American Manganese Granted U.S. Patent for Lithium-Ion Battery Cathode Material Recycling Technology
United States Patent and Trademark Office Issues Patent No. 10,246,343
SURREY, BC / ACCESSWIRE / April 3, 2019 / American Manganese Inc. (AMY) is pleased to announce that the United States Patent and Trade Mark Office has issued patent No. 10,246,343 for the Company's lithium-ion battery cathode material recycling technology. The granting of the patent is a significant milestone as it now provides legal protection of the Company's flagship technology.
Mr. Norm Chow, inventor of AMY's technology states, "the granting of the U.S. Patent confirms that our research is both novel and inventive. It is extremely exciting to have the opportunity to potentially contribute to the sustainability of future global electrification, which I believe will be valuable to the long-term health of our planet."
"When developing this technology, we looked at current methods of recycling waste lithium-ion batteries and discovered high heat smelting to be the primary method," Mr. Chow continued. "Because active cathode materials are oxides, the first thing that came to mind was the comparison to steelmaking. Since smelting iron ore in steelmaking generates a considerable amount of CO2, we were compelled to develop an alternative process with a sustainable focus. During research development, we applied Near Net Shape manufacturing principles with the goal of efficiently recycling cathode material and generating products as close to the final form as possible, with minimum processing steps."
Instead of relying on acquiring and developing mines in high risk jurisdictions to supply the growing demand for battery materials, AMY aims to have its patented urban mining technology provide a sustainable and geopolitically friendly supply of battery materials.
| Conventional Mining | American Manganese Patented Technology |
| Environmental permitting | Extraction of all cathode metals from lithium-ion batteries |
The granting of the Company's patent comes at a time of surging demand for lithium-ion batteries as part of the trend towards ‘the electrification of everything'. According to the Benchmark Mineral Intelligence battery mega-factory tracker, there is a forecasted 400% increase in lithium-ion battery production capacity to 1 TWh by 2028 in order to meet the electric vehicle demand outlook. For instance, by 2040, Bloomberg New Energy Finance forecasts that 55% of all new car sales and 33% of the global fleet will be electric by 2040. Legacy automakers, like Volkswagen, have recognized the social, environmental, and economic value in an efficient and eco-friendly recycling processes for their growing electric mobility fleet, with an aim to return raw materials back to the production process chain.
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American Manganese Inc. is a critical metal company with a patented technology for the recovery of metals from lithium-ion batteries such as cobalt, lithium, nickel, manganese, and aluminum. Using a novel combination of reagents and unit operations, AMY can provide 100% extraction of cathode metals at battery grade purity. American Manganese Inc. aims to capitalize on its patented technology and proprietary know-how to become the industry leader in recycling spent electric vehicle lithium-ion batteries (Please see the Company's December 14, 2018 Business Plan for further details).
On behalf of Management
AMERICAN MANGANESE INC.
Larry W. Reaugh
President and Chief Executive Officer
Information Contacts:
Larry W. Reaugh
President and Chief Executive Officer
Telephone: 778 574 4444 Email: lreaugh@amymn.com
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SOURCE: American Manganese Inc.