 Want to learn about stocks, cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and the metaverse? Join RichTV.io. Everybody doing today. I'm your host Rich, here on behalf of RichTV Live with our very special guest, the corporate development manager of Neo Battery Materials, Danny, huh? How are you doing today, Danny? Very good, how are you? I'm doing fantastic. Very excited to have you on the show today. And Danny, we're really, really looking forward to learning more about the developments over the last year for Neo Battery Materials. Can you start with a refresher on the company by giving us a brief intro to Neo Battery Materials and the Silicon Anode Market? Yeah, sure. So Neo Battery Materials is a technology developer of low-cost Silicon Anode Materials for electric vehicle lithium-ion batteries. So our Silicon Anodes enable ultra-fast charging, so which cuts down the morbidly long charging time of batteries to date and extends the run time of the battery by increasing the capacity of how much energy the battery can store. And it gives an overall reduction of the battery cost through our proprietary one-step manufacturing process. So we're actively in the process of evaluating and optimizing our Silicon Anode Materials called MBM-SIDE, with multiple large players in the global supply chain, such as battery manufacturers, EV automakers, and chemical material companies. So in 2022, we have completed the construction of our R&D scale-up center, in which we use pilot-scale equipment to manufacture, evaluate, and test our products. And in South Korea, we are planning to construct our commercial plant that will be capable of producing about 240 tons, that is 240,000 kilograms of Anode Materials per year, with a fully extended capacity up to about 2,000 to 5,000 tons per year. So the reason why Silicon has become such a big subject and a hot key word in the battery industry is because on the theoretical level, it stores about nine to 10 times more capacity than graphite, the current material Anode option for today's lithium-ion batteries. So because of this, the industry is expected to grow up to 15 billion USD by 2030. But however, there is a volume expansion problem that Silicon faces during the charging time, and this technical difficulty is quite hard to solve. Although there may be several competitors in the industry, only three globally have been able to commercialize their technology. And because Silicon is a early-stage technology, no dominant competitor or technology exists yet today. So it's safe to say that the Silicon Anode space is a blue ocean industry right now. Exciting. We love that and we love electric vehicles and everything that is affiliated and associated to it. I think one of the main questions a lot of people are wondering is what really differentiates neobattery materials from competitors in the sector. Yeah, so at Neobattery Materials, we not only work through the volume expansion problem that I have just mentioned, but we are actually the first in the industry to offer a unique manufacturing solution that uses the lowest cost Silicon inputs for our Anode materials. So currently in the industry, there are different solutions to solve the volume expansion problems such as nano-silicon, silicon oxides, carbides, or nanowires. However, most of these processes are quite sophisticated, complex, and energy-intensive to make. And when we double this with expensive inputs to manufacture these anodes by intuition, it translates into a scalability problem, which means a lack of scalability. So because not a lot of materials can be produced currently in the industry, the per-unit costs of current silicon nano-app options are high with unattractive selling prices to the downstream, which are the battery manufacturers and the EVO units today. But our company uses a highly scalable one-step nano-coating process, which is a simple and energy-efficient process that we use. So we do away with the current industry conventions, but we use a straightforward process that coats low-cost nano-coating materials onto the silicon. Now, what this does is that it effectively controls the volume expansion problem experienced as a technical difficulty. Along with this, we're the first company in the industry to use and enable a 10 times cheaper silicon input called a metallurgical grade or for short, middle of silicon. So the cost effectiveness and economics have highly attracted the interest of battery manufacturers and EV automakers to our company. And industry experts have given us the approval that this is the correct direction to take for silicon nano-development and commercialization as well. And in terms of performance, because we just use the silicon itself and there's a nano-coated layer on top of that silicon, our silicon provides a 70 to 80% higher initial capacity compared to our competitors. So along with validation from the testing parties that we're currently holding testing with, the equivalent of loading 5% of our materials is the same as loading 10% of our competitors' materials. So this means that a smaller amount of our silicon anodes can give a much larger boost in the runtime of the EV batteries. And in terms of the manufacturer's perspective, they can have more cost savings because they can use less of the materials but realize the same runtime and ultra-factor project characteristics using our silicon. So we're confident to say that our differentiation in both strategy and technology gives us the great upside and one up to performance, economics and the bargaining power relative to the industry today. Danny, can you tell us about some of the corporate developments over the last year and what are some expected milestones for 2023 that shareholders can look forward to? Yeah, absolutely. So to date, we have over 40 NDAs signed that includes large global battery manufacturers, EV automakers and chemical material companies in the industry. So because of the attractiveness of our products, especially the differentiation, we haven't been able to nurture significant relationships with them. We're actively going through sample testing and optimization with these parties and they are returning positive feedback and results. And actually in the last week, we have talked with a battery company that focuses on the fast charging characteristic and we are going to provide samples for them in February for material evaluation. And along with this, with a European-based battery cell manufacturer, you're advancing to a larger format power cell test of our materials after completing a successful point cell test. So as I have briefly mentioned in the beginning, this is largely enabled by the completion of our R&D scale center. In the past, we would have samples being sent to different facilities for the