FREYR Battery and ITOCHU Partner to Develop Materials Supply Chain

Rhea-AI Summary

FREYR Battery (NYSE: FREY) has announced a new service agreement with ITOCHU Corporation, aimed at enhancing its procurement and supply chain operations. ITOCHU will provide direct materials supply, leveraging its global network to benefit FREYR as it gears up for large-scale battery production. This collaboration builds on a 2020 Memorandum of Understanding and comes as FREYR moves toward initial production at its Customer Qualification Plant in Norway. Both companies are also investors in 24M Technologies, enhancing their production efficiency.

Positive

• New service agreement with ITOCHU strengthens supply chain.
• ITOCHU's expertise in shipping and materials sourcing may lower costs.
• Collaboration may enhance FREYR's production capabilities at scale.
• Partnership with ITOCHU builds on a previous agreement from 2020.

Negative

• None.

NEW YORK, OSLO, Norway & LUXEMBOURG--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- FREYR Battery (NYSE: FREY) (“FREYR”), a developer of clean, next-generation battery cell production capacity, has announced a new service agreement with ITOCHU Corporation (“ITOCHU”), the Japan-based global trading and import/export company. As part of this agreement, ITOCHU will serve as a direct materials supplier for FREYR’s procurement and supply chain operations.

“We are excited to partner with ITOCHU, and we intend to build on their expertise in shipping, planning, and production, as we establish, maintain, decarbonize, and localize our growing supply chain. ITOCHU possesses a broad global network of trusted materials suppliers, which we believe will lead to meaningful benefits for FREYR as we cooperatively source and price high-quality materials,” said Dr. Tilo Hauke, EVP Supply Chain Management, FREYR.

“As the world moves towards decarbonization, we see FREYR as an integral part of enabling a clean and sustainable lithium battery industry. The supply chain will be an essential part of their journey towards greater speed and scale in the market, and we are eager to support them in sourcing the raw materials to meet their growing needs,” said Yasuhiro Abe, Power & Environmental Solution Division COO, ITOCHU.

FREYR and ITOCHU previously entered a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in 2020, which outlined a mutual intention to explore potential opportunities within lithium-ion battery production and related operations. As FREYR approaches initial production from the Customer Qualification Plant, the two companies are deepening collaboration to secure the raw materials required for FREYR’s planned battery production at giga scale.

ITOCHU and FREYR are both investors in 24M Technologies, Inc., FREYR’s U.S.-based technology licensing partner. The 24M production platform is designed to enable significant reductions in capital expenditures, factory footprint, energy consumption and raw materials.

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 install 50 GWh of battery cell capacity by 2025 and 100 GWh annual capacity by 2028 and 200 GWh of annual capacity by 2030. To learn more about FREYR, please visit www.freyrbattery.com.

About ITOCHU Corporation

The history of ITOCHU Corporation dates to 1858 when the Company's founder Chubei Itoh commenced linen trading operations. Since then, ITOCHU has evolved and grown over 150 years. With approximately 100 bases in 62 countries, ITOCHU, one of the leading sogo shosha, is engaging in domestic trading, import/export, and overseas trading of various products such as textile, machinery, metals, minerals, energy, chemicals, food, general products, realty, information and communications technology, and finance, as well as business investment in Japan and overseas. For more information, go to: www.itochu.co.jp.

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 ITOCHU’s ability to serve as a direct materials supplier for FREYR’s procurement and supply chain operations; FREYR’s ability to derive meaningful benefits from ITOCHU’s broad global network of trusted materials suppliers through cooperatively sourcing and pricing high-quality materials; FREYR’s integral part in enabling a clean and sustainable lithium battery industry; the role of supply chain in achieving greater speed and scale in the lithium battery market; FREYR’s ability to achieve initial production in its Customer Qualification Plant in Mo i Rana, Norway; and the 24M production platform’s ability to enable significant reductions in capital expenditures, factory footprint, energy consumption and raw materials 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 (i) FREYR’s Registration Statement on Form S-3 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on September 1, 2022, and (ii) FREYR’s annual report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 9, 2022, available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20221027005063/en/

Investor contact:

Jeffrey Spittel

Vice President, Investor Relations

jeffrey.spittel@freyrbattery.com

Tel: (+1) 281-222-0161

Media contact:

Katrin Berntsen

Vice President, Communication and Public Affairs

katrin.berntsen@freyrbattery.com

Tel: (+47) 920 54 570

Source: FREYR Battery

FAQ

What does the new service agreement between FREYR and ITOCHU involve?

The agreement involves ITOCHU serving as a direct materials supplier for FREYR's procurement and supply chain operations.

When was the previous agreement between FREYR and ITOCHU established?

The previous agreement, a Memorandum of Understanding, was established in 2020.

What are FREYR's production goals by 2025?

FREYR aims to install 50 GWh of battery cell capacity by 2025.

How will ITOCHU's involvement benefit FREYR?

ITOCHU's broad global network may lead to cost reductions and enhanced sourcing of high-quality materials for FREYR.

What is the significance of the Customer Qualification Plant for FREYR?

It is the facility where FREYR is approaching initial production, critical for scaling their battery cell production.