• Joint venture provides G6 Energy with exclusive and perpetual rights to proven and established proprietary technology for the production of natural graphite anode materials outside South Korea.
• Process technology has been tested and qualified and is currently producing commercial quantities of spheronized, purified graphite (“SPG”) in South Korea supplying a global Tier-1 OEM for use in lithium-ion batteries.
• Provides G6 Energy with a complete, turn-key facility to be located in North America that is a replica of the current production facility in South Korea.
• Positions G6 Energy to be the first-to-market vertically integrated North American natural graphite anode material producer.
TORONTO, CANADA – October 3, 2023 - G6 Energy Corp. (“G6 Energy”) has formed a joint venture with SynChemie Korea, an established South Korean anode materials developer and producer (“SynChemie”). The joint venture, called G6 Materials Corp., has been granted exclusive and perpetual rights to all intellectual property of SynChemie for the production of coated SPG (“CSPG”) worldwide outside of South Korea. The joint venture represents a significant step towards enhancing supply chain security against China and accelerating the establishment of a robust and localized North American battery supply chain.
SynChemie Korea is a pre-eminent South Korean technology developer with an emphasis on battery technologies, coating and graphene. Through significant investment of approximately US$30 million to date, SynChemie's process technology has undergone over seven years of research and development where it was refined and optimized to improve spheronization yields and to utilize significantly reduced amounts of reagents, water and power as compared to the global Chinese standard. SynChemie’s process technology has been tested and qualified and is currently producing commercial quantities of SPG in South Korea supplying a global Tier-1 OEM for use in lithium-ion battery production.
SynChemie will act as the technical partner to the joint venture and provide a complete, turn- key anode material operation that is a duplicate of the facility built in South Kore As the technical partner, SynChemie will share their proprietary intellectual property by designing and developing the processing plant process flowsheets, sourcing proprietary spheronizing, purification and coating process equipment, and providing all necessary training and operational know how.
Importantly, the CSPG processing facility will be capable of processing flake graphite concentrate from both G6 Energy’s Kearney graphite mine located in Ontario, Canada as well as graphite concentrate obtained from third parties.
The joint venture plans to construct its first CSPG processing facility in North America with production dedicated to the local market. The processing equipment is fully modular by design allowing G6 Energy to employ a staged approach to the development of its CSPG processing capacity. The first phase of production is targeted to commence in 2025 at a rate of approximately 5,000 tons per annum (“tpa”) of CSPG production capacity. The target capacity is projected to reach 25,000 tpa in 2026 ramping to 50,000 tpa by 2027.
G6 Energy, together with SynChemie, is currently completing a site selection evaluation process to identify potential site locations for its CSPG processing facility in Canada and the USA, that offer strategic positions along transport corridors, low power costs, skilled labour pools and attractive regional infrastructure and tax incentives. G6 Energy has also initiated the application process to access various financial loans and grants offered under Canadian federal and provincial programs and the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act.
Harnessing SynChemie’s proven process technology, industry know-how and ecosystem connectivity provides G6 Energy with a significant first-mover advantage over other competitors that are developing their own graphite conversion intellectual property and need to qualify their material for use in the supply chains of major electric vehicle and battery cell manufacturers (“OEMs”). It also allows G6 Energy to provide OEMs with a solution to the need to diversify away from Chinese dominant anode material supply without the major development risks associated with a new entrant.
By establishing a comprehensive localized mine-to-anode materials supply chain, G6 Energy solidifies its strategic position in advancing the North American battery supply chain. This partnership aligns with Western governments' goals for sustainability, security, and supply chain localization, offering a viable solution to reduce reliance on foreign sources. Through this alliance, G6 Energy aims to support the clean energy revolution, enhance the adoption of electric vehicles, and drive economic growth and job creation in North America and beyond.
For more information about G6 Energy and the exclusive partnership with SynChemie Korea
Co, please visit www.gsixenergy.com
About SynChemie:
SynChemie is a technology developer specializing in battery technologies, coating technologies, silicon and graphene applications, and advanced battery material development. Founded by Se Yoon Kim Ph.D., an eminent innovator in polymer and material sciences, SynChemie leverages cutting-edge research to solve real-world problems and advance global sustainability goals. Driven by a vision of a more sustainable future, SynChemie pushes the boundaries of material science to create breakthrough solutions in various domains, including defense, safety, and energy storage.
Dr. Kim, and the broader Kim family are esteemed members of the South Korean science, technology and industrial business ecosystems; having ideated and commercialized graphene and graphite technologies. The family is deeply committed to areas of continuous innovation and commercialization of future-focused technologies.
About G6 Energy:
G6 Energy Corp is a Toronto-based battery material developer and supplier leading the global shift toward sustainable energy. G6 mission is to develop North America’s first-to- market vertically integrated natural graphite anode material producer. G6 wholly owns the past-producing Kearney natural graphite mine, strategically located less than 300 km from Toronto, Ontario and, one of the world's largest compliant NI 43-101 graphite deposits, providing a reliable and secure North American graphite supply.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information
This news release contains certain “forward-looking information” and “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of applicable securities laws (collectively, “forward-looking statements”), which relate to future events or future performance. Such forward-looking statements reflect management’s current beliefs and are based on information currently available to it. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as “may”, “would”, “could”, “will”, “should”, “expect”, “intend”, “aim”, “attempt”, “anticipate”,
“believe”, “study”, “target”, “estimate”, “forecast”, “predict”, “outlook”, “mission”, “aspire”, “plan”, “schedule”, “potential”, “progress” or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. In particular, forward-looking information included herein includes, without limitation, timing for the proposed phased development of the CSPG processing facility in North America; the projected annual production rate of the Company’s planned phases of CSPG operations; the objective of developing the first fully integrated natural graphite anode operation in North America; the availability of government funding assistance on terms attractive to G6 Energy or at all; the ability to obtain sufficient financing for the CSPG processing plant are or involve forward-looking statements. Forward- looking information is based on the opinions, assumptions and estimates of management considered reasonable at the date the statements are made and is inherently subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other known or unknown factors that may cause actual events or results to differ materially from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. Risk factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, among others, delays in the scheduled delivery times of the CSPG processing equipment, the availability of financing or financing on favorable terms for the Company, the dependence on commodity prices, the impact of inflation on costs, the risks of obtaining the necessary permits, competitive factors in the graphite mining and production industry, changes in laws and regulations affecting the Company’s businesses, political and social acceptability risk, environmental regulation risk, currency and exchange rate risk, technological developments, the impacts of the global COVID-19 pandemic and the governments’ responses thereto, and general economic conditions, as well as earnings, capital expenditure, cash flow and capital structure risks and general business risks.
Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that may cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake to update or revise any forward-looking statement that is included in this presentation, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.