Mr. Anthony Huston reports

GRAPHITE ONE SECURES FINAL OHIO AIR PERMIT, SUPPORTING FURTHER PROGRESS TOWARDS PLANNED CONSTRUCTION FOR US$80 MILLION PHASE 1 ANODE

Graphite One Inc. has received the final air permit from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency for phase 1 of its planned active anode material facility in Conneaut, Ohio, a 10,000-tonne-per-year blending and coating plant. The air pollution permit to install and operate, No. P0140891, was issued to Graphite One (Ohio) Inc.

"Receiving the final Ohio air permit is an important step toward establishing a domestic synthetic anode material supply chain," said Anthony Huston, president and chief executive officer. "This approval advances phase 1 plant toward first revenue and supports our goal of becoming the first U.S. company commercially producing synthetic graphite anode material."

The Ohio air permit is the key environmental permit required to build and run the phase 1 plant, and the one permit the company has is considered the most demanding to receive. AAM is the primary material in the anode of lithium-ion batteries that power electric vehicles and all types of grid energy storage. The company believes the phase 1 plant will be the first of its kind in the United States.

Key highlights:

• Air permit in hand; issued and effective Oct. 27, 2026; valid to Oct. 27, 2036, renewable;
• Full scope, built-in controls; covers four emissions units: agglomeration (P001), carbonization (P002), feeding and blending (P901), and finishing and packaging (P902); thermal oxidizers are designed for 98-per-cent control of volatile organic compounds and 99-per-cent control with baghouses of particulate matter control;
• Ohio Environmental Protection Agency review complete; the air permit concludes the technical review announced on July 16, 2026; the phase 1 plant moves toward a final investment decision: 10,000 tonnes per year of planned capacity at an estimated initial capital cost of $80-million (U.S.) to be updated after final engineering;
• Early path to revenue: first synthetic graphite AAM sales from the phase 1 plant are targeted for fourth quarter 2028, subject to a final investment decision, financing and construction; Graphite Creek mine production is targeted for 2030;
• Federal backing; EXIM has issued an amended, non-binding letter of intent of $1.4-billion (U.S.) for the AAM facility to support a phased increase in production capacity, in 25,000-tonne increments to 100,000 tonnes per year of AAM; The EXIM letter of intent is one of two received by G1, bringing total EXIM letter of intent support to $2.07-billion (U.S.).

"Securing the final permit reflects the quality of our engineering and permitting work after a rigorous review by Ohio EPA," said Mike Schaffner, chief operating officer. "Our focus now turns to engineering, procurement and financing to bring Conneaut to construction."

Graphite One has provided samples to prospective U.S. battery and energy storage system customers for testing and qualification purposes.

The market: commercial and strategic

U.S. graphite demand is projected to grow more than 600 per cent to nearly 700,000 tonnes per year by 2034. China dominates global anode material processing, and has imposed export controls on graphite and anode technologies, making domestic supply strategically important.

Next steps

Graphite One will complete final engineering on the phase 1 plant. The remaining approvals are standard building, construction and operating permits from state and local agencies, which follow final engineering and precede construction. The company intends to pursue these permits on an expedited basis, working closely with those agencies. Under the air permit, construction must begin within 18 months of Oct. 27, 2026, with one possible 12-month extension. In parallel, the company will pursue project financing, including through EXIM, and order long-lead equipment to accelerate the schedule.

Targeted milestones: By April, 2027, the company anticipates making a phase 1 plant final investment decision, seeking the award of the engineering, procurement and construction contract and starting construction. In addition, the company anticipates phase 1 completion and first sales in fourth quarter 2028.

The bigger picture: mine to battery material

Graphite One is building a vertically integrated U.S. graphite supply chain: from the Graphite Creek deposit near Nome, Alaska, to AAM manufacturing at the Ohio facility. The U.S. Geological Survey ranks Graphite Creek as the largest graphite deposit in the United States and one of the largest in the world. Mine construction is targeted for 2028 and production for 2030. Under the federal FAST-41 timetable, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit decision on Graphite Creek is targeted by Sept. 30, 2027.

The air permit is available through the Ohio EPA website.

Graphite One's U.S. supply chain strategy

The goal: reducing U.S. dependence on foreign graphite. The strategy includes:

• Mining and processing natural graphite at Graphite Creek, Alaska;
• Transporting graphite materials through the Port of Nome;
• Manufacturing advanced graphite and anode materials in Ohio;
• Potential co-located recycling of graphite and other battery materials.

These steps are designed to support a circular U.S. graphite economy, subject to project financing.

About Graphite One Inc.

Graphite One continues to develop its Graphite One project with the goal of becoming an American producer of high-grade anode materials that is integrated with a domestic graphite resource. The project is proposed as a vertically integrated enterprise to mine and process natural graphite and to manufacture synthetic and natural graphite anode active materials primarily for the lithium-ion electric vehicle battery and energy storage markets.

We seek Safe Harbor.