Form 8-K - Current report

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): April 3, 2024

AMERICAN BATTERY TECHNOLOGY COMPANY

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Nevada

001-41811

33-1227980

(State or other jurisdiction of

incorporation or organization)

(Commission

File No.)

(IRS Employer

Identification Number)

100 Washington Street, Suite 100 Reno, NV		89503
(Address of principal executive offices)		(Zip Code)

(775) 473-4744

(Registrant’s telephone number including area code)

N/A

(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):

☐	Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

☐	Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

☐	Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

☐	Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: None

Title of Each Class		Trading Symbol(s)		Name of Each Exchange on Which Registered
Common stock, $0.001 par value		ABAT		The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).

Emerging growth company ☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Item 8.01. Other Events.

On April 3, 2024, American Battery Technology Company (the “Company”) issued a press release announcing it was selected for an approximately $20 million tax credit through the Qualifying Advanced Energy Project Credits program (48C) granted by the U.S. Department of Treasury Internal Revenue Service (the “Program”) to advance the buildout of globally competitive critical material recycling, processing, and refining infrastructure in the United States.

On April 4, 2024, the Company issued a press release announcing it was selected for an additional tax credit of $40.5 million through the Program to support the design and construction of a new, next-generation, commercial battery recycling facility to be located in the United States.

Copies of the press releases are attached hereto as Exhibits 99.1 and 99.2, respectively, and are incorporated herein by reference.

Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d) Exhibits

Exhibit No.		Description
99.1		Press Release, dated April 3, 2024
99.2		Press Release, dated April 4, 2024
104		Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document)

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

	AMERICAN BATTERY TECHNOLOGY COMPANY

Date: April 4, 2024	By:	/s/ Ryan Melsert
		Ryan Melsert
		Chief Executive Officer

Exhibit 99.1

American Battery Technology Company Awarded $20 Million Tax Credit through Competitive US DOE Process to Advance its Critical Minerals Battery Recycling Facility

Award to support capital expenditures to accelerate deployment of next phase of critical battery minerals manufacturing

Reno, Nev., April 3, 2024 — American Battery Technology Company (ABTC) (NASDAQ: ABAT), an integrated critical battery materials company that is commercializing its technologies for both primary battery minerals manufacturing and secondary minerals lithium-ion battery recycling, was selected for an approximately $20 million award through the Qualifying Advanced Energy Project Credits program (48C). This award was granted by the U.S. Department of Treasury Internal Revenue Service following a highly competitive technical and economic review process performed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), which evaluated the feasibility of applicant facilities to advance America’s buildout of globally competitive critical material recycling, processing, and refining infrastructure.

“We are proud to have been selected for this highly competitive award, and humbled to have been chosen within a program where less than one-tenth of the requested funds were ultimately selected for award,” stated ABTC CEO Ryan Melsert. “These funds will facilitate the acceleration of the buildout and start of operations of our commercial scale hydrometallurgy-based recycled battery minerals processing and refinement systems to increase the overall capacity for domestic critical mineral manufacturing.”

ABTC is commercializing its internally-developed recycling process that utilizes an upfront strategic de-manufacturing process followed by a targeted chemical extraction train in order to recover battery materials with high yields, low cost, and with a low environmental footprint. These ABTC recycling technologies have won several competitive corporate awards and government grants and are fundamentally different than conventional methods of battery recycling, which generally utilize either high temperature smelting operations or non-strategic shredding systems.

This $20 million award can be utilized both for the reimbursement of capital expenditures spent to date, and also for equipment and infrastructure for additional value-add operations at ABTC’s battery recycling facility in the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center (TRIC) in Storey County, Nevada. Combined with ABTC’s previously awarded U.S. DOE grants totaling over $70 million, these funds support investment in the company’s battery recycling and primary battery metals commercialization efforts to buildout a domestically-sourced battery metals circular supply chain. These efforts simultaneously aim to foster a sustainable and equitable workforce through partnerships that can propel the new energy transition.

ABTC is working to foster improved access to jobs for members of the community, including under-represented individuals and those facing barriers to employment, by leveraging U.S. DOE investments and through partnerships with workforce development and government agencies.

In collaboration with and support from strategic partners, such as the University of Nevada, Reno, the Nevada Battery Coalition, the Nevada’s Governor’s Office of Economic Development, the Nevada Department of Employment Training and Rehabilitation, and the Governor’s Office of Workforce Innovation, ABTC is actively engaged and involved in positioning Nevada as a leading fulcrum of the battery metals supply chain in North America.

