Pilot plant produces qualification samples
for strategic customers and demonstrates commercial maturity of
internally-developed production process
RENO,
Nev., April 22, 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,
announced the completion of construction and start of commissioning
of its lithium hydroxide (LiOH) pilot plant marking a significant
milestone in the commercialization of its internally-developed
processes to access an unrealized domestic primary lithium
resource.
"We're excited to have completed construction of this
first-of-kind pilot demonstration system," stated ABTC CEO
Ryan Melsert. "We have already
generated thousands of liters of lithium solution from our
claystone feedstock material demonstrating our selective lithium
liberation technologies."
The construction and commissioning of this pilot plant enables
ABTC to demonstrate its technologies for accessing the lithium
housed in its unconventional resource, Tonopah Lithium Flats
Project, in an integrated and continuous system, and to generate
large amounts of battery grade lithium hydroxide for delivery to
customers for qualifications and evaluation. The construction and
operation of this pilot demonstration plant are supported by a
competitively awarded grant from the U.S. Department of
Energy (DOE) for this $4.5M
effort.
Testing and validation of the lithium hydroxide from the
hundreds of tonnes of claystone material processed at this plant
will be performed by prospective customers such as automotive OEMs,
battery manufacturers, and cathode manufacturers. Over a dozen
prospective strategic customers have already toured this pilot
facility in recent months, and ABTC is currently evaluating
opportunities for the long-term offtake of its battery grade
lithium hydroxide.
Lithium products are generally manufactured from conventional
resources, which include hard rock spodumene materials primarily
from western Australia and
lithium-rich brines primarily from South
America, however the U.S. does not have large quantities of
these developed conventional resources. In order to significantly
increase U.S. production of battery grade lithium products, ABTC
has been developing its Tonopah Flats Lithium Project (TFLP) with
over 10,000 acres of lithium-bearing claystone resource which
has been assessed to be one of the largest lithium resources in the
U.S.
ABTC plans to further evolve this technology by constructing a
commercial-scale 30,000 tonnes lithium hydroxide per year refinery
utilizing this system design directly at its TFLP property. In
October 2022, ABTC was selected for
an additional competitively awarded grant from the U.S. DOE for a
$115M project to support the
construction of this commercial refinery. ABTC has engaged one of
the premier global construction firms, Black & Veatch, for the
engineering, procurement, and construction of this commercial-scale
lithium hydroxide refinery.
Concurrently, the company is also commercializing its
first-of-kind technologies for its battery recycling operations and
has successfully manufactured a large inventory of recycled battery
metal products at its commercial-scale recycling facility in
Storey County, Nevada.
ABTC's internally-developed recycling process utilizes an
upfront strategic de-manufacturing process followed by a targeted
chemical extraction train in order to recover battery materials
with high yields, low cost, and with a low environmental footprint.
These ABTC recycling technologies have won several competitive
corporate awards and government grants and are fundamentally
different than conventional methods of battery recycling, which
generally utilize either high temperature smelting operations or
non-strategic shredding systems.
Bringing first-of-kind technologies to market, ABTC's battery
recycling and primary battery metals commercialization efforts
support the buildout of a domestically-sourced battery metals
circular supply chain.
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; interpretations or reinterpretations
of geologic information, unfavorable exploration results, inability
to obtain permits required for future exploration, 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