Following the signing of the framework agreement between Lubao Group and Ivanhoe Electric Group to invest in Beijing Puneng, the strategic cooperation and investment signing ceremony between Lubao Group and Ivanhoe Electric Group was successfully held in Beijing on October 15, 2024. So far, Lubao Group's affiliated company has become the actual controller of Puneng (Beijing) Energy Technology Co., Ltd. ("Puneng Holdings"), and Puneng Holdings has also changed from a wholly foreign-owned enterprise to a Sino-foreign joint venture. Among them, Lubao Group holds 51% of the shares and VRB Energy holds 49% of the shares.
Mr. Robert Friedland, actual controller and chairman of Ivanhoe Group, Mr. Zhou Chao, global executive vice president and president of China of Ivanhoe Mines, Mr. Tyler Melvin, CEO of Ivanhoe Electric, Mr. Quentin, executive vice president, and management of VRB ENERYG, Mr. Han Changan, chairman of the board of directors of Lubao Group, Mr. Han Zeshuai, chairman of Lubao Group, and management of Lubao Group attended the signing ceremony. Cui Yuanbin, member of the Standing Committee of Changzhi Municipal Party Committee and executive vice mayor of the Municipal People's Government, Wang Lingen, secretary of the Party Leadership Group and director of Changzhi Municipal Development and Reform Commission, and Duan Yaogang, secretary of the Lucheng District Committee of Changzhi City, were also invited to Beijing to attend the signing ceremony.
At the signing ceremony, Mr. Robert Friedland first delivered a speech on behalf of Ivanhoe Group. He expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to reach a long-term strategic cooperation agreement with Lubao Group. Ivanhoe Group started out as a mining company and knew that China has abundant vanadium reserves. Beijing Puneng has leading technical advantages in the field of all-vanadium liquid flow energy storage. It hopes that through the strong combination with Lubao Group, Puneng's entire production capacity and production line will be pushed to a larger market with the help of China's strength, and our low-carbon and environmental protection business will continue to move forward.
Afterwards, Mr. Han Changan delivered a speech on behalf of Lubao Group. He expressed his gratitude to Mr. Robert Ivanhoe for his kindness to us and for operating such a good company, Puneng, together with Lubao. He also thanked the Puneng team for their joint efforts over the past few months, which made the signing ceremony go smoothly today. Beijing Puneng is a leading enterprise in all-vanadium liquid flow batteries. After the strong combination, we have the confidence and determination to make Puneng bigger and stronger, strive to be the leading enterprise in the industry, and the undisputed first in sustainable development. With the service of General Secretary Xi's new era and new ideas, our goals will surely be achieved and we will give a satisfactory answer to the government and society that support us.
Next, Mr. Ge Qiming delivered a speech on behalf of Beijing Puneng. He said that today is a very meaningful and milestone moment for Puneng. Thank you Lubao Group for your recognition and trust in making the important decision to invest in Puneng. With Lubao's support, Puneng can expand its technical team and technical scale more quickly, increase the depth of Puneng's technical research and development and its rear moat, and continuously improve Puneng's technological innovation capabilities. We hope that through our efforts, we can make due contributions to the development of Puneng, the improvement of the company's shareholder value, the better happiness of our employees, and the ideal goal of global green energy and low-carbon life.
Afterwards, Quentin Markin, Executive Vice President of Ivanhoe Electric, Mr. Han Zeshuai, Chairman of Lubao Group, and Mr. Ge Qiming, CEO of Beijing Puneng, came on stage to sign the legal documents for this strategic cooperation. This is not only an agreement at the legal document level, but also a close connection between the hearts of two industry giants, symbolizing that the two parties have formally formed a strategic alliance and jointly seek development plans.
At the end of the ceremony, the signatories and witnesses jointly opened champagne to celebrate the successful signing ceremony and wish Beijing Puneng's business development continued success.
Leaders of relevant government departments in Changzhi City, Shanxi Province, representatives of partners of Lubao Group, Ivanhoe Group and Puneng Company, representatives of major suppliers and more than 100 other guests attended the signing ceremony.
This cooperation is of great significance as Ivanhoe Group and Lubao Group join forces. It will not only open up a wider international and domestic market for Beijing Puneng, but also provide solid and strong support for its R&D innovation, team building and capital liquidity. Both parties have made it clear that the joint venture will build a total of 3GWh high-performance electrolyte factory, battery stack production line and system integration integrated industrial park in Changzhi, Shanxi in phases.
The cooperation between Ivanhoe Group and Lubao Group is a milestone in affirming the future prospects of all-vanadium liquid flow batteries in the field of energy storage. The two parties will provide differentiated empowerment to the joint venture at the group level to create the world's most advanced all-vanadium liquid flow energy storage industry ecosystem. The goal is to build Beijing Puneng into a leader in the field of all-vanadium liquid flow energy storage in the next few years, an undisputed global leader in the field of sustainable development, and make outstanding contributions to the global green energy transformation.