FREYR Battery and Aleees to Pursue LFP Cathode Manufacturing Joint Venture

Rhea-AI Summary

FREYR Battery (NYSE: FREY) and Aleees (TWSE: 5227) have signed a Head of Terms agreement for a Joint Venture (JV) to establish the world's first giga-scale LFP cathode plant outside China, in the Nordic region. Production is set to begin in 2024, with an initial output of 10,000 tonnes per year, expanding to at least 30,000 tonnes by 2025. The JV aims to create a localized Nordic supply chain, reducing CO₂ emissions by 50,000 tonnes annually and enhancing economic benefits for both FREYR and the region.

Positive

• Joint Venture with Aleees aims to establish the first giga-scale LFP cathode plant outside China.
• Initial production of 10,000 tonnes of LFP cathode material expected by 2024, expanding to at least 30,000 tonnes by 2025.
• Establishing a Nordic supply chain is anticipated to reduce CO₂ emissions by 50,000 tonnes per year.
• The initiative is expected to create significant economic benefits for FREYR and the Nordic region.

Negative

• None.

NEW YORK & OSLO, Norway & LUXEMBOURG--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- FREYR Battery (NYSE: FREY) (“FREYR”), a developer of clean, next-generation battery cell production capacity, and Aleees (TWSE: 5227), a producer of lithium iron phosphate (“LFP”) cathode materials for batteries, have signed a Head of Terms agreement to pursue a Joint Venture (“JV”) with the ambition to establish an LFP cathode plant in the Nordic region. The joint venture partners will seek to commence production in 2024, coinciding with the anticipated ramp-up of operations from FREYR’s first Gigafactory in Mo i Rana, Norway.

The formation of the JV will seek to combine Aleees’ 17 years of experience in LFP cathode production with FREYR’s strategy of manufacturing decarbonized battery cells at scale and the FREYR team’s extensive experience in conducting and constructing complex technical projects in the Nordic region.

The partners will focus on the following priorities to drive value in accordance with FREYR’s core strategic tenets of speed, scale, and sustainability:

• The proposed facility should be the world’s first giga scale LFP cathode plant outside mainland China. The JV partners plan to develop an initial 10,000 tonnes of LFP cathode material per year in the Nordic region by 2024, which is estimated to be sufficient to supply FREYR’s first Gigafactory. The JV’s secondary ambition is to quickly expand to at least 30,000 tonnes by 2025 using Aleees’ modular LFP plant design.

• Aleees is an approved supplier of cathode material to 24M Technologies, Inc. (“24M”), FREYR’s U.S.-based partner. 24M’s SemiSolid™ technology platform features a larger and thicker electrode design that is intended to deliver higher energy density per volumetric unit while also reducing production costs.

• Aleees and FREYR plan to collaboratively develop a Nordic supply chain encompassing iron and phosphate products from the Nordic region. FREYR is also working to bring lithium refining capacity to Norway to ensure a consistent supply of quality raw materials.

• Establishing a Nordic supply chain is expected to bring strong economic benefits to FREYR and the Nordic region based on localized and decarbonized production and transportation of raw materials to battery cell manufacturing facilities. The JV with Aleees is one of several initiatives FREYR has underway to support LFP cathode production.

• According to Minviro, a London-based consultancy that specializes in providing quantitative environmental impact data and mitigation strategies for resource projects, locating the facility in Norway instead of Taiwan would reduce CO₂ emissions by 50,000 tonnes per year based on the difference in CO₂ intensity between the grids of the respective countries. The environmental benefit is projected to roughly equate to removing 20,000 cars per year with combustion engines from the roads, which would increase to the equivalent of 60,000 cars as capacity ramps beyond 2025.

“This agreement with Aleees, which calls for the construction of the first giga scale LFP cathode plant outside mainland China, is another important step on our journey to localize and decarbonize battery cell production and their supply chains in the Nordic region,” said Tom Einar Jensen, CEO of FREYR. “FREYR and Aleees intend to establish the plant as part of a broader localized supply chain strategy that will leverage the abundance of cost-advantaged, renewable energy in the Nordics and the growing availability of raw materials produced in the region. We will be examining a limited number of suitable locations in the Nordic region over the next months.”

“Aleees has world-class production technology and R&D capabilities, with the aim to continuously improve energy density, while reducing end-market costs. The cooperation with FREYR will further allow us to improve the production process of cathode materials for LFP batteries to contribute to the reduction of global emissions. The combination of FREYR’s clean battery production and Aleees’ deep experience in LFP cathode production and established production capacity, will provide the basis for innovative solutions to the battery solutions worldwide,” said Edward Chang, The CEO and founder of Aleees.

