Piedmont Lithium announced the selection of Etowah, Tennessee in McMinn County as the location of the Company's planned 30,000 metric ton per year (“tpy”) LHP­2 lithium hydroxide operation (“Tennessee Lithium” or “Project”). With a planned completion and start of production in 2025, the Company believes Tennessee Lithium will be the lithium hydroxide processing facility constructed in the United States. The Project is expected to convert spodumene concentrate sourced principally from Piedmont's international project investments to significantly expand the U.S. supply of lithium hydroxide, a key component in the manufacturing of EV batteries.

Piedmont's Tennessee Lithium facility should be among the first lithium hydroxide plants built with the innovative Metso:Outotec process. This process eliminates the acid-leaching of spodumene and the production sodium sulfate waste, which will make Tennessee Lithium one of the world's most sustainable lithium hydroxide operations. Tennessee Lithium's production target of 30,000 tpy of lithium hydroxide will complement the Company's planned Carolina Lithium operation to bring their estimated total U.S.-based production capacity of 60,000 tpy by 2026.

Current total U.S. production of lithium hydroxide is just 15,000 tpy. The Project's location in Tennessee was selected for its cooperative government relations, access to excellent infrastructure including rail, road and river transportation, a talented workforce, a constructive business climate, as well as its proximity to the battery and automotive plants being constructed by prospective customers, and the Company's headquarters and Carolina Lithium project, both in Gaston County, North Carolina. Front-End Engineering Design (“FEED”) for Tennessee Lithium will be performed by Kiewit and Primero.

Kiewit Corporation, ranked 3rd in Engineering News Record's 2022 Top 400 Contractors, is a U.S. based construction company and a leading Engineer, Procure, and Construct (“EPC”) firm. Primero Group is a specialized design-build firm with strong lithium industry know-how that has supported Piedmont's development since early 2018. FEED will conclude in H1 2023 and position Piedmont to sign an EPC contract for the construction of Tennessee Lithium upon completion of permitting and project financing activities.

As part of FEED, Kiewit and Primero are expected to complete a DFS for Tennessee Lithium by the end of 2022.