Mr. Spencer Huh reports

TECHNOLOGY ADVANCEMENT: NEO BATTERY EXPANDS PRODUCTION YIELD AND CAPACITY WITH MANUFACTURING INNOVATION

Neo Battery Materials Ltd. has made technological advancements in Neo Battery's silicon anode production yield, capacity and quality through its recent manufacturing innovation.

As announced on Jan. 11, 2024, the company filed its ninth patent to protect a significant process innovation in Neo's silicon anode materials, NBMSiDE. Direct implementation has resulted in the improvement of both NBMSiDE yield and quality, increasing the pilot-scale capacity to approximately 4,000 kilograms per year from several hundred kilograms based on continuous processing.

During NBMSiDE manufacturing, special additives effectively prevent silicon particle clustering or agglomeration by acting as an interparticle buffer layer. These layers (i) stabilize the interfacial energy between particles, (ii) reduce unnecessary particle damage during the milling process, thereby preventing excessive milling, and (iii) induce the uniform dispersion of particles in the solvents to improve manufacturing efficiency directly.

By developing similar innovations, Neo Battery Materials aims to become a leader in the silicon anode market by securing price competitiveness through increased production yield, and improving particle size uniformity and product quality.

Spencer Huh, president and chief executive officer of Neo, commented: "After the relocation and return to regular operations of the R&D [research and development] scale-up centre, the R&D engineering team industriously continued the analysis and formulation of the special additives. This innovation is significant, as no additional equipment or process changes are required to improve Neo's one-step production process. We are optimizing to minimize bottlenecks and deviations during manufacturing, increasing the yield and uniformity of NBMSiDE particle sizes."

Battery conference participation and corporate updates

Over the past two weeks, the company has participated in two global lithium-ion battery conferences: Battery Japan in Tokyo and InterBattery 2024 in Seoul. Key exhibiting companies include CATL, BYD, Honda Motors, Hyundai-Kia, LG Energy Solution, SK On, Samsung SDI and Posco Holdings.

Neo Battery's management and engineering team conversed and established relationships with over 100 battery materials, cell manufacturers, automotive OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) and investors. For the past week, the company has been in process to establish non-disclosure agreements and collaborations with more than 10 companies met during the conferences.

For new testing pipelines, the company is undertaking silicon anode material evaluations with an Indian-based battery cell manufacturer and automobile OEM, as well as European- and South Korean-based global battery cell manufacturers. With existing evaluators, Neo Battery Materials is preparing to conduct additional up-scaled testing with silicon-graphite anodes and full-cell testing.

Appointment of Daniel Lim as chief financial officer

The company is further pleased to announce that Mr. Lim has been appointed as the chief financial officer of Neo Battery Materials. Nancy Zhao has resigned from her role to pursue other interests, and the company deeply thanks her contribution over the past six years.

Mr. Lim has extensive accounting experience in accordance with Canadian and United States GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles), IFRS (international financial reporting standards), and Canadian and U.S. Corporate Income Tax Acts. Mr. Lim holds a certified public accountant (CPA) licence from Washington State. He has an excellent history of guiding corporate M&As (mergers and acquisitions), designing highly efficient financial systems, and optimizing business processes. Before joining the company, Mr. Lim has accumulated experience in various industries, including the public sector, IT (information technology), manufacturing and financial services, for over 15 years.

About Neo Battery Materials Ltd.

Neo Battery Materials is a Canadian battery material technology company focused on developing silicon anode materials for lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles, electronics and energy storage systems. With a patent-protected, low-cost manufacturing process, Neo Battery enables longer-running and ultrafast-charging batteries compared with existing state-of-the-art technologies. The company aims to be a globally leading producer of silicon anode materials for the electric vehicle and energy storage industries.

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