AMERICAN BATTERY FACTORY AND CELGARD ENTER STRATEGIC ALLIANCE AGREEMENT

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Aug 23, 2022, 08:43 ET

Celgard, leading dry-process battery separator manufacturer, and ABF will jointly develop new battery cell design and manufacturing processes, solutions and technologies.

AMERICAN FORK, Utah, Aug. 23, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- American Battery Factory Inc. (ABF) today announced it has signed a strategic alliance agreement with Celgard, LLC, subsidiary of Polypore International, LP, to provide Celgard® battery separators that will be integrated into its U.S.-manufactured Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) battery cells. As domestic production and demand for LFP batteries continues to increase, ABF is pleased to partner with Celgard to help to ensure supply security of a critical cell component.

Through the relationship, ABF and Celgard will also share resources to develop new technologies and improve precursor materials to advance the state of the art in battery cell design and manufacturing in the United States and beyond. This strategic agreement also establishes a relationship with Celgard's parent company, the Asahi Kasei Group, to explore new ways to strengthen the domestic supply chain and to bring further innovation to the LFP industry.

"Our partnership with Celgard is another pivotal milestone for American Battery Factory as we establish a domestic LFP battery cell supply chain," said Paul Charles, President and Chief Executive Officer of American Battery Factory. "Utilizing Celgard's industry-standard separators are an integral part of our mission to engineer battery cells in the United States. We are eager to collaborate with Celgard in researching new technologies and harnessing the resources of the Asahi Kasei Group to make energy independence a reality for everyone."

Battery separators provide a barrier between the anode and the cathode within a lithium-ion battery cell while enabling the exchange of lithium ions between the anodes and cathodes as the battery cell is charged and discharged. Supplying separators to battery manufacturers since the 1980s, Celgard was among the first companies to supply separators for lithium-ion batteries and has been a leading manufacturer in the global market. Their battery separators enable fast charge and discharge rates and have attributes that improve battery life.

"American Battery Factory has a solid plan of how to bring lithium battery cell production to North America," said Lie Shi, Asahi Kasei global head of separator business development and executive vice president of Polypore. "We are pleased that Celgard® separators will be a key component in their U.S.-made battery cells. We look forward to collaborating with ABF to develop a domestic supply chain ecosystem that can benefit North American manufacturers of LFP battery cells."

ABF is experiencing sustained momentum, announcing in March the development of the first network of safe LFP cell giga-factories in the United States. As ABF develops its network of clean and green modular rapid construction factories near or on-site at pack integrators, its cell manufacturing facilities will have the ability to scale production output to any size the local workforce can sustain.

ABOUT AMERICAN BATTERY FACTORY

American Battery Factory Inc., a Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) battery cell manufacturer, is developing the first-ever network of safe LFP cell giga-factories in the United States. The company is dedicated to making energy independence and renewable energy a reality for the United States by creating a domestic battery supply chain. Along with creating domestic manufacturing jobs, ABF will play a crucial role in meeting federal and state government climate change initiatives and "Made-in-USA" national security requirements. For more information on American Battery Factory, please visit www.americanbatteryfactory.com.

ABOUT CELGARD, POLYPORE AND ASAHI KASEI

Celgard specializes in eco-friendly coated and uncoated dry-process microporous membranes used as separators that are a major component of lithium-ion batteries. Celgard's battery separator technology is important to the performance of lithium-ion batteries for electric drive vehicles, energy storage systems and other applications. Celgard, LLC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Polypore International, LP, an Asahi Kasei Company.

Polypore International is a global company with facilities in nine countries specializing in microporous membranes used in electric and nonelectric vehicles, energy storage systems and specialty applications. Asahi Kasei Corporation employs more than 46,000 people globally. Visit www.celgard.com, www.polypore.com and www.asahi-kasei.com.

SOURCE American Battery Factory