Altech Advanced Materials AG ("AAM" or the "Company") (FRA: AMA) announces the results for the definitive feasibility study (DFS) prepared by Altech in cooperation with HATCH Küttner GmbH ("HATCH"), responsible for plant and process engineering, and ARIKON Infrastruktur GmbH ("Arikon"), responsible for building, infrastructure and environmental engineering, for the Silumina Anodes plant in Schwarze Pumpe, Saxony, for the coating of silicon for anode composite material to increase the performance of lithium-ion batteries. Since the preliminary feasibility study published in April 2022, Altech has achieved significant technical improvements in the preparation of the Silumina Anodes project, which is also reflected in the forecast financial figures for the Silumina Anodes plant. The plant is designed for the production of 8,000 tonnes per year of metallurgical silicon coated with aluminium oxide. Silumina Anodes material is added to conventional anode graphite at a rate of 10%, providing a performance-enhancing anode composite material for the production of approximately 120 gigawatt hours (GWh) of high-performance lithium-ion batteries.

Based on the current price and cost calculation, full capacity utilisation of the plant opens up an EBITDA potential (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) of EUR 105 million per year on average in the medium term. At full production capacity utilisation of 8,000 tpa, the plant's total annual revenue amounts to EUR 328 million, based on a long-term FOB (Free On Board) price for silumina anodes, which offers the same unit energy price as conventional graphite products with improved energy density.

The net present value (NPV) before taxes for the investment is EUR 684 million at a discount rate of 10%. The internal rate of return (IRR) is 34% and the capital repayment period is 2.4 years. The cost of capital for the plant on a full cost basis, including additional provisions and commissioning, is EUR 112 million.

Tests have shown that Silumina anodes enable at least 30 % higher energy density and thus performance of the batteries, as well as a longer service life and increased safety.

Explanatory part
Altech recently announced (see press release dated 16 November 2023) that it would concentrate its entire production capacity on silicon. Originally, Silumina Anodes were to be a coated composite material consisting of a mixture of 90 % graphite and 10 % silicon. The concentration on silicon leads to considerable improvements in the overall economic balance of the project, without this technical adjustment resulting in significant additional costs. The pilot plant is nearing completion and is currently being commissioned and is expected to produce the first material for qualification by battery manufacturers in early 2024.

Silumina Anodes is particularly suitable for use in the field of electromobility. Altech has concluded extensive NDAs with German and US car manufacturers as well as a European battery manufacturer and a US supplier of battery materials. The companies are showing great interest in acquiring commercial samples for their testing and qualification processes. Altech has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Ferroglobe, a leading global manufacturer of metallurgical silicon, to secure the future supply of high-purity nano-silicon.

The Silumina Anodes plant has received a "Medium Green" rating from the independent Centre for International Climate Research (CICERO) in Norway. This means that the plant complies with all green bond principles and is suitable for green bond financing. This "Green" certification of Silumina Anodes is also an important argument for battery and car manufacturers to reduce their carbon footprint.

The summary of the feasibility study can be downloaded from the Altech Advanced Materials AG website www.altechadvancedmaterials.com in the "Project information" section.

About Silumina Anodes
The Altech Group has developed a wet-technical method for coating the anode material of a battery with high-purity aluminium oxide in the nanometre range in a cost-effective and high-quality industrial standard. By coating silicon with high-purity aluminium oxide and adding it to the usual graphite anode material, the performance of the battery can be increased. With an admixture of 10 %, an increase in performance of more than 30 % has been confirmed in laboratory tests, as silicon has ten times the energy storage capacity of graphite. Until now, however, silicon could not be used in commercial lithium-ion batteries because silicon particles swell by up to 300% during the battery charging process. This leads to partial failure of the battery. At the same time, lithium ions attach themselves to the anode as a separating layer and are thus deactivated, meaning they are no longer available for the energy flow. Although this also happens with pure graphite anodes, this negative effect is much stronger with silicon-containing anodes and leads to an initial charge loss of up to 50 % of the theoretical battery capacity. These side effects have so far cancelled out the potential benefits of adding silicon. The Altech Group has succeeded in coating silicon in the nanometre range and thus largely overcoming the problems described.

About Altech Advanced Materials AG
Altech Advanced Materials AG (ISIN: DE000A31C3Y4 and DE000A31C3Z1), based in Frankfurt am Main, is a holding company listed on the regulated market of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The company's aim is to participate in the market for solid-state batteries for stationary battery use with CERENERGY®.

Another focus is on lithium-ion batteries. An innovative anode material based on high-purity aluminium oxide (HPA) - Silumina Anodes™ - is intended to significantly increase the performance of this battery for electromobility.

Further information at: www.altechadvancedmaterials.com

Altech Advanced Materials AG
Executive Board: Iggy Tan, Uwe Ahrens, Hansjörg Plaggemars
Ziegelhäuser Landstraße 3
69120 Heidelberg
[email protected]
Tel: + 49 6221 649 2482
www.altechadvancedmaterials.com

Press contact
Ralf Droz / Doron Kaufmann, edicto GmbH
Tel: +49 (0) 69 905505-54
e-mail: [email protected]

ARIKON AG
Arikon AG, Komturstraße 18 A, 12099 Berlin, e-mail: [email protected], web https://www.arikon.de/, is a leading project developer and industrial plant constructor and combines expertise in all peripheral trades including architecture, air, waste water and building services engineering and also manages the relevant approval procedures.

Hatch Küttner GmbH
Hatch Küttner GmbH, Alfredstr. 28, 45130 Essen, [email protected], Web. www.kuettner.com/de, is part of the world-leading engineering and consulting company HATCH. With extensive expertise and resources in plant and process engineering in general and chemical processes in particular, HATCH is the competent partner for the development and construction of the Silumina Anodes plant. The pilot plant was developed by Altech together with HATCH.