NMG Completes Acquisition of Brownfield Site in Bécancour to Deploy its Active Anode Material Production for Panasonic Energy

13:00 Uhr  |  Business Wire

• Brownfield site enabling NMG to accelerate the construction and commissioning of a first stage Bécancour Battery Material Plant to fulfill Panasonic Energy's 13,000-tpa active anode material offtake
• Strategic acquisition of 143,000-m² site with large industrial building directly adjacent to NMG's greenfield site, at the heart of Bécancour's multimodal industrial park
• Two-stage approach to building refining operations enables NMG to optimize costs, reduce risks, shorten time-to-market and revise sales mix in line with commercial deals

In preparation for its commercial Phase 2, Nouveau Monde Graphite Inc. ("NMG" or the "Company") (NYSE: NMG, TSX: NOU) has acquired the brownfield site and industrial facilities adjacent to its greenfield site in Bécancour, Québec. The purchase enables the Company to deploy the first stage of its refining operations to fulfill Panasonic Energy's 13,000-tpa active anode material offtake and reinforces NMG's presence in Bécancour, at the heart of the Canadian battery hub and two hours from the Matawinie Mine.

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Eric Desaulniers, Founder, President, and CEO of NMG, stated: "For NMG, delivering an optimized and competitive solution to our partner Panasonic Energy with the utmost efficiency is a strategic priority. By accelerating our development pathway and maintaining the highest standards of performance, cost discipline, and ESG excellence, we are helping anchor a resilient and sustainable integrated battery value chain in North America. This collaboration reinforces our shared ambition to build a local, carbon-neutral, and future?proof supply chain that will strengthen industrial sovereignty, support the energy transition, and ensure long?term value for our partners, our communities, and the North American market."

The 143,000-m² brownfield site includes a 22,000-m² facility, large storing and logistics area, and connections to key industrial infrastructure. It is contiguous to NMG's 200,000-m² greenfield site, providing an ideal setting for a two-stage development plan for the Company's Phase-2 Bécancour Battery Material Plants. Bécancour offers direct access to highways, railway and port for easy logistics, robust industrial infrastructure, nearby labour pool, along with potential synergies within the industrial park with battery material and chemical producers.

NMG will leverage this brownfield facility to build a first production capacity of active anode material dedicated to Panasonic Energy. Offering a full integration from ore to battery materials, graphite concentrate from the Company's Phase-2 Matawinie Mine will be refined at this Bécancour Battery Material Plant into 13,000 tonnes per annum ("tpa") of active anode material as per Panasonic Energy's technical and quality specifications. The production will support battery manufacturing at Panasonic Energy's Nevada and Kansas facilities in line with Panasonic Energy's global capacity expansion.

Leveraging the technology and engineering work carried out thus far, NMG will work to retrofit its plan to the building and develop a class-3 estimate for this brownfield development in H1-2026. The industrial building and associated infrastructure should enable the Company to lower infrastructure costs, optimize CAPEX per tonne for this first stage development, and streamline permitting, engineering and construction timelines to align the commissioning period with that of the Matawinie Mine. The Company will work with its strategic shareholders and targeted financial partners toward a Bécancour final investment decision ("FID") in H2-2026.

About Nouveau Monde Graphite

Nouveau Monde Graphite is an integrated company developing responsible mining and advanced processing operations to supply the global economy with carbon-neutral advanced graphite materials. The Company is developing in Québec, Canada, a fully integrated ore-to-processed-graphite value chain to serve tomorrow's industries in energy, advanced technology, and manufacturing. With recognized ESG standards and structuring partnerships with major customers, NMG is set to become a strategic supplier of advanced materials to leading specialized manufacturers while promoting sustainability, innovation, and supply chain traceability. www.NMG.com

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Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation (collectively, "forward-looking statements"), including, but not limited to, statements relating to future events or future financial or operating performance of the Company and reflect management's expectations and assumptions regarding the Company's growth, results, performance and business prospects and opportunities. Such forward-looking statements reflect management's current beliefs and are based on information currently available to it. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the Company's ability to secure its project financing and to secure a positive combined or sequenced FID for the Phase-2 Matawinie Mine, the development a fully integrated ore-to-battery-material source of graphite-based active anode material in the Province of Québec, the completion of the Phase-2 Matawinie Mine and Bécancour Battery Material Plant for the Panasonic Energy offtake, the capacity of the brownfield site and industrial facilities adjacent to the greenfield site in Bécancour, Québec to enable its refining operations and to fulfill Panasonic Energy's active anode material offtake, and the expected results of the initiatives described in this press release, and those statements which are discussed under the "About Nouveau Monde" paragraph and elsewhere in the press release which essentially describe the Company's outlook and objectives.

Forward-looking statements are based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by the Company as of the time of such statements, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. These estimates and assumptions are not guarantees of future performance and may prove to be incorrect. Moreover, these forward-looking statements are based upon various underlying factors and assumptions, including the business relationship between the Company and its stakeholders, the ability to obtain sufficient financing for the development of the Matawinie Mine and the Bécancour Battery Material Plant, the Company's ability to satisfy the due diligence processes of the stakeholders, and are not guarantees of future performance.

Forward-looking statements are subject to known or unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. Risk factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, among others, availability financing or financing on favorable terms for the Company, delays in finalizing the definitive agreements, delays in reaching FID, and general economic conditions, as well as earnings, capital expenditure, cash flow and capital structure risks and general business risks. A further description of risks and uncertainties can be found in NMG's Annual Information Form dated March 31, 2025, including in the section thereof captioned "Risk Factors", which is available on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca and on EDGAR at www.sec.gov. Unpredictable or unknown factors not discussed in this Cautionary Note could also have material adverse effects on forward-looking statements.

Many of these uncertainties and contingencies can directly or indirectly affect, and could cause, actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Forward-looking statements are provided for the purpose of providing information about management's expectations and plans relating to the future. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements or to explain any material difference between subsequent actual events and such forward-looking statements, except to the extent required by applicable law.

Further information regarding the Company is available in the SEDAR+ database (www.sedarplus.ca), and for United States readers on EDGAR (www.sec.gov), and on the Company's website at: www.NMG.com.

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MEDIA
Julie Paquet
VP Communications & ESG Strategy
+1-450-757-8905 #140
jpaquet@nmg.com

INVESTORS
Marc Jasmin
Director, Investor Relations
+1-450-757-8905 #993
mjasmin@nmg.com