Aqua Metals and Yulho Form Strategic Partnership, Companies Plan to Deploy Sustainable Lithium Battery Recycling in South Korea - Seite 2

Yulho Materials previously completed the pilot demonstration of its own proprietary black mass process and has provided exceptional quality material samples to Aqua Metals. Yulho is currently building a high-purity black mass facility with an annual capacity of 8,000 metric tonnes, the largest in South Korea, and expects to commence production later this year, with plans to expand to 24,000 tonnes of capacity in the future.

Aqua Metals currently operates the first sustainable lithium battery recycling facility in the US, establishing itself as a leader in low-carbon, circular supply of critical battery materials. Using its cutting-edge AquaRefining technology, Aqua Metals recovers the metals and minerals contained in lithium battery black mass without the use of polluting furnaces or intensive chemical processes that produce excessive carbon emissions and chemical waste.

Yulho’s CEO Jeong-Nam Lee stated, “Since April, both companies have been engaged in confidential negotiations after signing a non-disclosure agreement. Given that each company excels in pre-processing and post-processing fields, we anticipate significant synergy resulting from this partnership.”

He further added, “We aim to expand our business model beyond a simple technology swap and joint venture establishment. Together, both companies will pursue collaborative ventures, elevating our business model.”

For the equity investment, Yulho has agreed to the purchase of approximately 4.5 million shares of common stock at a purchase price of $1.10 per share in a registered direct offering, totaling $5 million gross proceeds. The initial licensing agreement with Aqua Metals is expected to allow for up to 100,000 tonnes of materials processed per year in South Korea, and both companies anticipate the relationship expanding beyond Asia to the European Union as well. This deal was arranged by Network 1 Financial Securities and Nexpedia Holdings Co., Ltd.

Earlier today, Aqua Metals also announced the pricing of a firm commitment underwritten offering of more than 15 million shares of common stock at an offering price of $1.10 per share, bringing the total combined gross proceeds of the two offerings to approximately $22 million. The two capital raises are expected to fortify Aqua Metals’ balance sheet, enabling the Company to fund and pursue debt solutions for the first phase of development of its 10,000 tonnes per year commercial-scale recycling facility in Reno, NV, and achieve positive cash flow.