AQUA METALS, INC. LEADING A REVOLUTION
IN CLEAN METALS & BATTERY RECYCLING
NASDAQ: AQMS
December 2023
Copyright © 2023 Aqua Metals, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
1
Disclaimer
This presentation contains forward-looking statements concerning Aqua Metals, Inc. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, our plans, objectives, expectations and intentions and other statements that contain words such as "expects," "contemplates," "anticipates," "plans," "intends," "believes", "estimates", "potential" and variations of such words or similar expressions that convey the uncertainty of future events or outcomes, or that do not relate to historical matters. The forward-looking statements in this press release include our expectations for our pilot recycling plant, our ability to recycle lithium-ion batteries and the expected benefits of recycling lithium-ion batteries. Those forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially. Among those factors are: (1) the risk that we may not be able to acquire the funding necessary to develop our recently acquired five-acre campus; (2) the risk that we may not be able to develop the recycling facility on the five-acre campus within the expected time or at all; (3) even if we are able to develop the recycling facility, the risk that we may not realize the expected benefits; (4) the risk that licensees may refuse or be slow to adopt our AquaRefining process as an alternative in spite of the perceived benefits of AquaRefining; (5) the risk that we may not realize the expected economic benefits from any licenses we may enter into; and (6) those other risks disclosed in the section "Risk Factors" included in the company's Annual Reports of Form 10-K. Aqua Metals cautions readers not to
place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake and specifically disclaims any obligation to update or revise such
statements to reflect new circumstances or unanticipated events as they occur, except as required by law.
Copyright © 2023 Aqua Metals, Inc. All Rights Reserved. | 2 |
Investor Highlights
Patented recycling solution that has the potential to deliver the best economicsand the lowest environmental impact
Surging demand
EVs, mobile devices, solar storage, everything uses batteries, and demand is rapidly growing.
Component deficit
The minerals for making modern batteries are rare, expensive, and frequently mined in unfriendly regions. The US does not have a domestic supply chain and China is increasingly creating a monopoly.
Environmental disaster
Legacy recycling methods are dirty, hazardous, and inefficient. Current lithium-ion recycling produces far more carbon pollution and landfill waste than valuable material recovered.
Innovative solution with operational pilot proving technology, and plans for commercial-scale campus
Massive and growing | Greenfield opportunity for |
partnerships and strategic | |
global addressable market | |
alliances | |
Strong IP protection:
73 global patents; 43 patents pending
Only electro-hydrometallurgy recycler in North America
Well capitalized to reach | Only Li-Ion recycling |
consistent revenue from | method with pathway to |
recycling operations | net-zero operations |
AquaRefining recovers all valuable materials, including Lithium Hydroxide and Manganese Dioxide, which are not recovered by competing methods
Copyright © 2023 Aqua Metals, Inc. All Rights Reserved. | Copyright © 2022 Aqua Metals, Inc. All Rights Reserved. | 3 |
The World Is Powered By Batteries
Lead-Acid Batteries (LAB)
- Most of LABs are used in EVs/cars, forklifts, cranes, data centers and e-bikes
- LAB market is about $65B globally
- 95%+ of LABs are recycled, but at massive environmental cost through smelting, one of the top polluting industries in the world
- Typical LAB contains 60 to 80 percent recycled lead and plastic
• LAB market expected to rise at 5.2% CAGR from 2021-20311
Pb PbO2 PbSO4 H2SO4
Lithium-ion Batteries (LiB)
- Energy storage, microgrids, electric vehicles, and mobile electronics driving use-cases
- Only 5% of LiBs are recycled globally, from an estimated 8M tons/yr waste stream
- 145M EVs predicted to be on the roads globally by 2030
- Typical 10-year LiB life span, with an est. 6.5M tons available for recycling 2025-2030
- Legacy recycling processes generate polluting emissions and chemical waste streams
- Legacy process can not recover lithium hydroxide
- Demand for LiB expected to grow from $44B to $94B by 2025 2
• | Global battery demand for lithium and nickel will be 12-13x of the current size, | Co | Li | Ni | Cu | Mn |
2x of the current size for cobalt by 2040E 3 |
1 Future Market Insights; 2 CNBC, March 2022; 3 Goldman Sachs
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Expensive, Scarce Components in Li-ion Batteries
As demand for EV batteries grows, countries are racing to build domestic supply chains 99% of raw and component materials for LiBs are produced outside the U.S.
