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25 June 2021

Tirupati Graphite plc ('Tirupati' or the 'Company')

Downstream Specialty Graphite Development Update

Tirupati Graphite plc, the fully integrated, revenue generating, specialist graphite producer and graphene and advanced materials developer, is pleased to provide an update on activities at its speciality graphite downstream operations in India, where it is developing a suite of speciality graphite for use in hi-tech applications like lithium-ion batteries, fire retardants, thermal management, and composites. 

Overview

·    Increased sales of trademarked expandable graphite products, CarboflameX® and GrafEN 45545™, to a number of customers in Europe following REACH certification (See RNS dated 10 February 2021)

·    First stage commercial trial orders secured with several bulk consumers and others evaluating samples.

·    Particular interest from customers in the UK given the changing policies in flame retardancy requirements.

·    Allotted additional land in Patalganga, which kick starts the construction of a dedicated product development facility using the Company's suite of speciality graphite materials to support clients and meet their requirements.

·    Various work streams ongoing towards constructing the first module of the 15,000 tpa downstream specialty graphite project to enhance capacity from 1,200 tpa to 16,200 tpa by H1 2022.

·    Ongoing engagement with lithium-ion battery and EV sector players in Europe and Asia and advancing plans to expand into North America for upcoming spherical graphite production.

Shishir Poddar, CEO of Tirupati Graphite, said, "We are delighted to have received our first commercial trial orders for our trademarked flame retardant products and to see the extent of traction we have generated from buyers in EU and the UK since receiving REACH certification. This is in line with the trend for businesses and end users to increasingly support green technology engineering and research that reinforce global resilience and sustainability.  Tirupati is at an exciting stage in its genesis as we expedite development of this high-growth, downstream, speciality graphite division and establish markets for our forthcoming large-scale manufacturing facilities for speciality graphite."

Details

Tirupati continues to advance its operations across its portfolio including primary mining and processing projects in Madagascar and speciality graphite and graphene processing businesses in India.  The Company is developing a suite of speciality graphite for use in hi-tech applications like lithium-ion batteries, fire retardants, thermal management, and composites at its Patalganga Project in India; this is part of Tirupati Speciality Graphite Private Limited ('TSG'), with whom the Company has a binding acquisition agreement subject to regulatory approvals.

Notably, it is manufacturing two specialised expandable graphite products, which are gaining significant traction:

·    CarboflameX®, an expandable graphite-based halogen-free flame retardant that can be used in various polymers and provides insulation to increase energy efficiency.

·    GrafEN 45545™, an expandable graphite-based flame retardant composite ('FRC'), which is compliant with one of the most stringent flame retardancy and toxicity standards.

Post receiving the recognised international standard REACH certification in February 2021, the Company has significantly increased its reach and sales of its range of expandable graphite products into the European Union/ European Economic Area ('EU/EEA') and globally, as users look to source products outside of China. It is now working with multiple consumers, supplying niche, customised products for applications in the flame retardants, sealings and thermal management markets.  Given its changing policies in flame retardancy requirements, they are gaining particular interest from customers in the UK, where further marketing efforts are underway.  As well as supplying regular customers, multiple customers are evaluating samples as the first stage of tests and first stage commercial trial orders have been secured with several bulk consumers.  Securing and successfully executing commercial trial orders is the final step in achieving complete qualification for bulk orders; this lays the path to market penetration in the EU/EEA as the larger project is developed.

Following its decision to fast track the scaled-up development of its 15,000 tpa speciality graphite project, the Company is setting up a dedicated product development facility using its expandable graphite and other speciality graphite materials.  Accordingly, to kick-starts this process, TSG has been allotted an additional circa one-acre plot in Patalganga by the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation, which was earlier planned for expanding the Patalganga facilities.  This complements the development of markets for the Company's integrated, multi-product 15,000 tpa downstream specialty graphite project expected to commence by H1 2022.

Furthermore, the Company is continuing ongoing engagement with lithium-ion battery and EV sector players in Europe and Asia and advancing plans to expand into North America for upcoming large-scale spherical graphite production.

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For further information, please visit https://www.tirupatigraphite.co.uk/ or contact:

Notes

Tirupati Graphite Plc is a revenue-generating, multi-asset, multi-jurisdictional, fully integrated producer and developer of high-grade natural flake graphite, speciality graphite and graphene and graphene enhanced advanced materials.  With a unique set of properties, graphite has diverse applications with multiple growth streams and graphene forms the new generation of 2D and advanced materials. The Company places a special emphasis on "green" applications, including renewable energy and energy efficiency, energy storage, thermal management, and advanced materials development, and is committed to ensuring its operations are sustainable as well.

The Company's operations include primary mining and processing in Madagascar, where the Company operates two key projects, Sahamamy and Vatomina; 3,000 tpa of high-quality flake graphite concentrate with up to 96% purity is currently being produced and sold to customers globally, additional 9,000 tpa capacity expected to be commissioned in Q2 2021, and this is planned to increase to 84,000 tpa by 2024 as per the Company's modular medium-term development plan.

In India, through Tirupati Speciality Graphite Private Limited ('TSG'), with whom the Company has a binding acquisition agreement subject to regulatory approvals, Tirupati is developing a suite of speciality graphite for use in hi-tech applications like lithium-ion batteries, fire retardants, thermal management, and composites. Its current operations include the 1,200 tpa Patalganga Project, which was commissioned in July 2019 to manufacture and sell CARBOFLAMEX®, a trademarked fire-retardant expandable graphite product. TSG is further developing 30,000 tpa specialty graphite project in two equal size modules and has developed unique green processing technologies for manufacturing these advanced materials.

TSG has also established and continues to develop the Tirupati Graphene and Mintech Research Centre, a state-of-the-art R&D centre focussed on manufacturing graphene, developing its applications and advanced materials using graphene, and further providing environmentally friendly technologies consultancy for mineral processing.