Nano One Pre-Qualifies Lithium from Rio Tinto for LFP Cathode Production and Provides Strategic Collaboration Update

Highlights:

• Nano One has pre-qualified lithium raw materials from Rio Tinto for LFP cathode production

• The LFP cathode was made with Nano One's One-Pot™ process

Nano One continues to secure strategic supply chain relationships to support technology licensing growth model

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA / ACCESS Newswire / October 6, 2025 / (TSX:NANO)(OTCQB:NNOMF)(Frankfurt:LBMB)

Nano One Materials Corp. ("Nano One" or the "Company"), a process technology company specializing in lithium‑ion battery cathode active materials, is pleased to provide an update on its ongoing collaboration with Rio Tinto (together, the "Parties") specific to the pre-qualification of high-volume battery‑grade raw material inputs for Nano One's One-Pot lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode active material (CAM) production process.

"We are adding value to our technology and license offering by pre-qualifying feedstock that is critical to the production of LFP. This will assist our prospective licensee partners manage supply chain risks and accelerate time to market for future One-Pot commercial plants. There continues to be a need for secure, diversified, and economically localized LFP cathode active material supply chains. We believe that our One-Pot processing technology can be bundled with pre-qualified input feedstocks from premier producers such as Rio Tinto, to help partners, licensees, and customers achieve their objectives." stated Alex Holmes, Chief Operating Officer of Nano One.

Rio Tinto is a leading global mining group and a major lithium producer, with one of the world's largest lithium resource bases. With strategically located lithium assets across key regions, Rio Tinto intends to grow the capacity of its tier-1 lithium assets to over 200 thousand tonnes per year of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) by 2028^[1].

Collaboration and pre-qualification of Rio Tinto's critical minerals and raw materials inputs include:

• Lithium carbonate from Rio Tinto's Fenix site at the Salar del Hombre Muerto in Catamarca, Argentina qualified at C-sample (tonne scale) with 10 tonnes purchased for pilot and customer validation work

• Lithium carbonate from Rio Tinto's Olaroz site in Jujuy, Argentina qualified at A-sample (kilogram scale) for diversified sourcing strategy, progressing to C-sample qualification

• Pre-commercial lithium carbonate samples from Rio Tinto's Rincon project in Argentina have been evaluated for future supply

Nano One conducts qualification of battery‑grade raw materials through a rigorous, staged testing protocol at increasing scales from A-sample (kilograms) through C-sample (1-10 tonnes) prior to D-samples in a commercial plant setting. By pre-qualifying raw material inputs, Nano One aims to accelerate customer acceptance of its LFP product and LFP CAM licensing packages. This will also de‑risk supply chains for prospective licensees and fast-track A thru C sample qualification programs by as much as one year. The strategic collaboration between the Parties aligns with Nano One's technology licensing and growth strategy while supporting regional LFP supply chain development opportunities.