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American Battery Metals says $1.25M equity investment from Just Business has closed

Last updated: 19:49 13 Oct 2020 BST, First published: 17:25 13 Oct 2020 BST

lithium
The company is focused on its lithium-ion battery recycling, its proprietary extraction technology, and resource production projects in Nevada

American Battery Metals Corporation (OTCQB:ABML), which is in the process of changing its name to American Battery Technology Company, announced Tuesday the close of a $1,250,000 equity investment from impact investment firm Just Business. 

Led by partners David Batstone, Mark Wexler, and William Riggs, San Francisco-based Just Business is committed to building profitable companies that positively impact the world, American Battery said.

Just Business is focusing its most recent fund, the People|Planet Fund, on technology platforms that will support the clean energy transition and provide the building blocks to power the future -- from electric vehicles and grid storage applications to consumer electronics and power tools.

READ: American Battery Metals secures industrial land in northern Nevada for its lithium-ion battery recycling facility

"We are excited to invest in a company that supports ethical and environmentally sustainable sourcing of critical materials for everything from our cars to our electronics," Wexler said in a statement.

"American Battery's focus on recycling, extraction, and exploration uses the best technology available and we look forward to working with them as they scale their vision of a circular economy that connects people, planet and profit."

American Battery said it is uniquely positioned to supply battery metals through its three divisions: lithium-ion battery recycling, extraction technology, and primary resources. The company recently announced the groundbreaking for its lithium-ion battery recycling facility in Fernley, Nevada, and issued a recent shareholder letter in October outlining achievements of the past year. 

The company is focused on its lithium-ion battery recycling, its proprietary extraction technology, and resource production projects in Nevada to become a substantial domestic supplier of battery metals to the rapidly growing EV and battery storage markets.

Lithium-ion batteries are used in EVs, mobile phones, laptops, and power tools, among others, but less than 5% of the world's supply of such batteries are recycled today, leading to $7 billion of battery waste per year.

American Battery’s stock recently increased by 1.1% to $0.14 a share in New York.

CEO Doug Cole also released a letter to shareholders Tuesday outlining the company's 2020 developments, notably the progress toward opening its battery recycling factory in Fernley, Nevada. 

"Throughout 2020, our primary objective has been to escalate commercial application of our first-of-kind lithium-ion battery recycling and extraction capacities," Cole wrote. "...This first phase of the factory will consist of approximately 30,000 aquare feet of industrial processing space, as well as laboratory and office space. Once this first portion is operational, the company estimates that this battery recycling facility will be operating in a financially self-sufficient manner as it sells scrap metal and high value metal filter cake products.

"Our Fernley facility will be designed to annually manage 20,000 metric tons of scrap materials and end-of-life batteries. To put this in context, currently only 90,000 metric tons of battery materials were recycled globally in 2019."

—Updated to include shareholder letter info—

Contact the author: patrick@proactiveinvestors.com

Follow him on Twitter @PatrickMGraham

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