gpm pressure hoses and nozzles. The fire was under control in less than five minutes while using less than 250g of FCL-X™. Another important effect of using FCL-X™ on an EV fire was the rapid extinguishing of the fire in other parts of the vehicle excluding the battery, which was evident by the limited damage to the interior of the vehicle.

The second burn was performed on a Kia EV9 with a 77kWh battery at approximately 95% battery charge. AEST's team of firefighters ignited the vehicle by puncturing the battery from the back seat and started extinguishing the vehicle only after it was fully engulfed in flames and the battery was in full thermal run-away. In this case, because of the size of the fire, it was immediately attacked with a 30-gpm pressure hose and high-pressure nozzle. Again, the team demonstrated the efficacy of FCL-X™ with a purposely very low gpm. The fire was under control in less than six minutes while using approximately 350 gallons of FCL-X™. The effectiveness of FCL-X™ on the remaining part of the burning vehicle excluding the battery was evident as a large portion of the interior vehicle was almost unaffected by the fire. The burning vehicle reached up to 1,200F and FCL-X™ reduced the temperature to approximately 120 -150F within 6 mins.

These results compare extremely favourable and FCL considers these two controlled burns and past tests a resounding success specially when compared to current methods. According to the International Association of Fire and Rescue Services, firefighters may need to use up to 40,000g of water on average to extinguish an EV fire, with outliers taking more than 100,000g of water. In addition to this it can take hours, usually between four to eight hours to extinguish an EV battery fire and it can smoulder for hours before reigniting if not properly treated.

Additional videos and photos are being gathered and will be available soon to the public and investors on www.fullcirclelithium.com and also on all of FCL's social media presence.

Operational Update

Hurricane Helene and Milton Impact: Operations at the Nahunta plant is currently back to normal after power outages and other infrastructure issues in the area. We can confirm that there was no impact on the Nahunta plant's operations and infrastructure besides minimal disruption in closing and reopening the plant.

Cessation of Recycling and Processing Operations: As previously reported, given continuing challenges in the lithium markets, FCL has focused all its efforts and resources on its FCL-X™ fire extinguishing agent.

Management Changes: The following persons are no longer with FCL: (i) Thomas Currin, formerly Chief Operating Officer of the Company and President of its USA subsidiary, and (ii) William Bourcier, formerly Chief Technical Officer of the Company. The Company wishes them well in their future endeavors.

About Full Circle Lithium Corp.

FCL has developed an innovative lithium-ion battery fire-extinguishing agent - FCL-X™, to address the increasing number of difficult to extinguish and hazardous lithium-ion battery-based fires. A PCT patent application has been filed by the Company to protect its FCL-X™ invention. Additional information regarding FCL is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com under the Company's profile and on its website www.fullcirclelithium.com. 

Cautionary Statement

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of securities legislation in the Canada and which are based on the expectations, estimates and projections of management of the parties as of the date of this news release unless otherwise stated. Forward-looking statements are generally identifiable by use of the words "expect", "anticipate", "continue", "estimate", "objective", "ongoing", "may", "will", "project", "should", "could", "believe", "plans", "intends" or the negative of these words or other variations on these words or comparable terminology. More particularly, and without limitation, this news release contains forward-looking statements and information concerning expectations on the effectiveness of the marketing and sales of  FCL-X™ through distribution agreements, the viability, effectiveness, safety and additional commercialization related to FCL-X™ which is at an early stage of commercialization (which is very difficult for a start-up venture like FCL as there are much larger and better capitalized established companies that can potentially quickly enter the lithium-ion battery fire-fighting market and create strong competition against FCL), on receiving patent protection for FCL-X™ and related inventions and processes, the ability of FCL, a start-up venture, to successfully commercialize its FCL-X™ including ramping-up production of the agent to meet potential demand, continue raising capital, upgrading and refurbishing its plant, and sourcing feedstock for this and its other lines of business. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others, the uncertainties and risk factors related to the technical elements in a processing and refining business, loss of key technical and other staff, lithium price fluctuations, the battery fire-extinguishing agent functioning as expected to meet safety requirements and fire-fighting related government regulations and potential client product specifications, and applicable environmental requirements and issues – see additional risks described in FCL's public filings. Actual results, developments and timetables could vary significantly from the estimates presented. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements. FCL disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly such forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless required by law. Additionally, FCL undertakes no obligation to comment on analyses, expectations or statements made by third parties in respect of FCL, its financial or operating results or its securities.

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SOURCE Full Circle Lithium Corp.

FAQ

How long did it take FCL-X™ to extinguish the EV fires in the November 2024 demonstration?

FCL-X™ extinguished the fires in less than six minutes, with the Nissan Leaf taking under five minutes and the Kia EV9 taking approximately six minutes.

How much FCL-X™ agent was used compared to traditional firefighting methods?

FCL-X™ required only 250-350 gallons of agent, while traditional methods typically use up to 40,000 gallons of water, with some cases requiring over 100,000 gallons.

What types of EVs were tested with Full Circle Lithium's FCL-X™ product?

The tests were conducted on a 2014 Nissan Leaf with a 40-kWh battery and a Kia EV9 with a 77kWh battery.