29 September 2023

Alkemy Capital Investments Plc

Tees Valley Lithium & Weardale Lithium secure grant funding to advance lithium production and refining in North East England

Alkemy Capital Investments plc ("Alkemy") (ALK:LSE) (JV2:FRA) and its wholly-owned subsidiary Tees Valley Lithium ("TVL") are pleased to announce that TVL together with Weardale Lithium ("WL") has secured a joint funding package of approximately £613,000, which includes a grant of approximately £430,000 from Innovate UK.

Innovate UK is the UK's national innovation agency. It drives productivity and economic growth by supporting businesses to develop and realise the potential of new ideas.

The funding provided under the Launchpad: Net Zero, CR&D Tees Valley, R2 competition supports outstanding innovation projects that grow activities in the Net Zero innovation cluster centred on Tees Valley and supports the Government's goals in the Levelling Up White Paper. Through collaborative research and development, TVL and WL are building upon the Memorandum of Understanding signed last year to evaluate the potential synergies of both producing and refining lithium in the North East of England.

The project is specifically concerned with novel methods for the production and refinement of lithium extracted from geothermal brine resources in the context of developing an integrated and robust route from 'borehole to battery', all within the North-East region. The funding will advance feasibility studies and scale-up activities to further a battery-supply chain industrial hub and include the evaluation of the potential for WL to supply lithium to TVL for refining.

Sam Quinn, Director of Tees Valley Lithium, said:

"We are delighted to have received this grant from Innovate UK and look forward to our collaboration with Weardale as we seek to bring back high value manufacturing to the North East and help develop a potential UK-based supply chain for the lithium sector.

At Wilton in the Teesside Freeport, TVL is establishing Europe's largest low-carbon merchant lithium hydroxide refinery. Each of the four trains at Wilton will take feedstock in the form of lithium sulphate or crude carbonate, to produce 24,000 tpa of battery-grade lithium hydroxide (or carbonate equivalent) feeding directly into the European and international battery cell manufacturers."

Stewart Dickson, CEO of Weardale Lithium, said:

"Weardale Lithium has the objective to become a UK supplier of lithium from geothermal brines. This collaborative project with Tees Valley Lithium is another important step in developing an integrated and coherent supply of lithium in North East England. In order to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles and meet net-zero targets, the UK needs to secure supply of lithium for refining and production of battery-grade lithium hydroxide and lithium carbonate. 

Having been the first company to produce lithium carbonate from geothermal brines in the North East earlier this year, we are entering a scale-up phase. This collaboration with Tees Valley Lithium is highly-beneficial for both parties as we both seek to advance towards larger scale testing and construction of pilot facilities. A local supply of high-value critical minerals products should generate highly skilled science, technology and engineering opportunities and at the same time, reducing the environmental impacts and supply risks of imported raw materials".

Further information

For further information, please visit the Company's website: www.alkemycapital.co.uk or www.teesvalleylithium.co.uk

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NOTES TO EDITORS

Alkemy is seeking to establish the world's leading independent and sustainable lithium hydroxide production by developing state-of-the-art lithium sulphate and lithium hydroxide facilities in Australia and the UK.

Alkemy, through its wholly owned UK subsidiary Tees Valley Lithium, has secured a 9.6 ha brownfields site with full planning permission at the Wilton International Chemicals Park in Teesside, a major UK Freeport, to build the UK's first and Europe's largest lithium hydroxide processing facility. Tees Valley Lithium has completed a Class 4 Feasibility Study for its proposed lithium hydroxide refinery which will process feedstock imported from various sources to produce 96,000 tonnes of premium, low-carbon lithium hydroxide annually, representing around 15% of Europe's projected demand.

Alkemy, through its wholly owned Australian subsidiary Port Hedland Lithium, has secured a 43.7 ha site near Port Hedland, Western Australia to build a world-class sustainable lithium sulphate refinery that will provide reliable feedstock for Tees Valley Lithium's refinery. Port Hedland Lithium has completed a Class 4 Feasibility Study for its proposed lithium sulphate refinery, each train of which will process spodumene concentrate to produce 40,000 tonnes of lithium sulphate annually.

Forward Looking Statements

This news release contains forward‐looking information. The statements are based on reasonable assumptions and expectations of management and Alkemy provides no assurance that actual events will meet management's expectations. In certain cases, forward‐looking information may be identified by such terms as "anticipates", "believes", "could", "estimates", "expects", "may", "shall", "will", or "would". Although Alkemy believes the expectations expressed in such forward‐looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected. Mining exploration and development is an inherently risky business. In addition, factors that could cause actual events to differ materially from the forward-looking information stated herein include any factors which affect decisions to pursue mineral exploration on the relevant property and the ultimate exercise of option rights, which may include changes in market conditions, changes in metal prices, general economic and political conditions, environmental risks, and community and non-governmental actions. Such factors will also affect whether Alkemy will ultimately receive the benefits anticipated pursuant to relevant agreements. This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect any of the forward‐looking statements. These and other factors should be considered carefully and readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information.