Nouveau Monde Graphite Inc. provided an update on the buildout of the Phase 1 operation at its move-in ready space located in Bécancour, Québec. The Company is targeting mid-2021 for the commencement of production of the first tonnes of high-purity spherical graphite destined for the high-growth EV and renewable energy sectors. Once fully ramped up, the nameplate capacity of Phase 1 will be 1,500 tonnes per annum of purified material produced using the first two state-of-the-art commercial-scale modules. The Company intends to use this initial production to advance its qualification process with major battery makers with the objective to secure long-term supply agreements. Key advancements at Phase 1: Since the beginning of January 2021 this year, Nouveau Monde has been present at Olin’s facility on a daily basis and is pleased with the pace of advancement of the Phase 1 work. The transformer-rectifier ordered from Friem in Italy in December 2019 successfully completed a full year of extensive testing. It has been shipped from Italy on January 3, 2021 and arrived at the Port of Montreal on January 17. It is scheduled to be delivered onsite in Bécancour on January 22. All preparatory work related to its installation is expected to be completed by the end of February. Upgrades to the flooring of BEC1, began on January 5 and pouring of concrete is scheduled to begin next week. The installation of the exterior walls of the two modular furnaces is scheduled to begin in February. Bus bars (electrical conductors) are being manufactured and their installation is scheduled to be completed in February. Equipment orders are more than 95% complete, with the majority of deliveries expected for February and March; critical items related to gas treatment and handling of chlorine and graphite are expected to arrive onsite in April and May, ahead of the planned start-up of the furnaces in late June. Detailed engineering is expected to be completed before the end of January for mechanical, piping and electrical installation in order to obtain bids and start construction in March, as planned. The control room and office are expected to be installed in early February. The Company will continue to update the market on its social media platforms and website as the construction continues to advance. Nouveau Monde Completes the Purchase of the Phase 2 Site in Bécancour: In the press release dated October 27, 2020, Nouveau Monde announced that it had signed an option to purchase a 200,000-m² parcel of land adjacent to Olin’s property in the Bécancour industrial park. The Company announces that it has completed the purchase of this property. As the future site of the Company’s commercial-scale transformation plant, it will produce a wide range of value-added graphite-based materials. The property presents no environmental limitations for construction and offers all necessary infrastructure to have a safe and direct chemical supply from the adjacent Olin’s property as well as rail, port, and road access for both importing raw materials and exporting final products throughout North America and Europe. The Company is currently finalizing an internal FEL-1 scoping study on its Phase 2 commercial anode material project in Bécancour; the Company will update the market once the study is completed. Nouveau Monde is planning, with its modular approach, the production of 40,000 tonnes per annum of anode material for the initial phase, with the option to expand as the anticipated demand increases in the battery and speciality markets.