NMG develops low-carbon-footprint anode material coating process with McGill

NMG Develops Low-carbon-Footprint Anode Material Coating Process in Collaboration with McGill University

Nouveau Monde Graphite Inc. (“NMG” or the “Company”) ( NYSE: NMG , TSX: NOU , FSE: NM9A ) announces the development, in collaboration with a research team from McGill University, of a new green-chemistry coating process for anode materials that offers the potential to improve the carbon profile of manufacturing while meeting industry performance requirements. This solution reduces the carbon footprint associated with coating, uses readily available raw materials, and remains compatible with existing manufacturing equipment.

“I am very proud of the work accomplished by our R&D team and of this successful collaboration with McGill University, a world-renowned institution, to develop this new coating process for anode materials,” said Eric Desaulniers, Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of NMG. “This innovation, together with our ongoing investments in R&D, reflects our commitment to continuously improving our processes and products in order to deliver an ever-stronger value proposition to our present and future customers. It also aligns with our objective of developing sustainable and resilient supply chains that are less dependent on petroleum-derived products and sheltered from the volatility of their costs.”

This process was developed through a collaboration between NMG and a McGill University research team, under a partnership that began in 2020 to advance low environmental footprint battery material technologies. The work was carried out under the supervision of Professor Philippe Ouzilleau, with contributions from Professors Changhong Cao, Raynald Gauvin, Jinhyuk Lee, Sidney Omelon and Sylvain Coulombe. Professor Philippe Ouzilleau specializes in metallurgical engineering and materials science and is recognized for his expertise in the processing of carbon-based materials and the development of industrial processes with a lower environmental footprint for the metallurgy, advanced materials, and energy sectors.

Under the terms of the agreement, Nouveau Monde Graphite benefits from commercial exclusivity for any future use of this technology. The research project was initially funded through the Québec government’s Mining Research and Innovation Support Program (PARIDM), and subsequently through a grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).

According to our estimates, replacing a pitch coating, the industry standard, with a bio-based coating could substantially reduce Scope 1 CO₂e emissions by 130 kg per tonne of coated spherical purified graphite (CSPG) produced. This estimate relates to direct emissions and does not, at this stage, constitute an assessment of the product's full life cycle carbon footprint. The team is continuing its work to further reduce Scope 2 and Scope 3 CO₂e emissions. Electrochemical testing was conducted in accordance with the protocol of a leading cell manufacturer, and our results demonstrate equivalent performance in terms of capacity, first-cycle efficiency, and fast charging. Given the promising results achieved at the laboratory scale, the next steps toward the industrialization of this innovative technology, for which a patent application has been filed, will include comparative long-term cycling tests, the evaluation of new material types, and, ultimately, a validation campaign on industrial-scale equipment.

This collaboration with McGill University illustrates the role applied research and process innovation play in NMG's strategy to develop one of the first fully integrated natural graphite production platforms in the G7. As construction at the Matawinie Mine is underway and a final investment decision for the 13ktpy Bécancour Battery Material Plant is targeted in the upcoming months, the Company pursues the advancement of its integrated value chain while continuously enhancing the performance, sustainability and competitiveness of its future products.

This innovation in anode material coating will be among the topics covered by the NMG team at The Battery Show North America in Detroit next week (booth 4638). During the event, the Company will meet with industry leaders, customers, and partners to discuss the progress of its vertically integrated strategy, as well as its product portfolio, its R&D projects and opportunities to strengthen the North American supply chain through new strategic collaborations.

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 financial or operating events or future performance of the Company and reflect management’s expectations and assumptions regarding the Company’s growth, results, performance, business prospects and opportunities. Such forward-looking statements reflect management’s current beliefs and are based on information currently available to it. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as “aim”, “anticipate”, “aspire”, “attempt”, “believe”, “budget”, “could”, “estimate”, “expect”, “forecast”, “intend”, “may”, “mission”, “plan”, “potential”, “predict”, “progress”, “outlook”, “schedule”, “should”, “study”, “target”, “will”, “would” or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts.

In particular, forward-looking statements in this press release include, without limitation, statements regarding the potential benefits of the coating process, the anticipated contribution of the technology to the performance, sustainability, and competitiveness of the Company’s future products, the anticipated environmental and commercial benefits of the coating process, the anticipated commercialization of the coating process, the successful scale-up and validation of the technology from laboratory results to commercial applications, the Company’s future results as well as the future results related to research, development, testing, validation and industrialization of the coating process, the Company’s ability to provide advanced materials while promoting sustainability and supply chain traceability, including the Company’s green and sustainable lithium-ion active anode material initiatives, the Company’s ability to establish a local, carbon-neutral, and traceable turnkey supply of graphite for the Western World, market trends as well as and the Company’s future plans, objectives and outlook.

Forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions that have been made by the Company as at the date of such statements and are 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 statements, including without limitation, the risk that the coating process may not achieve the anticipated environmental or performance benefits, that laboratory results may not be successfully replicated, validated or scaled to commercial applications, that further testing may not produce the expected results, that the Company may not be able to successfully commercialize or otherwise realize the anticipated benefits of the technology, risks relating to the protection and enforcement of intellectual property associated with the coating process, the actual results of current development, engineering and planning activities, access to capital and future prices of graphite and the fact that certain of the initiatives described in this press release are still in the early stages and may not materialize and business continuity.

A more detailed description of the risks and uncertainties is set out in Company’s Annual Information Form dated March 25, 2026, particularly in the section entitled “Risk Factors,” which is available on SEDAR+ ( www.sedarplus.ca ) and on EDGAR ( www.sec.gov ). Other unpredictable or unknown factors not addressed in this cautionary statement could also have a material adverse effect on the forward-looking statements. Except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements.

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MEDIA
Juliana Salaun
Director, communications and public relations
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INVESTORS
Marc Jasmin
Director, Investor relations
+1-450-757-8905 #993
mjasmin@nmg.com