22 October 2024

Neometals Ltd

("Neometals" or "the Company")

Mercedes Benz Plant Opening

Sustainable process technology developer, Neometals Ltd (ASX: NMT, AIM: NMT & OTCQX: NMTAY) ("Neometals" or "the Company"), is pleased to announce the official inauguration by Mercedes-Benz ("Mercedes") of its integrated mechanical-hydrometallurgical lithium-ion battery ("LiB") recycling plant in Kuppenheim, Germany, which uses the technology of Neometals' 50:50 incorporated JV (Primobius GmbH) ("Primobius"). The full text of the Primobius press release is set out below.

Primobius is an incorporated battery recycling joint venture ("JV") company, owned 50:50 by Neometals and SMS group GmbH ("SMS"). Primobius is commercialising a patented LiB recycling process via a plant supply and technology licensing business model.

Primobius has designed, fabricated and is installing a 2,500 tpa integrated plant under purchase orders received from Mercedes after it was selected as technology partner in March 2022. Primobius has also entered into a five (5)-year research collaboration aimed at jointly developing a tailored, industrial-scale LiB recycling solution for Mercedes.^[1]

Neometals Managing Director, Chris Reed, said:

"We are incredibly proud of Primobius and its team's achievement on its journey to deliver lithium-ion battery recycling plants to our valued customers and licensees around the world. The inauguration of Mercedes-Benz's plant in Kuppenheim is a momentous day and a vital milestone in affirming our credibility, quality and commitment to serving our customers' needs now and into the future."

Primobius Press Release: 21 October 2024

Recycling plant opened - Mercedes-Benz closes its own battery loop with Primobius technology

·      First battery recycling plant in Europe based on an integrated mechanical-hydrometallurgical process opened by Mercedes-Benz in Kuppenheim, southern Germany

·      Primobius provides the technology to recover key materials such as lithium, nickel, cobalt and more to enable the production of new battery modules

Kuppenheim. On October 21, Mercedes-Benz officially opened Europe's first battery recycling plant based on an integrated mechanical-hydrometallurgical process. As the cooperation partner, Primobius is responsible for the engineering, equipment supply, and installation of the two-stage recycling plant. The integrated solution, which Primobius built for Mercedes-Benz, is aimed at producing high-purity, low-carbon battery materials for reuse in the supply chain.

Dr. Michel Siemon, CEO: "Primobius has put much effort into this project and we are proud to support Mercedes-Benz in achieving its ambitious goals with our efficient, sustainable recycling solution. Together we will generate high-purity, low-carbon footprint battery materials for reuse in the battery supply chain. I am very proud of the entire team and also the excellent collaboration we established with Mercedes-Benz."

Integrated mechanical-hydrometallurgical recycling concept

With Primobius' technology at its Kuppenheim site, Mercedes-Benz is the first automotive manufacturer worldwide to close the battery material loop with its own recycling plant. The process covers all steps, from shredding the battery modules to drying and processing the battery's active materials.

While the mechanical process sorts the plastics, copper, aluminum, and iron by type in a complex, multi-stage process, the downstream hydrometallurgical process focuses on the so-called black mass, which is the main product from the mechanical process. Black mass contains the valuable materials that make up the electrodes in battery cells. The valuable metals comprising lithium, nickel, cobalt and manganese are extracted individually in a multi-stage chemical process. The process is designed to produce recycled materials of battery-grade quality which can be used to produce new battery cells.

"The reality is that electric vehicles have a very large legacy CO₂ footprint from the production phase owing to the whole life carbon emissions associated with the battery raw materials involved. The concept of electromobility can only be sustainable once we succeed in recovering valuable battery materials in an energy-efficient way. That is exactly what we do with our solutions. We are proud to be amongst the first to realize a resource-efficient recycling technology in the heart of Europe," says Dr. Michel Siemon.

The Mercedes-Benz battery recycling plant in Kuppenheim has an annual capacity of 2,500 tons. The recovered materials will be used to produce more than 50,000 battery modules for new all-electric Mercedes-Benz models. The shredder in Kuppenheim has been in operation since spring 2024, with final commissioning in progress. Final assembly and commissioning of the hydrometallurgical processes will continue gradually after the opening event.

Authorised for release by the Board of Neometals Ltd.

- ENDS -

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About Neometals

Neometals facilitates sustainable critical material supply chains and reduces the environmental burden of traditional mining in the global transition to a circular economy.

The Company is commercialising a portfolio of sustainable processing solutions that recycle and recover critical materials from high-value waste streams.

·      Neometals' core focus is its patented, Lithium-ion Battery ("LiB") Recycling technology (50% NMT), being commercialised in a 50:50 incorporated JV (Primobius GmbH) with 150-year-old German plant builder, SMS group GmbH. Primobius is supplying Mercedes-Benz a 2,500tpa recycling plant and operates its own LiB Disposal Service in Germany. Primobius' first 21,000tpa commercial plant will be offered to Stelco under an existing technology licence for North America.

Neometals is developing two advanced battery materials technologies for commercialisation under low-risk, low-capex technology licensing business models:

·      Lithium Chemicals (70% NMT) - Patented ELi™ electrolysis process, co-owned 30% by Mineral Resources Ltd, to produce battery quality lithium hydroxide from brine and/or hard-rock feedstocks at lowest quartile operating costs. Pilot scale test work and Engineering Cost Study update planned for completion in DecQ 2024; and

·      Vanadium Recovery (100% NMT) - Patent pending hydrometallurgical process to produce high-purity vanadium pentoxide from steelmaking by-product ("Slag") at lowest-quartile operating cost and carbon footprint.

For further information, visit: www.neometals.com.au.