American Battery Technology Company (ABAT) LD Micro 20th Annual Main Event Conference summary

Business model and strategy

• U.S.-based strategy combines battery recycling with domestic lithium mining and refining to strengthen supply security and reduce reliance on foreign supply chains.

• U.S. capacity is less than 1% of global manufacturing for key battery metals, while China controls over 80% of cathode and anode material processing.

• Reno-area recycling facility spans 138,000 sq. ft., has 20,000 metric tons/year intake capacity, and began operations in October 2023.

• Recycling recovers copper, aluminum, steel and black mass, with further refining designed to produce battery-grade nickel, manganese and cobalt sulfates and lithium hydroxide.

Recycling operations and expansion

• The recycling process handles varied battery formats; management cited high-purity recovery of battery-grade lithium, nickel, cobalt and manganese to OEM specifications.

• The existing facility has a $2M U.S. Advanced Battery Consortium grant, EPA CERCLA offsite-rule approval and a consumer intake partnership with The Battery Network.

• A southeastern U.S. facility is in design with 100,000 metric tons/year intake capacity; announced CapEx is $375M, supported by a $150M DOE grant with performance milestones.

• Further refining of Reno black mass is not currently economic; a 48C credit supports the second processing phase, while black mass remains a key revenue stream.

• Following a late-August federal export ban on black mass, an export license was secured for up to $100M; sales go to South Korea and other OECD countries, not China.

Tonopah Flats lithium project

• The Nevada claystone project covers over 13,000 acres across 631 unpatented lode claims; stated resource is 21.3M tons of accessible lithium hydroxide monohydrate and projected mine life is 45 years.

• Pre-feasibility study indicated 21.8% after-tax IRR, $2.6B NPV and production cost just over $4,300 per metric ton of lithium hydroxide monohydydrate.

• Project plans include a surface mine, commercial refinery and behind-the-meter solar plus battery storage; potential 48E credits could cover up to 50% of solar CapEx, and EXIM issued a $900M letter of interest.

• The project is a FAST-41 priority; definitive feasibility work has started, NEPA baseline studies were submitted to BLM, and BLM approved the plan of operations.

• Management was awaiting the BLM notice of intent before the environmental impact statement and permitting steps; it expects to break ground by mid-next year and build three trains in phases.