About FREYR Battery

FREYR Battery aims to provide industrial scale clean battery solutions to reduce global emissions. Listed on the New York Stock Exchange, FREYR’s mission is to produce green battery cells to accelerate the decarbonization of energy and transportation systems globally. FREYR has commenced building the first of its planned factories in Mo i Rana, Norway and announced potential development of industrial scale battery cell production in Vaasa, Finland, and the United States. FREYR intends to deliver up to 43 GWh of battery cell capacity by 2025 and up to 83 GWh annual capacity by 2028. To learn more about FREYR, please visit www.freyrbattery.com

About Aleees

Aleees (TWSE: 5227), founded in 2005, is one of the few LFP cathode material manufacturers with the longest history in the world. Aleees has more than 200 independent patents worldwide, and its customers include world-renowned battery, electric vehicle and energy storage battery customers in Europe, America, Japan, Korea, and Asia.

Aleees develops and produces high-quality, cost-effective, and longer cycle life LFP cathode materials. In the 17 years since its establishment, it has accumulated more than 15,000 tons of shipments and accumulated revenue of nearly 240 million US dollars.

At the same time, Aleees has also achieved outstanding results in ESG, and its corporate governance performance has been among the top 5% of all listed companies in Taiwan for 7 consecutive years.

Aleees is committed to providing customers with first-class quality, safe and reliable products, and has obtained major international certifications including ISO9001, ISO14001, ISO14064, ISO/TS 16949, OHSAS18001 and corporate social responsibility AA1000 and so on.

For more information, please visit: www.aleees.com

Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

All statements, other than statements of present or historical fact included in this press release, including, without limitation, statements regarding the formation of a JV between the parties and any anticipated benefits thereof, the establishment of a giga scale cathode plant for LFP in the Nordic region, the development of an initial 10,000 tonnes of LFP cathode material per year in the Nordic region by 2024, the expansion to at least 30,000 tonnes by 2025 using Aleees’ modular LFP plant design, the development of a Nordic supply chain encompassing iron and phosphate products from the Nordic region, FREYR’s ability to bring lithium refining capacity to Norway, the ability of a Nordic supply chain to bring strong economic benefits to FREYR and the Nordic region based on localized and decarbonized production and transportation of raw materials to battery cell manufacturing facilities, a Norway-based facility’s ability to reduce CO₂ emissions by 50,000 tonnes per year compared to Taiwan, FREYR’s decarbonization of battery cell production and supply chains in the Nordic region, FREYR’s ability to leverage the abundance of cost-advantaged, renewable energy in the Nordics and the growing availability of raw materials produced in the region, the development and commercialization of 24M’s technology (and any intended benefits thereof), FREYR’s production capacities and Aleees’ and FREYR’s ability to improve the production process of cathode materials for LFP batteries and contribute to the reduction of global emissions are forward-looking and involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from the expected results.

Most of these factors are outside FREYR’s control and difficult to predict. Information about factors that could materially affect FREYR is set forth under the “Risk Factors” section in FREYR’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on August 9, 2021, as amended, and in other SEC filings available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220111005356/en/

Investor contacts:



FREYR Battery:

Jeffrey Spittel

Vice President, Investor Relations

jeffrey.spittel@freyrbattery.com

Tel: (+1) 281-222-0161

Aleees:

Paul Chu

Chief of Investment Officer

Paul_chu@alechem.com

Media contacts:

FREYR Battery:

Katrin Berntsen

Vice President, Communication and Public Affairs

katrin.berntsen@freyrbattery.com

Tel: (+47) 920 54 570

Aleees:

Paul Chu

Chief of Investment Officer

Paul_chu@alechem.com

Source: FREYR Battery

FAQ

What is FREYR Battery's recent agreement with Aleees about?

FREYR Battery has signed a Head of Terms agreement with Aleees to form a Joint Venture aimed at establishing a giga-scale LFP cathode plant in the Nordic region.

When is the production expected to start for the LFP cathode plant?

Production is expected to begin in 2024.

How much LFP cathode material will the new plant produce?

The initial production is set at 10,000 tonnes per year, with plans to expand to at least 30,000 tonnes by 2025.

What are the environmental benefits of the LFP cathode plant?

The plant is expected to reduce CO₂ emissions by 50,000 tonnes annually, which is equivalent to removing 20,000 combustion engine cars from the roads.

What is FREY's strategy behind this Joint Venture?

FREYR aims to localize and decarbonize battery cell production and supply chains in the Nordic region while leveraging renewable energy and raw materials.