NEO Battery Enters Partnership with Leading Japanese Drone Company for High-Performance Battery Manufacturing
- Partnership via LOI with leading Japanese drone manufacturer that serves major infrastructure operators such as East Japan Railway Co. & West Japan Railway Co.
- Joint innovation on Liberaware & Hinotate's unmanned aerial systems through NEO's high-performance battery technology and manufacturing solutions
- Evaluate potential JV/SPV structure to establish Japanese drone battery manufacturing facility to strengthen Japan's sovereign drone supply chain capabilities
TORONTO, Ontario, Sept. 3, 2026 /CNW/ -- NEO Battery Materials Ltd. ("NEO" or the "Company") (TSXV: NBM) (OTC: NBMFF), a low-cost, silicon-enhanced battery manufacturer enabling high-performance capabilities for drones, robotics, and physical AI, is pleased to enter into a partnership through a Letter of Intent (LOI) with a leading Japanese drone manufacturer, Liberaware Co., Ltd. ("Liberaware") (TYO: 218A), and its subsidiary Hinotate Co., Ltd. ("Hinotate") to jointly innovate on high-performance drone products and to evaluate the establishment of a drone battery manufacturing facility in Japan.
The collaboration involves jointly optimizing Liberaware and Hinotate's unmanned aerial system (UAS) platforms by integrating NEO's battery technology and manufacturing expertise. As battery performance directly affects flight time, range, and payload capacity, the Company's cells, packs, and battery management system (BMS) solutions are intended to enhance operational capabilities and reliability in confined, GPS-denied environments. By developing the battery, airframe, and relevant components as an integrated system, the parties aim to strengthen the Japan Sovereign UAS Platform and provide robust supply to the Liberaware group and additional Japanese and global drone manufacturers.
Under the LOI, NEO, Liberaware, and Hinotate will evaluate NEO's electrode and battery manufacturing capabilities in South Korea to establish production facilities for cell and pack assembly, testing, and quality control at an agreed site in Japan. The parties will jointly analyze and conduct feasibility assessments for capacity, local procurement and supply chain, quality certification, and the investment and governance of a potential joint venture or special-purpose vehicle structure. The LOI is effective for three years and does not contain materially binding terms. Specific investment, production, and supply terms will be determined following assessments and execution of definitive agreements.
Liberaware develops drone and UAS platforms specialized for inspection and surveillance in confined, hazardous environments, such as emergency response, disaster management, and critical infrastructure maintenance. Liberaware currently serves and collaborates with major infrastructure operators across Japan, including West Japan Railway Co., East Japan Railway Co., Central Japan Railway Co., Kyushu Railway Co., and Seibu Holdings. Recently, Liberaware's IBIS2 drones were deployed for disaster inspection inside the Aeon Mall and the Nippon Paper Yatsushiro Mill after the Kumamoto earthquake.
"NEO is proactively expanding to support and integrate into the Japanese market, where demand for reliable, locally manufactured drone components continues to grow under the Japan Sovereign UAS Platform," said Mr. Spencer Huh, CEO of NEO. "As a long-term strategy, partnering with a leading drone platform company provides a path to expand our manufacturing capacity through external resource and financial support and open accelerated access to Japan's defense ecosystem and the associated federal and municipal government funding."
About Liberaware Co., Ltd.
Liberaware's mission is to "create a society where safety is accessible to all." Liberaware develops leading, smallest-class drones specialized for inspection and measurement in confined, hazardous environments and provides infrastructure inspection and maintenance solutions by analyzing the image data collected by these drones and providing it to customers. Liberaware will continue to strive to "make invisible risks visible," and deliver a safe and peaceful society to people. For more information, please visit Liberaware's website at: https://liberaware.co.jp/
About NEO Battery Materials Ltd.
