ICL Breaks Ground on $400 Million Battery Materials Manufacturing Plant in St. Louis

Company joined by Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, Missouri Governor Mike Parson, and other local and global partners for historic event

ICL (NYSE: ICL) (TASE: ICL), a leading global specialty minerals company, celebrated the groundbreaking of its battery materials manufacturing plant in St. Louis, which is expected to be the first large-scale lithium iron phosphate (LFP) facility in the U.S. The $400 million facility is planned to be operational by 2025 and will help meet growing demand from the energy storage, electric vehicle (EV) and clean-energy industries for U.S.-produced-and-sourced essential battery materials. ICL’s investment in the plant was augmented by a $197 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy.

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Missouri Governor Mike Parson (center) speaks with U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm following a groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023 at the site of ICL’s future battery materials manufacturing facility in St. Louis. The $400 million dollar plant will manufacture materials for lithium iron phosphate batteries and will be the first large-scale facility of its kind in the United States. Also pictured are (left) Phil Brown, president of Phosphate Specialties Solutions at ICL Group and (right) Raviv Zoller, president and CEO of ICL. Photo Credit: ICL.

“President Biden’s Investing in America agenda is providing historic funding that will bring down energy costs for electric vehicles, create good jobs and keep the U.S. on the cutting edge,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm at the groundbreaking event. “The momentous groundbreaking of ICL’s battery materials manufacturing facility in St. Louis is part of a manufacturing renaissance to build our country’s supply chain for these clean energy products.”

“ICL is excited to be building the first North American, commercial-scale plant for this critical component required by the energy-storage, mobility and infrastructure end-markets, and we’re proud to make this investment in St. Louis and to create more than 150 high-paying union and professional positions in our hometown,” said Phil Brown, president of the company’s Phosphate Division and managing director of North America for ICL. “We’re excited about the demand we are already seeing for this capacity and are looking forward to moving into this new business. Additionally, as we rapidly move ahead, we are looking forward to partnering with some of the premier participants in this exciting new industry.”

The 140,000-square-foot facility is expected to produce 30,000 metric tons of LFP and will serve as the foundation for the company’s global battery materials business. The new plant will be located on ICL’s existing Carondelet campus in St. Louis, which is recognized by the Justice40 Initiative as a disadvantaged community.

“We’re proud to have ICL Group in Missouri and even prouder to be able to break ground on this first-of-its-kind facility in our nation right here in St. Louis,” said Missouri Governor Mike Parson. “We thank our local, state, and federal partners for helping Missouri secure this project and making our state an easy choice for ICL to grow and expand. We look forward to the company’s success and the opportunities it will offer to Missourians in the St. Louis region.”

The project will create 800 to 900 union construction positions, and ICL has engaged St. Louis-based McCarthy Building Companies as general contractor for the project. ICL is also partnering with Aleees to establish a localized, integrated and sustainable LFP supply chain for U.S.-based customers. Taiwan-based Aleees is a long-standing LFP battery material manufacturer and global IP licensor.

LFP is one of the fastest-growing sectors of the battery industry, as this technology offers superior safety at a lower cost and with a longer life. By 2031, E Source forecasts global demand for iron phosphate-based cathode active materials will reach more than 3 million tons, for a market value of more than $40 billion, due to a shift toward the safer and lower-cost cathode materials used in more affordable EVs and in energy storage solutions. The new facility represents a significant expansion of ICL’s energy-storage portfolio and demonstrates the company’s commitment to developing high-quality specialty products for agricultural, food, energy and industrial applications.

About ICL

ICL Group is a leading global specialty minerals company, which creates impactful solutions for humanity's sustainability challenges in the food, agriculture and industrial markets. ICL leverages its unique bromine, potash and phosphate resources, its global professional workforce, and its sustainability focused R&D and technological innovation capabilities, to drive the company’s growth across its end markets. ICL shares are dual listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (NYSE and TASE: ICL). The company employs more than 12,500 people worldwide, and its 2022 revenues totaled approximately $10 billion.

For more information, visit ICL's website at icl-group.com.

To access ICL's interactive CSR report, visit icl-group-sustainability.com.

You can also learn more about ICL on Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and Instagram.

For more information about Aleees, please visit aleees.com/en.

For more information about McCarthy, please visit mccarthy.com.

Forward Looking Statements

This announcement contains statements that constitute forward-looking statements, many of which can be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “expect,” “should,” “plan,” “intend,” “estimate” and “potential,” among others.

Forward-looking statements appear in this press release and include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the company’s intent, belief or current expectations. Forward-looking statements are based on management’s beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to management. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements due to various factors, including, but not limited to: estimates, forecasts and statements as to management's expectations with respect to, among other things, business and financial prospects, financial multiples and accretion estimates, future trends, plans, strategies, positioning, objectives and expectations, general economic, market and business conditions, supply chain and logistics disruptions, energy storage and electric vehicle growth, the potential for new COVID-19 variants, global unrest and conflict, governmental and regulatory requirements and actions by governmental authorities, including changes in government policy, changes in environmental, tax and other laws or regulations and the interpretation thereof. As a result of the foregoing, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release concerning the timing of the transaction, or other more specific risks and uncertainties facing ICL, such as those set forth in the “Risk Factors” section of its Annual Report on Form 20-F filed on February 23, 2022, as such risk factors may be updated from time to time in its Current Reports on Form 6-K and other filings ICL makes with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time.

Forward-looking statements refer only to the date they are made, and the company does not undertake any obligation to update them in light of new information or future developments or to publicly release any revisions to these statements in order to reflect later events or circumstances or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer

Acknowledgment: This material is based upon work supported by the Department of Energy under Award Number DE-MS0000012.

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