Nouveau Monde Admitted to the Global Battery Alliance – with Focus on Promoting Sustainability and Accountability for the Entire Battery Materials Value Chain
- As one of the first battery materials producers, Nouveau Monde has been admitted as an active member of the prestigious Global Battery Alliance ("GBA")
- The GBA is a World Economic Forum's initiative, admitting leading players of the entire battery value chain
- The GBA strives to establish a circular and sustainable battery value chain through public-private leadership and partnerships
- Nouveau Monde's firm commitment to sustainability, carbon neutrality as well as exemplary ESG practices, is fully aligned with the GBA's founding principles
- Amongst the key initiatives, as an active member, Nouveau Monde will seek to contribute to the development and implementation of the GBA's Battery Passport
- Nouveau Monde already participates in the GBA pilot project targeting the development of traceability for key battery materials from mining to anode and cathode production
- Having an integrated business model, from mining to the manufacturing of anode battery materials, Nouveau Monde is ideally positioned to play a leading role in advancing GBA's important agenda
MONTREAL, Aug. 31, 2021 - Nouveau Monde Graphite Inc. ("Nouveau Monde" or the "Company") (NYSE: NMG, TSXV: NOU) has been admitted as an active member of the Global Battery Alliance ("GBA"), a World Economic Forum's initiative dedicated to helping establish a sustainable battery value chain. Through this public-private collaboration platform, Nouveau Monde joins battery manufacturers, automakers, technology companies, governments, and international organizations. Members include Alliance for Responsible Mining, BMW Group, Google, Groupe Renault, Honda Motors, International Energy Agency, Johnson Matthey, LG Chem, Microsoft, SK Innovation, Umicore, UN Environment, Volkswagen Group, Volvo Group, and the World Bank Group.
Building upon ten key guiding principles, flagship initiatives, and taskforces, the GBA actively works to advance climate action via the sustainable development of the battery ecosystem. Efforts aim to:
- "Establish a circular battery value chain as a major driver to achieve the Paris Agreement;
- Establish a low-carbon economy in the value chain, create new jobs and additional economic value; and
- Safeguard human rights and economic development consistent with the UN Sustainable Development Goals" (GBA, 2021).
Arne H Frandsen, Chairman of Nouveau Monde, commented: "We are delighted to be invited to join leaders of the global battery industry to help advance the transition to a responsible as well as sustainable green economy. Responsibly sourced and extracted battery materials are the foundation stones of the battery value chain; and Nouveau Monde takes its leadership position seriously, and we see our position as an opportunity to power an ethical, environmental, and sustainable energy revolution."
Eric Desaulniers, Founder, President, and CEO of Nouveau Monde, added: "In line with our corporate values and commitment to our communities, we have embedded the essence of the Global Battery Alliance principles into our business model. Now, we will join global leaders of our industry to help drive ESG practices and transparency into our sector. This represents an exceptional opportunity to share knowledge, shape tomorrow's standards and accelerate the wheel of change. I am confident that our current and future projects will both contribute to and benefit from this leadership initiative."
Shaping a Sustainable, Responsible, and Circular Battery Value Chain
With 10-year CAGR of 29% for electric vehicles and 41% for stationary energy storage solutions (Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, 2021), batteries represent a core technology to achieve the transition to a decarbonized society. While the development of this supply chain is progressing at an accelerated pace to meet demand, social and environmental factors must remain at the forefront to guide a just and sustainable economy.
Nouveau Monde's vertically integrated business model, from mining operations to value-added transformation of battery materials, is underpinned by a commitment to sustainable development, past, present and future carbon neutrality as well as ecotechnologies. As such, the Company aligns with the GBA's principles and is dedicated to contributing to the creation of a Battery Passport. This global solution would enable securely sharing information and data, demonstrating responsibility, traceability, and sustainability to consumers.
In the fall of 2020, Nouveau Monde joined a pioneering project with Propulsion Qu?bec, OPTEL Group, and the International Reference Center for Life Cycle of Products, Services, and Systems (CIRAIG), to establish traceability by mapping and documenting the Company's graphite supply chain with detailed data on chemistry, environmental, social and governance ("ESG") factors, greenhouse gas ("GHG") footprint, logistics, etc. The project is affiliated with the GBA to inform global standards on battery identity and reporting criteria for sustainable and transparent battery production.
While much progress has been made on recycling processes for cathode metals (lithium, cobalt, nickel, and manganese), anode recovery remains to be developed to a similar level. Hence, Nouveau Monde has embarked on research and industrial partnerships to advance the recovery and value-added transformation of recycled graphite for reuse as anode material for lithium-ion batteries. The Company promotes graphite circularity with the objective of increasing the amount of recycled graphite to integrate into anode material manufacturing and further improve the environmental footprint of batteries.
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 Qu?bec, 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. www.NMG.com
| Media | Investors |
| Julie Paquet VP Communications & ESG Strategy Nouveau Monde +1-450-757-8905 #140 jpaquet@nouveaumonde.ca | Christina Lalli Director, Investor Relations Nouveau Monde +1-438-399-8665 clalli@nouveaumonde.ca |
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Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information
All statements, other than statements of historical fact, contained in this press release including, but not limited to those describing the objectives of the Global Battery Alliance, the objectives of the Company and its business model, the intended results of the initiatives described in the press release, the future growth rates for electric vehicles and stationary storage solutions, the intended benefits of the Battery Passport, and those statements which are discussed under the "About Nouveau Monde" paragraph and elsewhere in the press release which essentially describe the Company's outlook and objectives, constitute "forward-looking information" or "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of certain securities laws, and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as of the time of this press release. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by the Company as of the time of such statements, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. These estimates and assumptions may prove to be incorrect. Moreover, these forward-looking statements were based upon various underlying factors and assumptions, including the timely delivery and installation of the equipment supporting the production, the Company's business prospects and opportunities and estimates of the operational performance of the equipment, and are not guarantees of future performance.
Forward-looking information and statements are subject to known or unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking information and statements. Risk factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, among others, delays in the scheduled delivery times of the equipment, the ability of the Company to successfully implement its strategic initiatives and whether such strategic initiatives will yield the expected benefits, the availability of financing or financing on favourable terms for the Company, the dependence on commodity prices, the impact of inflation on costs, the risks of obtaining the necessary permits, the operating performance of the Company's assets and businesses, competitive factors in the graphite mining and production industry, changes in laws and regulations affecting the Company's businesses, political and social acceptability risk, environmental regulation risk, currency and exchange rate risk, technological developments, the impacts of the global COVID-19 pandemic and the governments' responses thereto, and general economic conditions, as well as earnings, capital expenditure, cash flow and capital structure risks and general business risks. Unpredictable or unknown factors not discussed in this Cautionary Note could also have material adverse effects on forward-looking statements.
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