Mineral | Pricing and demand growth1 | Supply shortfall risks | Geopolitical challenges | |||
COBALT | • | Currently $33,400/MT | • Cobalt market to move into deficit by 2024. | • US sees cobalt a strategic and critical to U.S. | ||
• | 9.26% CAGR 2021-2025. | security. | ||||
Co | • More than 2/3s mined cobalt comes from | |||||
politically sensitive DRC. | ||||||
NICKEL | • | Currently $17,000/MT | • Class I nickel, essential for electric vehicle | • Indonesia a major supplier; converts low-grade | ||
• Nickel usage in EV battery sector predicted to | batteries, is expected to face a shortage for the | ore with high-carbon footprint to LiB quality. | ||||
Ni | increase 62% in 2022; 26% in 2023. | next three to five years (Oregon Group). | • Russia accounts for ~17% of production | |||
• | 7.3% CAGR 2021-2028. | • Ongoing LME market volatility. | capacity. | |||
MANGANESE | • | Currently $2,000/MT | • Manganese dioxide is a critical link in the LiB | • US is 100% dependent on manganese imports. | ||
• High purity manganese needed for EVs. | supply chain that is driving EV adoption. | • China #1 miner and dominates manganese ore | ||||
Mn | • Predicted 43% CAGR in next 5 years. | • Many battery producers shifting to NMC vs. NCA | and concentrate imports, with 75% of imports. | |||
batteries. | ||||||
COPPER | • | Currently $8,500/MT | • By 2027, nearly 600,000 MT of additional copper | • Supply chain issues at key copper Latin | ||
• Demand estimated to grow 53% by 2040, driven | needed to match EV demand (IDTechEx). | American countries, dearth of new mines. | ||||
Cu | by the electrification of transport and | • Forecasted deficit of 9M mt by 2030 (BMO | ||||
infrastructure (BNEF). | Capital markets), and 14M mt by 2040 (BNEF). | |||||
LITHIUM | • | Currently $19,000/MT (LiOH) | • Global LI market predicted to move into deficit | • China dominates lithium refining. 96% of | ||
• | 20.6% CAGR 2020-2025. | starting in 2025. | Australia's exports go to China; largest importer | |||
Li | • Lithium use up 4x since 2010 (BNEF). | • Typically produced as lithium carbonate, | of Chile's lithium carbonate. | |||
requires additional refining. | ||||||
1 Pricing based on London Metal Exchange, www.lme.com, and company estimates.
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The Next Generation Recycling Process
Replaces furnaces and heavy chemical use with 100% electricity-powered and closed- loop recycling, creating fundamentally non-polluting,cost-efficient solution that generates minimal waste
Proven for LABs and expanding to LiBs
Strong IP protection:
73 global patents
43 patents pending
Recovers the high-value metals lost in smelting (like lithium and manganese), and produces high purity products
Safer work environment, less hazardous materials, eliminates constant trainloads of chemicals
The only recycling process that:
Produces lithium hydroxide directly (or Li2CO3), reclaims high purity metals (not salts), regenerates chemicals used in closed-loop system, and has a clear pathway to net-zero operations
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Current LiB Recycling Technology Comparison
PYRO
Batteries
Smelting approach is currently a multistep pyro. Emissions will be unsustainable long term as recycling volume increases.
Cathode
Precursors
Furnace | Furnace | Furnace |
Combined product of | Separation step | Refining/Precursor |
cobalt and nickel | step |
Co | X | Ni | Cu | X | ||||
Li | Mn | |||||||
- Significant carbon pollution, toxic emissions
- Produces metal alloys needing further refinement
- Does not recover lithium or manganese
HYDRO | Not commercially proven. High waste streams and high embedded emissions in one-time-use chemcials |
Cathode
Precursors
Batteries | Break and | Black Mass |
Separation | Creation |
Chemical precipitation - not proven at scale
CoSO4 | Li | NiSO4 | CuSO4 | MnSO4 | ||||
- Unproven at scale, high risk pathway
- Recovers sulfates & salts, not pure metals
- Immense embedded emissions in chemicals
- Tons of unmitigated sodium sulfate waste
AQUAREFINING Expected to be economically and environmentally superior, producing higher quality product with better yield. | LiOH | |||
Co | Ni | Cu | MnO2 | |
or |
Li2CO3
Batteries | Break and | Black Mass | AQUAFREFINING | High purity metals |
Separation | Creation | plated | ||
Cathode | ||
• Produces high-puritymetals for any pCAM/CAM | ||
Precursors | ||
• Eliminates need for trainloads of chemicals | ||
• | No sodium sulfate waste streams to landfill | |
• | Multiple pathways (LiOH, Li2CO3, salt conversion) | |
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Game Changing Environmental Performance
Electrifying lithium battery recycling to reduce emissions and waste
- Aqua Metals' Li AquaRefining technology uses dramatically less energy - powered by electricity, instead of fossil fuels
- Much lower emissions per tonne recycled than pyro- and hydrometallurgical processes
- AquaRefining also produces substantially less waste than competing solutions - and no sodium sulfate
*Based on Argonne National Labs battery life-cycle model -EverBatt
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Pilot Recycling Operations Lifecycle Analysis
Independent Technical Report conducted by global engineering firm ICF International including Lifecycle Analysis (LCA) of Aqua Metals' AquaRefining Pilot
Technical Report Conclusions:
- Today, AquaRefining shows 83% reduction in carbon emissionscompared to hydrometallurgy - and can uniquely reduce climate impacts even further
~75% of emissions from NV grid electricity
- Sourcing carbon-free electricity lowers CO2 even further - beyond capabilities of hydro
- Currently off-setting emissions, securing VPPA for future commercial operations
~25% from black mass creation & transport from our supply chain
- Partnerships with low-carbon black mass producers actively reducing emissions
Lower climate emissions by design, and a clear pathway to net-zero LiB recycling
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Competitive Landscape Lithium Recycling
ENVIRONMENTAL
Pyro
(Smelting)
AquaRefining
ECONOMICS
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Aqua Metals Inc. published this content on 03 December 2023 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 05 December 2023 20:58:19 UTC.
