Li-Metal Corp. provided additional information on its project to develop next-generation battery materials critical to the shift to electrification, with support from the Ontario government through the Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network (OVIN). Earlier this year, Li-Metal announced the receipt of CAD 9930,826 in support from the Ontario government via the OVIN R&D Partnership Fund.

Combined with an industry contribution from Lyten, an advanced materials company, this funding supports Li-Metal's ability to further advance and commercialize its lithium metal technology. Leveraging a total project value of $2,820,684, Li-Metal aims to scale up its production and refining capabilities for battery-grade lithium metal, building on its recently announced production of lithium metal ingots using reprocessing technology. In addition, the Company will use the funds to advance the piloting of new lithium metal products, such as specialty lithium alloy ingots for next-generation batteries.

Li-Metal has completed approximately 25% of the project, which it aims to conclude in 2025. As the shift to electrification progresses in Ontario and around the world, Li-Metal is pioneering the development of a patented carbonate-to-metal (C2M) technology, which is a sustainable and cost-effective modular technology that produces lithium metal directly from lithium carbonate. The ability to produce lithium metal is a key differentiator for the Company as a battery anode supplier as it further enables the growth of its anode business by securing a reliable feedstock.

Li-Metal's C2M technology is integral to advancing next-generation lithium batteries and it is expected to play an increasingly important role in the development of the North American battery supply chain. Importantly, it addresses the bottleneck for lithium metal production capacity, given that demand is expected to increase to more than 40,000 tonnes by 2030 compared to less than 600 tonnes of capacity planned, according to McKinsey.