August 21, 2023
Vancouver, Canada (TSX: NANO) (OTC: NNOMF) (Frankfurt: LBMB)
Highlights:
Nano One successfully completes its second SDTC funded project.
Initiated in May 2019, a final contribution of $803K was recently awarded, totalling $8.25M.
Proceeds were focused on scaling Nano One’s One-Pot process technology and team, for the production of LFP and NMC materials.
Funding also accelerated Nano One’s acquisition of critical equipment, advanced its M2CAM® technology development and validated the cost-competitiveness of its process technologies.
Nano One® Materials Corp. (“Nano One” or the “Company”) is a clean technology company with patented processes for the production of lithium-ion battery cathode active materials (“CAM”) that enable secure and resilient supply chains by driving down cost, complexity, energy intensity, and environmental footprint. The Company is pleased to report that it has received the final contribution of $803,300 from Sustainable Development Technology Canada (“SDTC”) and the Government of British Columbia’s Innovative Clean Energy (“ICE”) Fund. This completes the Company’s second SDTC project and its success led to a third SDTC funded project that was previously announced in February 2023 which is expected to provide an additional $10 million in non-dilutive funding.
Support for Nano One’s Scaling of Advanced Battery Materials Project was awarded by SDTC in May 2019 and completed in January 2023 with total government contributions of $8.25M, with $5.25M from SDTC and $3M from the ICE Fund, respectively. This final contribution of $803,300 represents a 10% holdback that is awarded once all successful commitments and reporting requirements have been achieved.
“SDTC has been an important contributor to Nano One over the years and has been instrumental in propelling us to where we are today,” stated Nano One’s CEO Mr. Dan Blondal. “Their funding for this project provided the means to execute our business plans and aided in securing additional support from the capital markets and from various strategically interested parties. With SDTC and ICE Fund support, we grew our team, added to our portfolio of intellectual property and optimized our processing technology and know-how. We believe we can be cleaner, greener and leaner than the methods used in Asia, while being cost competitive in Canada, North America, Europe and the Indo-Pacific region.”
Advancing the Scale of the One-Pot Process
The funded project helped Nano One accelerate significant advances in scaling of its One-Pot process for lithium iron phosphate (“LFP”), specifically in preparation for pilot and industrial scale production at its recently acquired facilities in Candiac, Québec. The project enabled 10 kg batches of One-Pot LFP and greater for third party evaluation that have since led to trials in the company’s Candiac facility that are exceeding 1000 kg (1 tonne).
Through the course of the project, the team was able to reduce reaction times resulting in cost reduction and improved yield. The team also reduced CAPEX and OPEX associated with the One-Pot process for LFP as compared to existing LFP methods and they developed a comprehensive techno-economic model for LFP, providing confidence for large scale piloting and production activities at its Candiac facility.
The project also supported the development of Nano One’s innovative metal-to-cathode-active-materials (“M2CAM”) technology, that simplifies the supply chain and enables the use of metal powders instead of environmentally problematic metal sulphates. M2CAM aims to eliminate wastewater and waste sulphate, cost effectively, and this is of increasing strategic interest in North America, Europe and other regions where there are environmental standards coupled with the need for tens of millions of tonnes of CAM production.
Kelli Forster, Senior Vice President of People and Culture stated, “The financial support from SDTC and the ICE Fund has enabled us to further attract and retain industry leading experts with science, engineering and business backgrounds. We have the most experienced LFP production team in North America and by pairing this with our innovative culture, we are setting the stage to change how the world makes battery materials. I am proud of our team, and I look forward to its continued growth.”
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About Sustainable Development Technology Canada
At SDTC, we support companies attempting to do extraordinary things.
From initial funding to educational support and peer learning to market integration, we are invested in helping our small and medium-sized businesses grow into successful companies that employ Canadians from coast to coast to coast. We are relentlessly focused on supporting our companies to grow and scale in an increasingly competitive marketplace.
The innovations we fund help solve some of the world’s most pressing environmental challenges: climate change, regeneration through the circular economy, and the well-being of humans in the communities they live in and the natural environment they interact with.