Mr. Bernard Tourillon reports

18650 TYPE BATTERIES PRODUCED WITH FIRST GEN ENGINEERED SIOX MATERIAL DELIVER STRONG PERFORMANCE AT 25 CYCLES

HPQ Silicon Inc.'s France-based affiliate, Novacium SAS, has achieved a major milestone. This announcement sheds light on the encouraging outcomes observed at the 25-cycle milestone in the continuous charge-discharge cycle testing of 18650 industrial batteries.

"The test results continue to exceed our expectations," said Dr. Jed Kraiem, PhD, chief operating officer of Novacium. "The results after 25 cycles keep surpassing our internal theoretical estimate of a 10-per-cent improvement in battery performance.

"These results demonstrate our ability to produce a graphite and engineered SiOx anode material blend that can enhance battery performance."

Maintaining 14-per-cent battery capacity improvement for 25 cycles

The testing evaluates the performance of batteries composed of a 90 per cent weightt graphite and 10 per cent weight Novacium's engineered SiOx blend, a material for which HPQ holds exclusive global licences, comparing them with benchmark batteries with 100 per cent graphite anode material.

The three batteries utilizing Novacium's custom-engineered SiOx blend demonstrated a high discharge capacity of approximately 3.18 ampere-hours (Ah), outperforming the benchmark set by three comparison batteries with a capacity of 2.70 Ah over 25 cycles. This represents a 14-per-cent enhancement in the full-battery capacity of industrial-type batteries when compared with those with a 100 per cent graphite anode, marking a significant milestone within the initial 25 cycles.

Capacity improvement without degradation for 25 cycles

"Silicon's tendency to expand and contract during charging and discharging cycles often results in a notable loss of capacity when compared to graphite-based batteries," added Dr. Kraiem. "The observation that there is no measurable cycle degradation between the batteries made entirely of graphite and those incorporating Novacium's engineered SiOx blend after 25 cycles is an encouraging indicator of the material's commercial viability in the battery manufacturing sector."

Novacium engineered SiOx material and the HPQ Silicon initiative

The results obtained to date with a non-optimized version of Novacium's engineered SiOx material highlight the adaptability and compatibility of Novacium's methods and suggest the possibility of developing better-performing materials with broader industry applications. Central to HPQ's Silicon initiative is the goal of creating materials that can be seamlessly integrated into most existing battery manufacturing processes.

The commercial potential of this material will target various industrial applications, including energy storage systems, consumer electronics and electric vehicles. To implement this, HPQ's strategy is to commence production of this proprietary engineered SiOx anode material using cost-effective equipment and highly scalable processes already proven in a multiton-scale pilot manufacturing line. This approach should shorten the time to commercial scalability and enables the seamless integration of the anode material into existing electrode mixing and coating equipment. The resulting graphite and SiOx mixture will significantly enhance battery capacity and can be utilized without modification by large-scale gigafactories worldwide.

"I am profoundly encouraged by the results we've seen with the initial iterations of Novacium's engineered SiOx material," said Bernard Tourillon, president and chief executive officer of HPQ Silicon and Novacium. "Our vision extends beyond mere innovation; we are setting the stage for a new era where our materials will meet and exceed the demands of various industries. As we prepare to scale up our manufacturing capability, we are demonstrating our readiness for large-scale production."

About Novacium SAS

Novacium is an HPQ-associated company started in the third quarter of 2022. This green technology startup is based in Lyon, France, and is a partnership with HPQ and three of France's leading research engineers, Dr. Kraiem, PhD, Novacium's chief operating officer (COO), Dr. Oleksiy Nichiporuk, PhD, Novacium's chief technical officer (CTO), and Dr. Julien Degoulange, PhD, Novacium's chief innovation officer (CIO). Novacium is a new research and development company which allows the researchers to develop their own technology in high-added-value fields connected to renewable energy, and allows HPQ Silicon, a Canadian company, to expand the depth and reach of technical team to help develop its silicon and new renewable energy projects.

About HPQ Silicon Inc.

HPQ Silicon is a Quebec-based TSX Venture Exchange Tier 1 industrial issuer. HPQ is developing, with the support of world-class technology partners PyroGenesis Canada Inc. and Novacium, new green processes crucial to make the critical materials needed to reach net-zero emissions.

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