NOVONIX Limited (NVX) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Good morning. I'm retired Admiral Robert Natter, Chairman of NOVONIX, and I'd like to welcome our shareholders and guests to NOVONIX' 2025 Annual General Meeting. We acknowledge the Jagera people and the Turrbal people -- excuse me, if I didn't pronounce those correctly, as the traditional custodians of the land in which we meet today. We pay our respects to Jagera and Turrbal elders past, present and emerging. Today, we are very pleased to welcome those of you at the meeting in person and those who are participating online through our virtual meeting platform provided by our share registrar, MUFG Corporate Markets (AU) Limited. I'll now introduce the directors who are with us here today. First, our Deputy Chair, Tony Bellas; Sharan Burrow. I also would like to include the directors who've joined us virtually, that'd be Ron Edmonds, Suresh Vaidyanathan, Jean Oelwang and Nick Liveris. I'd also like to introduce Mr. Robert Long, our Interim Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer; and Suzanne Yeates, our Company Secretary in the back. Joining us virtually today from our management team is Ms. Rashda Buttar, our Chief Legal and Administrative Officer; and Mr. Darcy MacDougald, our Chief Operating Officer. We will have also with us today, Mr. Michael Crowe, representing NOVONIX' auditors, PricewaterhouseCoopers. Mr. Crowe is available to answer questions relative to the conduct of the audit and the preparation and content of the independent external auditor's report. Ms. Chelsey Drake of Allens, our legal advisers, right there in the back. As it is now past 9:00 a.m. and a quorum is present, I declare the meeting open. Notice of the Meeting was duly given, and the meeting has been properly convened. Please note that only shareholders, proxy holders or shareholder company representatives may vote and ask questions. The minutes of the previous general meeting of shareholders held on January 22, 2025, have been approved by directors and signed by the Chairman as a true and correct record. Members may request a copy of the minutes if they wish to see them. Chairman's address, Slide 1. We now move to the substantive business of the meeting. But before doing so, I will provide my perspective on our successes and the challenges facing the company and the sector more broadly. Recall that the 2024 priorities were: First, to scale its operations toward production targets by year-end; Second, to secure additional Tier 1 partnerships and customers; Third, NOVONIX' efforts to secure financing to scale our operations; lastly, maintain its industry-leading R&D efforts for battery materials. As outlined in our various updates to the market, we have made considerable progress over the past year. We have signed offtake agreements with Tier 1 counterparties in Panasonic, Stellantis and PowerCo, the battery division of Volkswagen, and we are in advanced discussions with a number of other Tier 1 counterparties. The contracts we have signed take up all the available capacity at our existing Riverside facility in Chattanooga and have necessitated commitment to the expansion facility at Enterprise South adjacent Volkswagen motor vehicle assembly plant, also located in Chattanooga. Importantly, we've made substantial progress in securing funding needed for both the build-out of plant capacity at Riverside to 20,000 tonnes per annum, and for the first phase of the new facility at Enterprise South with initial planned capacity of another 31,500 tonnes per annum. A successful equity raise in the first -- in the final quarter of last year, added to the U.S. DOE grant of USD 100 million for Riverside, USD 108 million tax credit also applicable to Riverside, and a USD 754 million provisional loan from the Department of Energy for Enterprise South. In addition, NOVONIX has made an application for potential loan funding through the United States Department of Defense in support of its own strategic objectives. The strong support we continue to receive from the U.S. government reflects the critical importance of synthetic graphite to the strategic energy independence of the United States and indeed the rest of North America in all other parts of the world that are currently relying on China is the sole source of close to 95% of global supply of synthetic graphite. Significantly, our achievements, both in terms of securing offtake contracts and funding, are clear illustration of the leadership position NOVONIX has taken in the development of the technology and scale required to be globally competitive and secure the supply of this key material for lithium-ion battery manufacturing in North America. The year has been without some challenges. The company is navigating a change of U.S. presidential administration that is bringing an additional focus on new priorities that are in our favor. First of all, the U.S. policy and strategic alignment. As such -- to touch on the changes in Washington, D.C., NOVONIX' strategic initiatives aligned with the new administration's priorities of securing critical mineral supply chains, strengthening national security and fostering domestic manufacturing. The policies set forth by the current administration, including executive orders, furthering energy independence, the critical minerals imperative and correcting trade disparities, reinforce the importance of our mission. Our production squarely aligns with the Trump administration priorities, particularly with respect to producing critical minerals and removing reliance on China for key new energy materials, such as synthetic graphite. In February 2025, we welcomed the International Trade Commission's preliminary determinations in the antidumping and countervailing duties case to which we are a party. These rulings are a critical step towards establishing a level playing field for North American synthetic graphite production and protecting domestic manufacturing from unfair trade practices. Our commitment to long-term shareholder value remains unchanged as we transition leadership to support the next phase of the company's growth. Our efforts include bringing in Robert Long as Chief Financial Officer in September 2024. Robert brings over 25 years of experience in finance and executive leadership with both public and private companies. Robert is based in Chattanooga, where we are focusing our company and headquarters. Dr. Chris Burns, in coordination with the Board, has decided that the time is right to appoint a new CEO with deep expertise in manufacturing, operations and scaling. Industrial production. This transition is a strategic step forward as we grow our operations and deliver our key commercial agreements. Chris is continuing to assist the company in the role as a strategic adviser to the Board ensuring continuity and a smooth leadership transition. The Board is actively engaged in the formal search process and we expect to have a new CEO in place by midyear based in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Shareholders will be aware that, in relation to our natural graphite resource at Mount Dromedary