Northern Graphite Corporation announced the launch of the NGC Battery Materials Group to spearhead its mine-to-battery strategy, which would make Northern one of the sole integrated developers, producers, and processors of natural graphite outside of China. NGC Battery Materials Group was formed through the acquisition of the assets and R&D team of the battery division of Germany's Heraeus Group, and includes a fully operational, state-of-the-art laboratory in Frankfurt. Northern has also licensed IP from Heraeus to develop, produce, and sell Porocarb®, a high-performance porous hard carbon material developed over the last 10 years and patented by Heraeus to enhance the efficiency and speed of energy storage mechanisms. NGC Battery Materials Group will be operated by Northern and financed by selling excess production capacity to partners and other material developers.

Northern will pay Heraeus a 2% royalty on sales of all Porocarb® products. NGC Battery Materials Group will specialize in advanced material analytics and electrochemical characterization techniques for carbon and battery materials as well as providing in-depth expertise in the field of high temperature processing, scale-up and carbon design. This will enable Northern to provide tailored solutions to EV battery makers and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to satisfy their various unique battery requirements.

Battery Anode Material Facility: NGC Battery Materials Group will lead the development of Northern's planned 200,000 tpy Baie-Comeau Battery Anode Material facility, with construction anticipated to commence in 2026, subject to financing. Northern plans to build Baie-Comeau in modules tailored to the specific needs of OEMs and EV battery makers, including proper milling, shaping, and classification of graphite flakes, followed by purification and coating. Porocarb® Solid State and Li Ion Batteries Capabilities Porocarb® can be used as a performance additive in Lithium-Ion batteries or utilized as protective carbon coating for solid state battery anodes.

Its well-defined network of interconnected macropores serve as reservoirs and transport pathways that lend unique functionality and performance-enhancing capabilities for next-generation battery systems, including lithium-Ion and solid-state batteries. It is already being evaluated by a number of solid state and Lithium-Ion battery makers globally.