• Nouveau Monde commissions its advanced R&D facility at its premises in Saint-Michel-des-Saints
  • The new laboratory will provide Nouveau Monde with the in-house capacity for testing advanced anode material and providing customized specifications to battery and EV manufacturers
  • Nouveau Monde has recruited two additional leading scientists, expanding its R&D and technical team to 25 professionals – including six PhDs and 18 engineers  
  • Nouveau Monde formed a Scientific Advisory Committee to advance and expand its research portfolio and capabilities
  • Nouveau Monde’s proprietary technologies and R&D program is a critical competitive advantage, as it furthers the qualification process of its anode material with the world’s leading end-users for lithium-ion batteries

MONTRAL, CANADA, October 5, 2021 – Nouveau Monde Graphite Inc.’s (“Nouveau Monde” or the “Company”) (NYSE: NMG, TSXV: NOU) is completing the commissioning of its state-of-the-art laboratory at its demonstration plant, an addition to the Company’s existing quality testing facilities. This expansion is triggered by Nouveau Monde’s commitment to catering to the market’s requirements for high-performing and environmentally responsible battery materials that can be tailored to a variety of specifications for electric vehicles (“EV”) and energy storage usage.

As applications diversify, technology is a critical driver in battery material engineering and manufacturing. Nouveau Monde’s dedicated new lab facilities provide in-house capacity, flexibility, and speediness in testing advanced materials and specifications for potential customers. The new lab facilities comprise ultramodern equipment covering a range of technical measurements, namely particle size, tapped density, coin cell cycling with full coin cell preparation equipment, ICP trace element analysis, BET specific surface area as well as particle morphology, coating quality and impurity analysis by SEM-EDX, in support to the Company’s phase-1 anode material production.

The Company has also recruited two leading talents, Mr. Mogalahalli V. Venkatashamy Reddy, PhD (Dr. M.V. Reddy) and Mr. Neel Rahem, to complement its strong internal technical team consisting of six Doctorate (“PhD”) recipients, three Master of Science (“MSc”) holders, and 18 engineers with previous hands-on experience with leading graphite operators including Imerys, SGL Group, and BTR New Material and specialists in the fields of lithium-ion batteries (“LiB”), carbon materials, bi-polar plates, electrochemistry, and engineered advanced materials.

Arne H Frandsen, Chairman of Nouveau Monde, commented:

“Today’s investment in R&D is tomorrow’s competitive advantage in the marketplace. We continue our confidential and proprietary development efforts with a view to supporting the world’s leading lithium-ion battery makers and intend to continue investing in cutting-edge technology with the support of best-in-class scientists and engineers. Nouveau Monde’s mission is to engineer graphite-based advanced solutions to power a decarbonized future.”


M.V. Reddy, PhD, Senior Professional Researcher, Martin Brassard, PhD, R&D Director, and Neel Rahem, Laboratory Manager, work in Nouveau Monde’s new lab facilities.

Nouveau Monde is actively developing advanced materials to remain at the forefront of industry trends and offer some of the highest performing and most environmentally friendly lithium-ion battery anode material portfolio on the market. Among the technological breakthroughs to date, the Company’s R&D team has designed advanced graphite-based solutions where the interaction between graphite and silicon is optimized and submitted a patent application for its proprietary green thermochemical purification technology.

Eric Desaulniers, Founder, President, and CEO of Nouveau Monde, added:

“EV and battery manufacturers are seeking advanced solutions that provide the ideal combination of quality, performance, cost, weight, carbon footprint, material interaction, and countless other factors. In-house R&D capability represents an advantage in catering to our potential customers’ requirements while continuing to advance our products portfolio for the growing battery supply chain industry. At the forefront of technology advancements, Nouveau Monde is positioning itself as more than a graphite producer; we are one of the Western World’s leading advanced battery material developers striving to deliver the greenest graphite-based solutions.”

Enhanced In-House R&D Expertise

Counting over 20 years of experience in battery technology and having contributed to more than 220 scientific articles on electrode and electrolyte materials for lithium-ion batteries, which have been cited numerous times in other publications, Mr. M.V. Reddy, PhD is joining the Company as Senior Professional Researcher to advance Nouveau Monde’s product portfolio.

Reddy obtained his PhD in materials science with the highest honors from the University of Bordeaux, France (2003) and an MSc in chemistry (electrochemistry) from Bangalore University, India (1995). For the past two decades, Reddy has studied LiB materials (anodes, cathodes, supercapacitors, and solid electrolytes), fuel cells, nanotechnology, recycling and battery materials recovery, powder metallurgy and materials for CO2 sequestration, other various material characterization techniques, spectroscopy, and electroanalytical techniques, as well as additional research activities. He has worked as a Senior Researcher at Hydro-Qubec’s research institute, the Centre of Excellence in Transportation Electrification and Energy Storage (“CETEES”), and at the National University of Singapore’s Department of Materials Science & Engineering, Advanced Batteries Lab and Department of Physics.

Reddy authored a landmark paper on electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries and their reaction mechanisms, received international honors, served as an editorial advisory board member for scientific publications, lectured at numerous international conferences and workshops, acted as an expert referee for various international academic battery proposals and collaborated across the energy storage industry.

To complement Nouveau Monde’s R&D team, Mr. Neel Rahem is also joining the Company as Laboratory Manager. A chemist specialized in metallurgy, process chemistry and quality programs, Rahem holds a M.Sc. in chemistry from UQAM (2010) and a Master M1 in chemistry-physics from Universit de Haute-Alsace (2007). Prior to working at Nouveau Monde, Rahem looked after lab activities for Canadian Royalties, Minerai de Fer Qubec, and Glencore.

In his new functions, Rahem will operationalize the Company’s new lab facilities and supervise the existing team of technicians in minerallurgy and analytical chemistry.

   
Left: Mr. Flix Riverin-Gauthier, lab technician with Nouveau Monde’s R&D team since the start-up of the demonstration plant, works in the new lab. Right: Nouveau Monde’s new benchtop SEM.

Eric Desaulniers, Founder, President, and CEO of Nouveau Monde, concluded:

“We are delighted to welcome M.V. Reddy and Neel to the team as we advance our beneficiation operations. Their expertise will help further enhance our processes and product specs.”

Nouveau Monde has embedded innovation in its business approach through capital human investments, infrastructure and collaboration with world-class research institutes and universities to refine anode material production and develop new applications. Research partners include the Centre de transfert technologique en cologie industrielle, the Centre National en lectrochimie et en Technologies Environnementales, the CETEES, the Centre technologique des rsidus industriels, the National Research Council of Canada, the INRS-nergie, Matriaux et Tlcommunications, McGill University, Universit de Sherbrooke, Universit Laval, Hydrogen Research Institute, Universit du Qubec en Abitibi-Tmiscamingue, and Innofibre.