in Queensland Northwest, we have been progressing the proposed transaction to combine Mount Dromedary with the Burke and Corella natural graphite asset of Lithium Energy Limited. The aim is to enhance the scale and the economics of these resources and provide a focused team for the development of a substantial natural graphite operation. The combined projects will sit within a separate company, Axon Graphite, which will be the subject of a separate IPO with eligible NOVONIX and LEL shareholders being offered priority in the public offering of shares. We believe this transaction remains on track for completion in 2025. On the Board, we are very pleased to welcome Sharan Burrow, who is here with us today in February 2024 as an Independent Board Member. And Nick Liveris also joined the Board on September 1, 2024, after having served as the company's CFO since July 2021. And Andrew Liveris continues to serve as a strategic adviser playing an important growth role for partners and investors. NOVONIX is well positioned to play a pivotal role in onshoring the graphite supply chain in North America. The 5-year U.S. outlook for electric vehicles remain strong with sales expected to reach 25% of all new vehicles in 2030. Energy storage systems are increasingly important for enhancing grid reliability and support AI-driven growth. We appreciate your patience as we establish a new local industry and continued support as we execute our strategy and deliver long-term value. The Board will continue to monitor the execution of the strategic plan to deliver long-term value to our shareholders. We look forward to providing future updates on our progress. Thank you, and I'll return -- I will now turn the business -- to the business of the meeting. In that regard, I will now outline the procedural matters for this meeting. All shareholders will have the opportunity to comment on and ask questions in relation to the resolutions. I will hold comments and questions until the item of business has been introduced and shareholders have been invited to then do so. Shareholders will be able to ask questions in person and online during the meeting. For those participating online, we have published on our website the meeting online guide, which explains how to attend and participate in the AGM virtually. I confirm you can start submitting questions via the online platform now. You do not need to wait until we get to the relevant item of business. We encourage you to start submitting questions now. In order to ensure that all shareholders have a reasonable opportunity to comment and ask questions, I request that shareholders do not ask more than two questions at a time. I'll endeavor to answer all relevant questions from shareholders during today's meeting. However, I reserve the right as Chair to rule questions as not pertaining to the AGM out of order and to take questions on notice. I propose that the order of taking questions will be as follows: Firstly, from many shareholders in the room with us today; secondly, from shareholders online who have asked an audio question; and thirdly, from shareholders who have asked a question online via text. Voting. I'd now like to briefly summarize the voting procedures, which will apply to this meeting. Each resolution will be conducted by a poll. As shareholders are aware, no formal vote is required on item 1 of the agenda. A poll will be conducted on resolutions 1 to 12. All members and appointed proxies attending the meeting in person and entitled to vote were given a voting card upon admission to the meeting. If you have a green card, a green voting card, you are a voting shareholder, proxy holder or corporate representative and have chosen to vote using a paper voting card. You're also entitled to speak at this meeting. If you have a yellow card, you are a nonvoting shareholder. While you're entitled to ask questions and make comments, you are not entitled to vote at this meeting. If you have a white card, you're a visitor and are not entitled to speak or vote at the meeting. For shareholders participating virtually and meeting, click on the get a voting card box at the top or the bottom of the web page in order to register to vote. The share registry has sent the relevant proxy numbers to proxy holders validly appointed by shareholders prior to the meeting. For appointed proxies participating virtually in this meeting, please click on the get a vote -- excuse me, get a voting card or ask a question box at the top or bottom of the web page. Key in your proxy number under proxy details in the pop-up box on the screen in order to obtain a voting card or to lodge a question. If you misplaced your proxy number or have not received your proxy number, please ring the help line number displayed at the top of your screen for assistance. You may submit your votes via the online platform at any time during the meeting. Shareholders and appointed proxies will now -- will be able to submit their votes on resolutions 1 to 12 via the online portal any time from now until after these resolutions have been put to the meeting and discussed. Where undirected proxies have been given in favor of the Chairman, I will vote in favor of the resolution to the extent permitted. The number of proxy votes received on each resolution will be displayed in the slide view section of your web browser as we move through the resolutions. Your votes will be counted by personnel from our share registrar, MUFG Corporate Markets (AU) Limited. The results of each poll will be announced via the ASX as soon as possible after this meeting and also be displayed on our website. If you experience any difficulties using the online platform, the help line number is displayed at the top of the page. You can also refer to the meeting online guide, which is accessible via the online platform. We'll now move to the formal items of business for this meeting. The first item of business in the Notice of Meeting is to consider the financial statements and the reports of the directors and auditors for the financial year ending 31 December 2024. I table for a discussion on the annual report for the year ended 31 December 2024, setting out these reports, which has been made available to all shareholders on the ASX. There is no voting on this item of business. This item gives security holders the opportunity to ask questions about the company and its operational performance. The company's auditor, Mr. Michael Crowe from PwC, is present and available to answer any questions in respect to the report. We will start by addressing some of the pre-submitted questions, which have not already been covered. In the interest of brevity, where we've received several questions from shareholders, which are similar, we'll choose to answer the one question which best represents the majority. We'll now answer questions from shareholders attending in person. Are there any questions in respect to the annual report? Are there any questions in respect to the annual report from holders online? I will now take questions from shareholders watching online who has sent in their questions online and text format. Suzie, one.

