Electra Battery Materials Corporation announced that it has received $5 million in contribution funding from Natural Resources Canada to support the development of its proprietary battery materials recycling technology. In 2023, the Company successfully operated a battery materials recycling demonstration plant in a batch process at its refinery complex, processing more than 40 tonnes of end-of-life battery scrap, known as "black mass," and producing high-quality nickel, cobalt and lithium products. Building on this success, Electra is accelerating the next phase of its recycling project to demonstrate on a continuous basis that the Company's hydrometallurgical black mass process is scalable, profitable, and can be implemented at other locations.

The Government of Canada, through National Resources Canada's Critical Minerals Research, Development and Demonstration program, has committedfunding of $5 million for this project, which will be based at the Company's fully permitted property about five hours north of Toronto, Ontario, in Temiskaming Shores. Recycling and recovery of these critical metals would reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the EV supply chain and decrease reliance on foreign countries for critical minerals. The announcement was made in Sudbury, alongside an announcement of funding into the Mining Innovation Rehabilitation and Applied Research Corp.

(MIRARCO). North of Toronto, Electra is constructing North America?s only cobalt sulfate refinery as part of a multiphase effort to onshore refining capabilities for cathode materials. Electra?s priority is to secure the capital required to recommission and expand its cobalt refinery, and its long-term vision includes additional phases to provide recycled battery materials and battery grade nickel to the North American and global electric vehicle battery market.

Electra?s 2023 battery materials recycling demonstration program is believed to be the first plant-scale recycling of black mass material in North America as well as the first domestic production of nickel-cobalt mixed hydroxide precipitate product (?MHP?). Electra?s proprietary hydrometallurgical process successfully recovered MHP, lithium carbonate, graphite and other commercial products from 40 tonnes of black mass. During the year-long recycling trial, recovery rates for all targeted metals improved with recovery for manganese improving by more than 50% from results achieved in a lab setting.

The metal content in the MHP increased 5 to 10% over the course of the trial. By early 2024, the quality of the Company?s lithium carbonate was approaching technical grade. Increasing metal content results in a higher value saleable product, thereby improving the potential economics of continuous recycling operations.

Today?s federal funding from Natural Resources Canada will allow Electra to continue testing its black mass refining to optimize the process parameters and reagent consumption as well as maximize percent recovery of critical metals and their quality. The Company will also explore the potential of isolating cobalt from nickel contained in the MHP product to improve the overall payability of both the resultant cobalt and nickel product. Ultimately, this program will support commercial discussions with battery cell manufacturers seeking North American-based solutions for a circular supply chain.