1 April 2022

Tirupati Graphite plc

('Tirupati' or the 'Company')

Tirupati Presents Case for support to UK Downstream Graphite Business in Houses of Parliament

Tirupati Graphite plc (TGR.L, TGRHF.OTCQX), the specialist graphite and graphene company developing sustainable new age materials, was pleased to have been invited to the Graphite Roundtable of the All Parties Parliamentary Group ("APPG") for Critical Minerals, held at the Houses of Parliament on 30 March, chaired by Cherilyn Mackrory, MP for Truro and Falmouth. 

On the back of the importance of flake Graphite in energy transition and for meeting net zero targets, and the role graphene can play in the evolution of advanced materials, the key points raised by Tirupati included:

·      The need for the UK to secure its requirements of flake graphite in the absence of in-country sources;

·      The potential of UK promoting downstream processing of flake graphite in the UK for its internal consumption and export to other markets;

·      Suggested policy initiatives for the UK Government to support primary and downstream graphite projects being developed by UK companies, such as:

o  Facilitating UK companies developing flake graphite resources in Africa and other jurisdictions at project level and providing in-country support through its embassies;

o  Promoting the setting up of downstream flake graphite facilities in the UK and provision of subsidised land for this purpose;

o  Promoting investment in such UK companies by providing tax benefits;

o  Providing grants as a percentage of investment by UK companies for both acquiring and developing primary flake graphite in other jurisdictions and setting up downstream in the UK; and

o  Providing tax holidays for UK companies setting up downstream facilities in the UK.

Christian Dennis, Non-executive Director, and Paridhi Poddar, Corporate Advisor, also presented Tirupati's existing upstream and downstream business activities and further outlined the potential for the Company to work with the UK Government and other key stakeholders to build downstream capabilities in the UK to support its battery and other sectors and energy transition objectives.

Tirupati's call for the UK to secure primary flake graphite resources by providing administrative, financial and fiscal support to UK companies with established and developing primary and downstream graphite projects in Africa and other jurisdictions, and to take a proactive stance at project level and in-country support through its embassies, the Department of International Trade and other trade promotion emissaries to expedite local government approvals and support for projects was well received by the APPG and was discussed in the round table post the presentations.

Tirupati also urged the UK Government to facilitate the establishment of a center of excellence for value-added downstream processing in the UK through the availability of land, subsidies, grants and other economic incentivization tools.

These approaches would bolster the UK's positioning in the battery and critical minerals value chain and promote the development and security of supply chains for critical minerals, including flake graphite.

Tirupati expresses its gratitude to the APPG and Critical Minerals Association for the opportunity to be a part of the round table and looks forward to working further with the UK Government and appropriate departments.

Christian Dennis, Non-executive Director of Tirupati Graphite, said:

 "The world is entering a period of enormous change as we transition to a low carbon environment and there are many opportunities for the UK to become a major center of excellence.

"However, securing the supply of critical minerals to facilitate energy transition is essential if the UK is to capture that potential. With Tirupati's capabilities, we should be part of that through the creation of a sustainable, traceable graphite and graphene supply chain. This will be essential for the multiple gigafactories, graphene and advanced materials facilities and world-class projects that are planned in the UK and across the EU over the coming years."

Enquiries: 

https://www.tirupatigraphite.co.uk/ 

About Tirupati Graphite

Tirupati Graphite Plc is the specialist graphite and graphene company developing sustainable new age 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; 12,000 tpa installed capacity of high-quality flake graphite concentrate with up to 96% purity is currently being produced and sold to customers globally, planned to increase to 84,000 tpa by end 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, focused on manufacturing the Company's trademarked expandable graphite products CARBOFLAMEX® and GrafEN 45545™. TSG is further expanding the Patalganga Project to 4,800 tpa and developing the 30,000 tpa specialty graphite project in two 15,000 tpa modules which will include capabilities to manufacture high-purity, expandable, micronized and spherical graphite and using its unique green processing technologies for the manufacturing of 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.