Yes, we have one question, and we'll direct it to Michael Crowe. The shareholder would like to know why the auditor has the opinion that there are indications that a material uncertainty exists that may cast doubt on the group's ability to continue as a going concern?

Thanks, Suzie. So consistent with previous years we've included an emphasis matter in our opinion in respect to the ability of the company to continue as a going concern. So quite normal for a company of NOVONIX, standing and so far as we've set out in the opinion and as management has set out, note 1 of the accounts, the company does need to continue to raise more capital to achieve its operational goals. So all we're doing in our opinion is highlighting what management has put in note 1 to the accounts. Otherwise, it's unqualified opinion.

Okay. Great. Thank you, Suzie. Resolution 1, remuneration report. Resolution 1 is displayed on the slide show with proxy vote underneath. Resolution 1 concerns the approval of the remuneration report for year ended 31 December 2024. It is a nonbinding resolution to adopt the remuneration report. Please note that the vote on this resolution is advisory only, does not bind the directors or the company. However, the Board and the company will take into account any feedback that we received in developing our future remuneration framework. Voting exclusions apply to this resolution as set forth in the Notice of Meeting. Are there any questions in respect of resolution 1 from holders in attendance at the AGM today? Are there any questions from online participants on resolution 1? I will now take questions from shareholders watching online who have sent in their questions online in text format.

We have a question, Bob. Why aren't performance rights tied to share price appreciation?

Why not the compensation tied to -- well, first of all, this is a growing company. We base our compensation on our peers and what the peer groups are. We're right square in the middle of where the peer groups are. And secondly, the market is fluctuating as everyone knows. This industry is also fluctuating. It's important that we keep good employees, both at the leadership level as well as the employees doing the production work on-site, of which they are almost 200. So we've got to ensure that they -- we keep that good talent on board. Anyone else?

I've got another question. Got one more question.

Yes.