nano-quoting work and the post-task work. But this year, we have prepared all the necessary pilot-scale equipment to manufacture and evaluate our silicon anodes in one place. So this allows for quality control and real-time improvements. And because the work is more efficient for the engineers, our products are being optimized at the fastest rate so far. So we're currently matching the specifications and requirements that these large EV battery players are asking us. And their feedback, again, with our results and development direction have been highly positive. Once certain levels and specifications are met for these manufacturers, in-vectors and the public can expect milestone deals to occur with these players. So these can include joint development agreements, off-paker agreements, collaboration agreements, and also joint ventures. And these joint ventures can extend to funded expansion into the North American and European markets, which the lithium-ion battery sector and the EV sector are rapidly growing. So although a little different by the agreement, the important point to take away is that the collaboration with large players will allow us to access greater infrastructure, capacity and resources, personnel and expertise to advance commercialization to the next day. And we're in discussion with many players in the industry to find an opportunity and we are confident in achieving our next step milestone deal. Fantastic. And can you give us an update on the progress of the commercial plan being constructed in South Korea? Yes. In December, we have submitted the construction permit to the city and we're expecting the approval to come out by the middle to end of January after the due diligence period ends. So once the approval happens, we'll first start with the initial construction work, which includes the site clearance in which the debris is removed and also the basic civil engineering of the plant itself. And concurrently, we'll hold a bid process to select the best contractors for construction. And along with this, our commercial plant engineering team is also in the process of completing the detailed design of the max production lines that will be put into the commercial plant itself. And we are on track to break ground as soon as possible. So we're expecting to complete the full construction by the first half of 2024. And because the commercial plant is situated in such an advantageous location in the batteries supply thing out of the South Korea, and South Korea is the second largest battery manufacturing country in the world. And once we start rolling production in 2024, we will be able to capitalize on our growth strategy and we'll be able to convert cash flows very quickly. Great. How much money does the company currently have in the bank? And do you feel that you will need to raise any money this year to accomplish your goals for 2023? Yeah, so last year we received a strategic investment of approximately $3 million Canadian from AMP into NBM Korea, which is our South Korean subsidiary. And our operating activities currently within the scale of center and the commercial plant are being financed by this investment. So currently, obviously we need to prepare for our commercial plant and the initial construction work that will happen after the approval happens. So we're in discussion with South Korean financial institutions to secure strategic financing. And along with the province's officials in which our plant is situated, we'll target a non-dilutive funding opportunities related to clean tech and ED policies initiatives, which are growing in South Korea. And last summer, we had an MOU with Gyeonggi Province in which our commercial plant is located in. And with the province's officials, we have a high likely probability of gaining access to these non-dilutive funding opportunities. And we will let shareholders know through the subsequent press releases. So progressing our corporate activities are very important, but we also prioritize protecting and maximizing our shareholder's value. So as we are in discussion with multiple parties, we aim to secure the strategic investors. For the long-term, they'll provide synergies and enhancement to the capital structure and also business initiatives. So further comments are quite confidential. So the investors in the public can expect us to provide a new update through usually. That's great. And Danny, is there anything else you want viewers that are watching to take away from this interview today? Yeah. So just to summarize and re-emphasize, a neobattery of materials is in the best shape in terms of both technical and corporate advancements today. And our strategy and commercialization plan are clearly defined and we are on track to go to the next stage. So with our already-scaled center up and running with polished-scale equipment and a hard-working engineering team, we are at the fastest rate of manufacturing and optimizing our silicon anodes through real-time improvements in the lab itself. So this factor turnover time for feedback means better product performance and our time to achieve milestone deals with large players of the industry will be much factor going forward. And also with the construction of our commercial plans in South Korea progressing, management and the engineering team are working hard and we hope to deliver good use and milestone deals as soon as possible. That sounds great. And Danny, what is the best way for anyone who is watching to get in touch with the company? Yes. The best way to keep in touch with us will be to email our corporate email, which is info at Neo Battery Materials. But we do hold webinars quite there or not. So if the public and investors can look for other webinar updates, that would be great. Fantastic. We are interviewing today with the Corporate Development Manager of Neo Battery Materials, Danny Hu. I also want to remind everyone that Rich TV Live is strictly for information and education purposes. Please do your due diligence and do your research before you invest in anything we talk about or discuss. In saying that, we believe this is a company that is undervalued, underappreciated and under exposed. Put your attention to the symbol in Canada, NBM. The symbol in America, N-B-M-F-F. And Danny, thank you for joining us today. All right, thank you so much. Always a pleasure. We wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors and we will be watching you very, very closely. And for those of you that are watching, if you're not winning, probably not watching, we bring you the winners. We bring you the news, CO interviews, chart analysis and we bring it to you first. Thank you for watching everybody. And Danny, thank you for joining us again and we'll talk to you guys soon. Have a nice day everybody.