Aqua Metals Nears Completion of Planned Plant Upgrades; Will Begin Scaling in Q1 2019
December 18 2018 - 8:00AM
Aqua Metals, Inc. (NASDAQ: AQMS), which is reinventing lead
recycling with its AquaRefining™ technology, today announced that
it is nearing completion of Phase One of its two-phase capital
improvement program, as well as implementing its plan to begin
processing a portion of hard metallic lead into lead ingots. As a
result, the Company expects to reach neutral to positive
contribution margin in the first quarter of 2019, which should
allow it to begin ramping AquaRefining operations.
“I’d like to congratulate our entire team on the great progress
we’ve made in the fourth quarter. This includes achieving official
lead vendor approval from Johnson Controls, extended module uptimes
of five consecutive days and significant steps towards achieving
positive contribution margin at the world’s first AquaRefinery,”
said Steve Cotton, Aqua Metals’ President. “As a result of these
improvements, we feel confident in commencing a rational, measured
ramp-up of operations.”
Electrolyte recovery is critical to achieving positive
contribution margin and Aqua Metals is now conserving 67% of its
target for electrolyte recovery. The Company expects to conserve
75% of its target for electrolyte recovery when it completes Phase
One of the program early in the first quarter and conserve 100%
when it completes Phase Two. The Company is already running a
successful pilot program for the Phase Two solution of its capital
improvement program, which, along with conserving additional
electrolyte, should generate higher lead yields for the
AquaRefining process, further improving contribution margin. Aqua
Metals plans to install and start Phase Two operations by the end
of Q2 2019.
Aqua Metals has also installed an additional kettle to process
the hard lead from the batteries it breaks and plans to begin those
operations in early January. Aqua Metals expects the new kettle to
result in up to a 25% increase in finished lead ingots, which it
can sell for more than it is currently receiving for un-ingoted
hard metallic lead.
“In order to conserve capital, we have limited AquaRefining
operations to one or two modules at a time. As neutral to positive
contribution margin is reached, anticipated before the end of the
first quarter, we plan to bring our initial four modules up to full
production. As our contribution margins steadily improve, we plan
to bring additional AquaRefining production online, four modules at
a time. This should allow us to synchronize our front-end and other
plant operations to our AquaRefining operations as we produce more
lead. We look forward to updating the market on our roll-out
schedule as we achieve these key milestones,” concluded Cotton.
About Aqua Metals Aqua Metals, Inc.
(NASDAQ:AQMS) is reinventing lead recycling with its patented
AquaRefining™ technology. Unlike smelting, AquaRefining is a
room temperature, water-based process that emits less pollution.
The modular systems are intended to allow the Company to vastly
reduce environmental impact and scale lead acid recycling
production capacity by licensing the AquaRefining technology to
partners. This would meet growing demand for lead to power new
applications including stop/start automobile batteries which
complement the vehicle’s main battery, Internet data centers,
alternative energy applications including solar, wind, and grid
scale storage. Aqua Metals is based in McCarran, NV,
and has built its first recycling facility in Nevada’s Tahoe
Reno Industrial Complex. To learn more, please
visit www.aquametals.com.
Safe Harbor This press release contains
forward-looking statements concerning Aqua Metals, Inc.
Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to our
plans, objectives, expectations and intentions and other statements
that contain words such as “expects,” “contemplates,”
“anticipates,” “plans,” “intends,” “believes” and variations of
such words or similar expressions that predict or indicate future
events or trends, or that do not relate to historical matters. The
forward looking statements in this release include the Company’s
expectations for reaching neutral to positive contribution margin
for its AquaRefining operations, strength and efficacy of Aqua
Metals’ portfolio of patent applications and issued patents, the
lead acid battery recycling industry, the future of lead acid
battery recycling via traditional smelters, the Company’s
development of its commercial lead acid battery recycling
facilities and the quality and efficiency of the Company’s proposed
lead acid battery recycling operations. Those forward-looking
statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other
factors that could cause actual results to differ materially. Among
those factors are: (1) the risk that the Company may not be able to
achieve neutral to positive contribution margin for its
AquaRefining operations, (2) the risk that the Company may not be
able to produce and market AquaRefined lead on a commercial basis
or, if the Company achieves commercial operations, that such
operations will be profitable, (3) the fact that the Company only
recently commenced production and has not generated any significant
revenue to date, thus subjecting the Company to all of the risks
inherent in a pre-revenue start-up; (4) the risk no further patents
will be issued on the Company’s patent applications or any other
application that it may file in the future and that those patents
issued to date and any patents issued in the future will be
sufficiently broad to adequately protect the Company’s technology,
(5) the risk that the Company’s initial patents and any other
patents that may be issued to it may be challenged, invalidated, or
circumvented, (6) risks related to Aqua Metals’ ability to raise
sufficient capital, as and when needed, to develop and operate its
recycling facilities and fund continuing losses from operations as
the Company endeavors to achieve profitability; (7) changes in the
federal, state and foreign laws regulating the recycling of lead
acid batteries; (8) the Company’s ability to protect its
proprietary technology, trade secrets and know-how and (9) those
other risks disclosed in the section “Risk Factors” included in the
Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed on November 7, 2018.
Aqua Metals cautions readers not to place undue reliance on any
forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake, and
specifically disclaims any obligation, to update or revise such
statements to reflect new circumstances or unanticipated events as
they occur, except as required by law.
Contact: Alison Ziegler, Darrow Associates (201)
220-2678aziegler@darrowir.com
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