This question is suggesting it's not a good practice to issue independent directors with shareholder rights, similar to the incentive arrangements for the management team, they are meant to be holding to account.

Well, Tony, you want to address that?

Sure. I'd address two issues from the previous question. With long-term incentives, they are assessed against relative total shareholder return, which takes into account the appreciation of the share price and dividends received. So very differently, in terms of long-term incentives, there's an alignment between management and shareholders. In relation to the issuance of share rights to directors, the majority of our directors, 4 out of the 6 are United States-based directors. In the United States, it is usual practice to also pay in part the remuneration in the form of share rights. We treat all the directors equally. So the 2 Australian directors being Sharan and myself are treated no differently to the American directors. It's also a means of conserving cash in the company to attract management, but also to attract directors in the U.S., we need to be competitive and meet the market. And so we endeavor to do that through a cash component and a share component. There's also a requirement on directors to acquire shares up to a certain minimum amount. So that's the answer to that question.

Yes. Thank you very much. Suzie, anything else? Okay. Proxy votes received in relation to this resolution now shown on the presentation slides on your screen. I would like to remind shareholders who haven't yet cast their votes on this resolution to do so now. [Voting]

We'll now move to the next item of business. Resolution 2 concerns the reelection of Jean Oelwang. With the exception of Jean Oelwang, who is abstaining from this resolution, the election of Jean Oelwang has the unanimous support of the NOVONIX Board and the Board recommends that you vote in favor of this resolution. Are there any questions in respect to resolution 2 from holders in attendance at the AGM today? Are there any audio questions from online participants with relation to resolution 2? Okay. I'll now take questions from shareholders watching online who are sending their questions online in text format. Hearing none. Thank you, Suzanne. The proxy votes received in relation to this resolution are now shown on the presentation slides on your screen. I'd like to remind shareholders who haven't yet cast their votes on this resolution to do so now. We'll now move on to the next item of business. This is resolution 3. It concerns the reelection of Tony Bellas. With the exception of Tony Bellas, who is abstaining from the resolution, the election of Tony Bellas, has the unanimous support of the NOVONIX Board, and the Board recommends that you vote in favor of this resolution. Are there any questions in respect to resolution 3 from shareholders in attendance at the AGM today? Are there any audio questions from the online participants on resolution 3? I'll now take questions from shareholders watching online who send in their questions online in text format. Thank you, Suzanne. Proxy votes received in relation to this resolution are now shown on the presentation slide on your screen. I'd like to remind shareholders who haven't yet cast their votes on this resolution to do so now. [Voting]

We'll now move on to the next item of business. Resolution 4 concerns the reelection of Nick Liveris. With the exception of Nick Liveris, who is abstaining from this resolution, the election of Nick Liveris has the unanimous support of the NOVONIX Board and the Board recommends that you vote in favor of this resolution. Are there any questions in respect to resolution 4 from holders in attendance at the AGM today? Are there any audio questions from online participants on resolution 4? I'll now take questions from shareholders watching online who have sent in their questions online in text format. Yes.

We have a question regarding Nick Liveris' reappointment. The question is why didn't Nick move to a special adviser arrangement like his father as opposed to serving on the Board?

Well, it was a decision of the Board that he added value significantly to the financial situation with the Board leadership. He had been with this company for quite a while. He knew all the background associated with how the company was formed and he's great value added to the Board. We felt like we needed him as a great contributor to our Board. Any other questions, Suzie? Okay. Now I'll move to the next item of business. Resolution 5 concerns the issue of FY '24 share rights to Nick Liveris. The directors other than a director who has a special interest in the resolution, recommend that you vote in favor of this resolution. Voting exclusions apply to this resolution as set out in the Notice of Meeting. Are there any questions with respect to resolution 5 from holders in attendance at the AGM today? Are there any audio questions from online participants on resolution 5? I'll now take questions from the shareholders watching online who sent in their questions in online text format.

We do have a question regarding with this resolution. And it is, are we aware of any concerns regarding remuneration report?

About -- concerns about what? I'm sorry.

The remuneration report, but directing it was the incentive grant to Nick Liveris.

Not to my knowledge. Tony?

This is a continuation of the practice of approving share rights for executives who have a -- well, because Nick Liveris is a related party to Andrew Liveris, there's a requirement to get approval at the shareholder meeting of his share rights, which apply to him as an executive in the '24 year.

