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Nano One to acquire Johnson Matthey’s Canadian battery-materials business

| By Mary Bailey

Nano One Materials Corp. (Vancouver, B.C., Canada) has entered into a binding agreement to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Johnson Matthey (JM) Battery Materials Ltd. (JMBM Canada) for approximately C$10.25 million. The acquisition is fully funded and is on a cash-free, debt-free basis and is subject to certain working capital adjustments.

JMBM Canada includes a team with over 360 years of collective experience, including R&D, pilot to commercial scale cathode production and product qualification and quality assurance systems qualified for tier 1 automotive lithium-ion cell manufacturers.

JMBM Canada also includes a 2,400 tonne per annum capacity LFP production facility located in Candiac, Québec occupying approximately one tenth of the 400,000 square foot property.

The transaction is expected to complete by the end of 2022, subject to JMBM Canada fulfilling contractual commitments and certain other closing conditions.

Nano One CEO Mr. Dan Blondal said, “The rapidly expanding need for responsibly produced cathode materials in North America presents an opportunity for Nano One to deploy its technology and become a leader. We are excited to announce our agreement to acquire JMBM Canada. This deal includes a team with over 360 years of production know-how and scale-up experience, a LFP manufacturing facility, land, and exacting systems needed to supply the automotive industry. The 2400 tonne per year plant can serve Nano One’s innovative process, piloting, and initial production needs with room to expand. It is strategically located in Candiac, Québec, close to Montreal, international airports, major port facilities and is a critical link in the mines-to-mobility initiative. It complements Nano One’s technology innovation center in Burnaby, British Columbia, and is a perfect base for the advancement, expansion and acceleration of our commercialisation strategy. We are already working with our colleagues at JMBM Canada for a smooth business transition later this year and look forward to sharing our vision and plans in the coming days, weeks and months.”

Liam Condon, Chief Executive of Johnson Matthey, says: “ We have worked with Nano One on a number of projects over the last year and having seen their innovations, we believe they have the potential to develop the Candiac site in the best way possible. We remain at the Candiac site until the end of the year and are fully committed to serving the needs of our customers.” 

The Candiac production facility was acquired by Johnson Matthey in 2015 and has been in operation since 2012.  It is a supplier of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode material to the lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery sector for both automotive and non-automotive applications for a select group of customers.  Strategically located in Candiac, Québec, it has the benefit of access to a North American ecosystem which will serve the broader global community with cost-effective, resilient, and environmentally sustainable cathode materials.