• Nouveau Monde is pleased to report continued progress on its Phase 1 purification plant at Olin Corporation’s facility in Bécancour, Québec, the development is on time and within budget
• Commencement of the mechanical and electrical commissioning of the purification unit is scheduled for the end of June with the ramp-up scheduled during second half of 2021
• Spherical purified graphite produced in the Company’s plant during H2-2021 will be coated at its supplier facility to accelerate its qualification process with battery makers
• Construction of the Company’s Phase 1 coating line has commenced and is expected to be commissioned in Q1-2022 facilitating its vertically integrated 2,000 tpa supply of coated spherical purified graphite
• Engineering firm BBA has been awarded the mandate to complete a definitive feasibility study for the 45,000 tpa Phase 2 Bécancour battery anode plant, building on the company’s FEL-1 Scoping study
• Ground works have started at the Company’s 200,000 m² plant site at Bécancour, on which the Phase 2 plant will be located, including geotechnical works for construction and environmental baseline studies

Nouveau Monde Graphite Inc. (NYSE: NMG) (TSX-V: NOU) (Frankfurt: NM9) is pleased to provide an update of its Phase 1 and Phase 2 projects of its battery anode material plants in Bécancour, Québec.

Phase 1 battery anode material plants de-risk the Company’s fully-integrated development.

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/aeb0bf40-e70c-4e70-851c-5487a5e32ee2

Aerial view of Nouveau Monde’s planned Phase 2 battery anode material plant in Bécancour. Learn more about the Company’s strategic location here:

https://youtu.be/CGh4ZChdHmc.

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/315509dd-3909-4786-9bb0-9e4d6bf03948

Phase 1 – Purification Plant at Olin’s Bécancour Facility

Following the announcement of the project debut on October 27, 2020, the Company is pleased to provide a progress update. The construction is advancing on time and on budget and the main construction activities on site are a few weeks away from being completed. The electrical and mechanical commissioning of the plant is scheduled to start before the end of June.

Exterior view of the purification plant at Olin’s facility, across the street from Nouveau Monde’s phase 2 site.

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/e673ba72-ab8b-432e-b79e-50d6cbf475ff

The deployment of the Phase 1 purification facility will place Nouveau Monde among very few companies in North America and Europe with the ability to purify natural graphite in significant scale and is yet another achievement to making the Company a leading producer of fully-integrated carbon-neutral lithium-ion battery anode material.

The Company will continue to update the market with progress once commissioning activities commence.

Phase 2 – Bécancour’s 45,000 tonne Lithium-Ion Battery Anode Material Plant

In parallel to the deployment of its phase 1 demonstration facilities, Nouveau Monde is developing a large-scale Phase 2 battery anode material plant of 42kT of coated spherical graphite used as active anode material in lithium-ion batteries and 3kT of purified graphite used in hydrogen fuel cells and 5G heat dissipation foils. Following positive results of a FEL-1 Scoping study, the Company is proceeding with the complete feasibility study on the project.

After a ‘request for proposal’ process and thorough analysis of the best engineering firms to support the project development, Nouveau Monde is proud to announce that BBA has been awarded the mandate to develop a complete feasibility study on the Bécancour Phase 2 battery anode material plant project. Acting as lead engineering firm on the project, BBA will oversee the development of the process in partnership with the Company’s highly skilled technical team. Amongst other responsibilities, BBA and Nouveau Monde will work together at integrating the technical data produced during the operation of its Phase 1 battery anode material demonstration facility, as well as on trials in partnered research centers and at specialized international equipment suppliers. The feasibility study is scheduled to be completed in Q2-2022 at which point the Company will be transitioning to the execution phase of the project.

Moreover, following the strategic acquisition of the Company’s 200,000 m² land parcel in the Bécancour Industrial Park, ground works were initiated to establish the environmental baseline of the site and geotechnical data will be gathered during the summer to complete the work realized in 2020.

Arne H Frandsen, Chairman of Nouveau Monde stated: “We are very pleased to be commencing the commissioning of our Phase 1 plant this month. With COVID-19 still being a limiting factor, I am proud of our team’s ability to deliver this important project ‘on budget and on time’! With other battery material providers also selecting Bécancour as their location for beneficiation of battery material, Bécancour is rapidly becoming one of North America’s most important battery hubs.”

Eric Desaulniers, Founder, President and CEO of Nouveau Monde, added: “We are excited to be working on what is currently the largest and most advanced fully integrated lithium-ion anode material project in North America. With our Phase 1 battery anode material plant expected to be up and running soon, the continued de-risking our project is taking speed. Our phased deployment strategy allows us to offer in the upcoming months significant quantities for qualification purposes to support the continuous negotiations around long-term strategic supply agreements with our potential battery and car maker customers”.

About Nouveau Monde

Nouveau Monde is striving to become a key contributor to the sustainable energy revolution. The Company is working towards developing a fully-integrated source of green battery anode material in Québec, Canada. Targeting commercial operations by 2023, the Company is developing advanced carbon-neutral graphite-based material solutions for the growing lithium-ion and fuel cell markets. With low-cost operations and enviable ESG standards, Nouveau Monde aspires to become a strategic supplier to the world’s leading battery and automobile manufacturers, providing high performing and reliable advanced materials while promoting sustainability and supply chain traceability.