VinES and Li-Cycle announce strategic, long-term battery recycling agreement

Li-Cycle assessing opportunity to develop a dedicated Spoke recycling plant in Vietnam near VinES' lithium-ion battery manufacturing facilities, underpinned by customer demand

Li-Cycle continues to strengthen relationship with VinES to advance its position as a leading global recycling partner

TORONTO, ONTARIO - Media OutReach - 12 April 2023 - VinES Energy Solutions ("VinES") and Li-Cycle Holdings Corp. ("Li-Cycle"), an industry leader in lithium-ion battery resource recovery and the leading lithium-ion battery recycler in North America, are pleased to announce that they have signed a definitive agreement (the "Agreement") for a long-term recycling relationship. According to the Agreement, from 2024, Li-Cycle will become VinES' strategic and preferred recycling partner for VinES' Vietnamese-sourced battery materials.

Consistent with Li-Cycle's strategy for growing recycling capacity in conjunction with customer demand, the Agreement further contemplates the possible construction of a dedicated Spoke located close to VinES' manufacturing site. Further, the potential Spoke has the opportunity to benefit from the growing local demand for lithium-ion battery recycling solutions, driven by strong economic growth and an increasing manufacturing presence in Vietnam. An investment decision regarding the dedicated Spoke facility is expected to be made in 2025. In the meantime, Li-Cycle will facilitate the processing of VinES' material utilizing Li-Cycle's North American Spoke network.

"By recycling battery production scrap and used batteries into the global mobility and energy storage industries, we can achieve a sustainable supply chain while reducing environmental impacts. We believe the strategic collaboration will strongly accelerate both companies' missions of creating a sustainable future for all," said Ms. Pham Thuy Linh, CEO of VinES.

"We are pleased to advance our collaboration with VinES and become its strategic and long-term recycling partner for all batteries and battery materials generated by VinES in Vietnam," said Tim Johnston, co-founder and Executive Chair of Li-Cycle. "This Agreement supports our shared goals of creating a sustainable and closed-loop battery supply chain. It also advances Li-Cycle's position as the industry's preferred global recycling partner as we continue to strengthen our commercial relationships and scale our innovative and environmentally friendly battery recycling technologies around the world."

To build on a partnership first announced in October 2022, VinES and Li-Cycle will also continue to explore global recycling solutions for VinFast, the first global electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer in Vietnam and Southeast Asia.

VinES and VinFast are part of Vingroup, the largest private conglomerate in Vietnam, and are leaders in the global movement towards electrified transportation. VinFast has expanded its business to the North American and European markets with the aim to become one of the leading global EV manufacturers. VinES is a company that specializes in the research, development, and manufacturing of advanced batteries for mobility and energy storage applications. The company has recently commissioned a lithium-ion battery cell manufacturing facility in Hai Phong, Vietnam, and expects to further expand its production capacity in the country.

Li-Cycle opened an office in Singapore in December 2022 to support its connectivity to the Asia market and its efforts to continue building and expanding its commercial relationships with Asia-based manufacturers.

"Our office in Singapore represents an important connection point to Asia, and we are excited to continue expanding Li-Cycle's global footprint," said Dawei Li, Li-Cycle Regional President, APAC region. "We look forward to supporting VinES' recycling needs and strengthening our commercial relationships in this important market."