NEO Battery Materials is a Canadian-South Korean battery technology company focused on developing and producing silicon-enhanced lithium-ion batteries in drones, robotics, physical AI, electric vehicles, and energy storage systems. With a patent-protected, low-cost silicon manufacturing process, NEO Battery enables longer-running and ultra-fast charging properties and provides end-to-end battery solutions from materials selection, cell architecture, and process optimization. The Company aims to be a globally-leading producer of high-performance lithium-ion batteries and materials, building a secure, robust battery supply chain for Western manufacturers. For more information, please visit the Company's website at: https://www.neobatterymaterials.com/.
On Behalf of the Board of Directors
Spencer Huh
Director, President, and CEO
This news release includes certain forward-looking statements as well as management's objectives, strategies, beliefs and intentions. All information contained herein that is not clearly historical in nature may constitute forward-looking information. Generally, such forward-looking information can be identified notably by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to: volatile stock prices; the general global markets and economic conditions; the possibility of write-downs and impairments; the risk associated with the research and development of battery-related technologies; the risk associated with the effectiveness and feasibility of battery material, electrode, and cell technologies that have not yet been tested or proven on commercial scale or under real-world operating conditions; the risks associated with battery-related manufacturing process scale-up, including maintaining consistent material, component, and cell quality, production yields, and process reproducibility at a pilot, semi-commercial, or commercial scale; the risks associated with compatibility of existing battery chemistries, formulations, components, or designs; unforeseen risks associated with entering into and maintaining collaborations, joint ventures, partnerships, or commercial contracts with battery cell manufacturers, original equipment manufacturers, and various companies in the global battery and downstream end-user supply chain; the risks associated with the failure to develop and produce commercially viable battery-related products or that technical goals may not be achieved within expected timelines or budgets under a joint development or collaboration; the risks associated with the Company's technologies and products not meeting performance requirements or customer specifications; the risks that prototype and pilot-scale products do not advance into commercially produced products or translate into commercial orders; the risk associated with battery components and cell purchase orders and offtake supply that may not be fulfilled in full, on time, or at all as actual revenue realization depends on delivery schedules, achievement of technical milestones, and customer acceptance and validation; the risk associated with losing official vendor registration or status with existing customers; counterparty risk upon delivery of prototype and commercial products; the risks associated with constructing, completing, securing, and financing pilot, semi-commercial, and commercial battery materials, components, and cell manufacturing facilities including the Canadian and South Korean facilities; the risks associated with potential delays or increased costs with site preparation, equipment procurement and installation, and facility commissioning; the risks associated with integrating silicon anode material production, electrode manufacturing, and cell assembly within a single operational cluster or the Company's business portfolio; the risks associated with supply chain disruptions or cost fluctuations in raw materials, processing chemicals, and additive prices, impacting production costs and commercial viability; the risks associated with uninsurable risks arising during the course of research, development and production; competition faced by the Company in securing experienced personnel, contracts and sales, and financing; access to adequate infrastructure and resources to support battery materials, components, and cell research and development activities; the risks associated with changes in the technology regulatory regime governing the Company; the risks associated with the timely execution of the Company's strategies and business plans; the risks associated with the lithium-ion battery industry and end-users' demand and adoption of the Company's silicon anode technology and battery products; market adoption and integration challenges, including the difficulty of incorporating silicon anodes and silicon battery products within battery manufacturers and OEMs' systems; the risks associated with the various environmental and political regulations the Company is subject to; risks related to regulatory and permitting delays; the reliance on key personnel; liquidity risks; the risk of litigation; risk management; and other risk factors as identified in the Company's recent Financial Statements and MD&A and in recent securities filings for the Company which are available on www.sedarplus.ca. Forward-looking information is based on assumptions management believes to be reasonable at the time such statements are made, including but not limited to, continued R&D and commercialization activities, no material adverse change in precursor, raw material, equipment, and relevant cost prices, development and commercialization plans to proceed in accordance with plans and such plans to achieve their stated expected outcomes, receipt of required regulatory approvals, and such other assumptions and factors as set out herein. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking information. Such forward-looking information has been provided for the purpose of assisting investors in understanding the Company's business, operations, research and development, and commercialization plans and may not be appropriate for other purposes. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is made as of the date of this presentation, and the Company does not undertake to update such forward-looking information except in accordance with applicable securities laws.
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