About American Battery Technology Company

American Battery Technology Company (ABTC), headquartered in Reno, Nevada, has pioneered first-of-kind technologies to unlock domestically manufactured and recycled battery metals critically needed to help meet the significant demand from the electric vehicle, stationary storage, and consumer electronics industries. Committed to a circular supply chain for battery metals, ABTC works to continually innovate and master new battery metals technologies that power a global transition to electrification and the future of sustainable energy.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are “forward-looking statements.” Although the American Battery Technology Company’s (the “Company”) management believes that such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot guarantee that such expectations are, or will be, correct. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, which could cause the Company’s future results to differ materially from those anticipated. Potential risks and uncertainties include, among others, risks and uncertainties related to the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern; the inability to obtain permits required for future exploration, development or production, general economic conditions and conditions affecting the industries in which the Company operates; the uncertainty of regulatory requirements and approvals; fluctuating mineral and commodity prices; the failure to satisfy the prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements of the tax credit; the failure to notify the U.S. DOE that the prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements of the tax credit were met; the reduction or revocation of the tax credit due to the location of the project having materially changed, the occurrence of a significant change in plans from those submitted in the application to obtain the tax credit, the finding that the property included in the basis of property for the qualified investment isn’t eligible for the tax credit, an IRS determination that a tax credit has been claimed for the same investment, the certification requirements aren’t satisfied within two years, the date for placing the project in service was not met, the failure to notify the U.S. DOE that the project was placed in service, or if there are other violations of Section 48C tax law.. Additional information regarding the factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements is available in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended June 30, 2023. The Company assumes no obligation to update any of the information contained or referenced in this press release.

###

American Battery Technology Company

Media Contact:

Tiffiany Moehring

tmoehring@batterymetals.com

720-254-1556

Exhibit 99.2

American Battery Technology Company Awarded Additional $40 Million Competitive Tax Credit to Accelerate Construction of Next Battery Recycling Facility

Award to supplement capital expenditures to accelerate construction and commissioning of next-generation lithium-ion battery recycling facility to enable expanded North American closed-loop battery metals supply chain

Reno, Nev., April 4, 2024 — American Battery Technology Company (ABTC) (NASDAQ: ABAT), an integrated critical battery materials company that is commercializing its technologies for both primary battery minerals manufacturing and secondary minerals lithium-ion battery recycling, has been selected for an additional award of $40.5 million through the Qualifying Advanced Energy Project Credits program (48C) to support the design and construction of a new, next-generation, commercial battery recycling facility to be located in the United States. As with ABTC’s initial $20 million tax credit award under the 48C program supporting the construction and buildout of its battery recycling facility in Nevada, this additional award was granted by the U.S. Department of Treasury Internal Revenue Service following a highly competitive technical and economic review process performed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), which evaluated the feasibility of applicant facilities to advance America’s buildout of globally competitive critical material recycling, processing, and refining infrastructure.

“ABTC and our partners have been engaging with nearly every major automotive OEM and battery cell manufacturer in the world to present the services we offer of domestic, low-cost, and low environmental impact recycling of lithium-ion batteries, the manufacturing of precursor materials, and the synthesis of refined materials such as high-recycled metal content high energy density cathode active material (CAM),” stated American Battery Technology Company CEO Ryan Melsert. “We are now at the point where we have more feedstock battery material for recycling under negotiations than can be processed in our current Nevada facility, and as a result, we have been conducting preliminary design and site selection processes for our next commercial-scale recycling facility.

Melsert continued, “This next facility will be strategically aligned with our partner facilities in location and throughput, and we are excited to have received this support from the U.S. Government to apply these $40.5 million in credits towards the accelerated construction and start of operations of this pivotal facility intended to significantly increase the Nation’s capacity to manufacture domestic critical battery minerals.”

ABTC is commercializing its internally-developed recycling process that utilizes an upfront strategic de-manufacturing process followed by a targeted chemical extraction train in order to recover battery materials with high yields, low cost, and a low environmental footprint. These ABTC recycling technologies have won several competitive corporate awards and government grants and are fundamentally different than conventional methods of battery recycling, which generally utilize either high temperature smelting operations or non-strategic shredding systems.

ABTC has been awarded over $60 million through the 48C program and over $70 million in U.S. DOE grants to support investment in the company’s battery recycling and primary battery metals commercialization efforts to buildout a domestic battery metals circular supply chain.