TMC, The Metals Company Inc. announced that it has signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (“MoU”) with Epsilon Carbon Pvt. Ltd. to complete a pre-feasibility study for a commercial-scale deep-sea nodule processing plant in India with targeted production capacity of more than 30,000 tons per annum (TPA) of an intermediate nickel-copper-cobalt matte product used for active cathode material (CAM) for Nickel Manganese Cobalt (NMC) and other nickel-rich cathode chemistries for lithium-ion batteries and more than 750,000 TPA of manganese silicate by-product expected to be used in manganese alloy production for the steel industry (“Project Zero Plant”). TMC and Epsilon Carbon envision a long-term partnership: TMC, through its subsidiaries, intends to supply polymetallic nodules and onshore processing expertise; Epsilon Carbon intends to finance, engineer, permit, build and operate the Project Zero Plant.

TMC has shared with Epsilon Carbon the near-zero solid waste processing flowsheet developed together with Canadian technology and engineering firms between 2018 and 2021 and technical results from a pilot plant program completed in 2021 at FLSmidth's facilities in Whitehall, PA, USA, and at eXpert Processing Solutions' (XPS) facilities in Sudbury, ON, Canada. Epsilon Carbon intends to deliver a pre-feasibility report (“PFR”) for a plant in India powered by renewables and with the targeted processing capacity of 1.3 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) of wet nodules and production start in time to receive nodules collected from NORI-D area starting around Fourth Quarter 2024, provided, that TMC's subsidiary NORI secures an exploitation contract from the International Seabed Authority. It is anticipated that TMC and Epsilon Carbon will enter a binding Heads of Terms for construction and operations of Project Zero Plant by September 30, 2022.

TMC and Epsilon Carbon have both agreed not to enter into any binding agreements with third parties for the construction and operation of a processing plant for polymetallic nodules through the earlier of TMC and Epsilon Carbon entering into binding Heads of Terms contemplated in the MoU or March 31, 2023.