Mr. Hugues Jacquemin reports

NORTHERN GRAPHITE AND PARTNERS LAUNCH GERMAN-FUNDED R&D PROGRAM

Northern Graphite Corp. and partners Rain Carbon Germany GmbH, H.C. Starck Tungsten GmbH and Friedrich Schiller University Jena have launched USE-G: environmentally friendly and safe graphite extraction for Europe's battery industry, a three-year research and development program financed largely by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy.

The initiative is designed to develop new graphite processing technologies that are cleaner, less energy intensive and fully independent of Chinese supply chains. The ministry is contributing 1.14 million euros toward the total project budget of 1.70 million euros.

Graphite is an essential component of lithium-ion batteries, representing as much as 40 per cent of the active materials in a typical anode. Today, however, Europe remains almost entirely dependent on China for the purification, coating and shaping technologies required to transform graphite into battery-grade material. USE-G aims to change that by advancing a fully European processing route that includes the purification of natural graphite without the use of hydrofluoric acid, the development of safer and more sustainable coating materials, and the recovery and reuse of graphite from the black mass generated during battery recycling.

Under the terms of the program, Northern Graphite will supply the natural graphite required for the project from its producing mine in Canada and, subject to restart, its mine in Namibia, which is currently on care and maintenance, both of which produce graphite certified as suitable for battery applications. At its lab in Germany, Northern Graphite will undertake milling and shaping of the graphite, as well as final battery testing of the processed materials. In parallel, H.C. Starck Tungsten will provide its innovative technology to extract graphite from the black mass of spent lithium-ion batteries, enabling this material that is normally destroyed in conventional recycling processes to be purified, coated and returned to the supply chain.

Friedrich Schiller University Jena will lead the development of a novel purification method using chlorine gas, which is significantly cleaner than conventional hydrofluoric acid treatment and less energy intensive than the high-temperature thermal purification used in parts of the industry today. Although chlorine-based purification has been proven in other applications, its use for graphite has not yet been fully explored. USE-G will provide the first systematic evaluation of this technique for both natural and recycled graphite streams. Purified, the materials will be sent to Rain, which will develop new carbon coating materials and related sustainable coating processes from carbon raw materials that are improved alternatives to traditionally used coal tar regarding future availability and environmental impact.

Over the course of the project, natural and recycled graphite will first be processed separately in order to establish baseline performance and purity levels. Later in the program, the partners will evaluate the potential for blending recycled and natural graphite into a unified anode material, with the goal of creating a next-generation European product suitable for commercial qualification by battery manufacturers. All work will be carried out within Germany at the facilities of the respective partners, with shipments of natural graphite supplied from Northern Graphite's operations abroad.

Announcing the launch of USE-G, Northern chief executive officer Hugues Jacquemin, said: "Europe's energy transition depends on secure, sustainable and independent graphite supply chains. USE-G brings together the best of European research and industrial capability to develop technology that is cleaner, less energy-intensive and grounded in circular-economy principles. For Northern Graphite, this project demonstrates how the natural graphite we produce in Canada and Namibia can be transformed in Europe into next-generation battery materials."

Rain's role in the USE-G project is to develop sustainable coating materials and related processes used to coat the graphite particle surface with a thin layer of carbon that improves the electrochemical performance of the graphite anode material, while both reducing the environmental impact of the battery material manufacturing process and contributing to build a more sustainable and resilient European battery ecosystem.

Alexander Zeugner, project manager technology and innovation global at H.C. Starck Tungsten GmbH, noted: "Although graphite accounts for a substantial share of battery black mass, it has scarcely been reused to date. The USE-G research project, which builds largely on our proprietary black-mass recycling process, aims to close that gap. If successful, it would make a significant contribution to establishing a true circular economy for lithium-ion batteries in Europe."

Dr. Martin Oschatz, professor at the Center for Energy and Environmental Chemistry at Friedrich Schiller University Jena, stated: "Our focus is to explore chlorine-gas purification at elevated temperatures as a cleaner alternative to hydrofluoric acid and a less energy-intensive option than thermal purification. This research may enable Europe to adopt new purification routes that improve environmental performance without compromising material quality."

USE-G began Jan. 1, 2026, and will run through Dec. 31, 2029. By the end of the program, the partners aim to have demonstrated a complete, European-controlled graphite processing flow sheet -- spanning purification, coating, shaping, recycling and performance testing -- that supports the continent's energy-transition goals and its long-term ambition to secure independent, environmentally responsible supply chains for critical battery materials.

About Northern Graphite Corp.

Northern is a Canadian, TSX Venture Exchange-listed company that is the only flake graphite producing company in North America. Northern is focused on becoming a world leader in producing natural graphite and upgrading it into high-value products critical to the green economy, including anode material for lithium-ion batteries/EVs (electric vehicles), fuel cells and graphene, as well as advanced industrial technologies. The company's mine-to-battery strategy is spearheaded by its battery materials group, which has a fully equipped, state-of-the-art laboratory in Frankfurt.

Northern's graphite assets include the producing Lac des Iles mine in Quebec, where the company is boosting output to meet growing demand from industrial customers and coming demand from North American battery makers. The company also owns the large-scale, advanced stage Bissett Creek graphite project in Ontario and the fully permitted Okanjande graphite mine in Namibia, which is currently on care and maintenance, and represents an opportunity to substantially increase graphite production at a lower cost and with a shorter time to market than most competing projects. All projects have battery quality graphite and are located close to infrastructure in politically stable jurisdictions.

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