Completion of Business Finland Project

Beowulf (AIM: BEM; Spotlight: BEO), and its wholly owned Finnish subsidiary Grafintec Oy ("Grafintec"), are pleased to announce the successful completion of the Business Finland funded project 'Spheronisation and Purification of Natural Graphite for the European Lithium-Ion Battery Market'.

The grant funding of €530,000 is equivalent to 50 per cent of the three-year €1.06 million budget for the project, with the rest of the balance funded by Grafintec's cash reserves.

The overall aim of the project was to develop a 'state-of-the-art' technological solution, utilising renewable energy, to spheronise and purify graphite for use in the manufacture of lithium-ion battery anodes within a Finnish industrial ecosystem.

The project had three main objectives, which were to:

• validate a process to support progress to a Bankable Feasibility Study for construction of a commercial scale unit within three to five years;
• secure and protect any arising intellectual property; and
• deliver a detailed strategic marketing and commercialisation plan.

This work undertaken by Grafintec was part of the BATCircle2.0 (Finland-based Circular Ecosystem of Battery Metals) consortium, led by Aalto University, which was granted €10.8 million by Business Finland as part of a total funding budget of €19.3 million. Further information about the full programme is available at https://www.aalto.fi/en/news/success-of-batcircle20-bolsters-finnish-leadership-in-li-ion-battery-supply-chain.

The three-year project was successfully concluded in August 2024 with the final report submitted to Business Finland at the end of September. The project has successfully demonstrated a 'state-of-the-art' and robust process flowsheet for production of 'battery-grade' spheronised graphite ("SPG") with significantly lower environmental impact compared to conventional processes used in China. This process-flowsheet is now being evaluated and forms the foundation of the on-going Pre-feasibility Study ("PFS") for the Graphite Anode Materials Plant ("GAMP").

Ed Bowie, Chief Executive Officer of Beowulf, commented:

"The support we have received from Business Finland through the BATCircle2.0 project has enabled us to fast-track the testwork and development of a 'state-of-the-art' process flow sheet for the production of anode materials for the lithium-ion battery sector. We are extremely grateful for this support and will continue to work closely with Business Finland on future BATCircle funding rounds."

Rasmus Blomqvist, Managing Director of Grafintec, commented:

"The test-work undertaken in the last three years under the BATCircle2.0 project has demonstrated that we can produce 'battery-grade' graphite using more environmentally friendly reagents and processes than the current industrial norms. Further, test-work has demonstrated that we can recycle key reagents such as NaOH and Lime, significantly reducing their overall consumption and volumes going to waste, and therefore minimising the environmental impact, reducing cost and improving the viability of the project. This all bodes well for the ongoing PFS."

GAMP Update

Following on from the Spheronisation and Purification test-work, Grafintec and its technology partner Dorfner Anzaplan GmbH ("Anzaplan") have advanced well with the Coating test-work to produce Coated Spherical Graphite ("CSPG"). The Coating process is the final stage in the production of graphite anode materials and is carried out to further improve the electro-chemical and physical performance of the anode material. While the test-work has not been completed, initial results look promising, indicating that the electro-chemical and physical performance of the anode material can be significantly improved by the Coating process. Optimisation work is ongoing and, once complete, will feed into the PFS and Environmental Impact Assessment ("EIA").

Due to a slight over-run in the completion of the Coating test-work, the PFS is now expected to be completed during Q1 2025. The results of the PFS will then feed into the EIA, which is also expected to be completed within a few months. Despite these minor delays in the completion of the PFS and EIA, the overall timeline for GAMP remains unchanged, with first anticipated production targeted for 2027.

Following completion of the PFS, Grafintec believes that the GAMP will be very well positioned to meet EU Strategic Project status criteria and the Company intends to apply in the next application round which is expected in early 2025. EU Strategic Project status provides a number of benefits, including faster permitting processes and access to additional sources of capital.