Understand. Thank you. The proxy votes received in relation to this resolution are now shown on the presentation slides on your screen. I'd like to remind shareholders who haven't yet cast their votes on this resolution to do so now. [Voting]

I'll now move to the next item of business. Resolution 6. Resolution 6 to 12 concern the issue of FY '25 share rights to Mr. Tony Bellas; Ms. Sharan Burrow, Mr. Ron Edmonds, myself, Natter, Ms. Jean Oelwang, Phillips 66 Company; and Mr. Nick Liveris. The directors other than directors who have a special interest in the resolutions recommend that you vote in favor of these resolutions. Voting exclusions apply to each resolution as set out in the Notice of Meeting. Are there any questions in respect to resolution 6 to 12 from holders in attendance at the AGM today? Are there any audio questions from online participants on resolution 6 to 12? Suzie? I'll now take questions from shareholders watching online who have sent in their questions online in text format. Okay. Thank you, Suzanne. The proxy votes received in relation to these resolutions are now shown on the presentation slide on your screen. I'd like to remind shareholders who haven't yet cast their votes on these resolutions to do so now. [Voting]

This concludes the formal part of the meeting. I will now hand over to Robert Long for his CEO presentation. He is our acting CEO. Thank you, Robert.

Thank you, Bob. Good morning, everyone. Robert Long, Interim CEO and CFO for NOVONIX. Just quickly going to point out the standard notice and disclaimers for this presentation, forward-looking statements. As Bob mentioned, we have our Board of Directors and our technical and strategic advisers, 3 of which for those in person are here and then the others are online. Thank you very much, Board, and I'm sure certain of our strategic advisers are online as well. Many are aware of this, but from a NOVONIX investment thesis perspective, obviously, we are very focused on sustainable battery industry and providing materials and technology with a lower carbon footprint. It's a rapidly growing market, as Bob has indicated in his remarks. There are ebbs and flows in normal market situations, but particularly driven by the demand of electronic vehicles and energy storage solutions are continuing to grow. We continue to have significant support from the U.S. government. Even under the new administration change, I would say that has actually increased very much with the focus on critical minerals. The onshoring of domestic production into the United States and National Security, as Bob mentioned, as we well know, there's approximately 95% of the synthetic graphite production for the world coming out of China. Our status as a first mover is exemplified on the right with our significant facility, continued build out there, and we are continuing to advance our innovative graphitization process within that facility and continuing to expand that facility and to reach the ultimate 20,000 tonne capacity. And we're also continuing in our technology advantages with our Battery Technology Solutions Group in Halifax, Nova Scotia as well as our product development labs in Chattanooga, Tennessee. As consistent with other information, we have the anode materials group, cathode materials also in Halifax, Nova Scotia as well as the Battery Technology Solutions Group rounding out Halifax, Nova Scotia, as I just mentioned. We're very focused with our process on strong commitment to environmental social governance, ESG. Our environmental footprint is materially significantly lower than the process used in China to produce synthetic graphite. We have clean power sources for our anode technology, strong focus on increased energy efficiency and very low, if any, emissions from our anode production process. Likewise, from our cathode technology, reduced power consumption with this technology that we would look to commercialize and license to third-party users. This proprietary -- zero, all-dry zero waste technology is very much of an interest to the industry because of its lower footprint and very low, if any, emissions and being just an overall more efficient and effective process for making cathode materials. As Bob indicated, as you've likely tracked along, 2024 was a very active year. We did receive conditional commitment from the Department of Energy for $754 million loan for our enterprise South location also in Chattanooga, Tennessee. We were selected to receive $103 million of federal tax credits related to our Riverside production facility in Chattanooga. We have signed 3 strong offtake agreements with -- one with Panasonic, also with Stellantis and with PowerCo. And we also are a participant in the trade case with the U.S. government targeting unfair anticompetitive prices from China. And we also entered into a technology license agreement with Harper International, the manufacturer of our graphitization furnaces. On the Battery Technology Solutions front, we entered into agreements with various companies to expand our technology and also receive patents. So with ICoNiChem, Voltaiq, as well as Gamry, good technology partners and working through those -- with those partnering companies. We did also receive composite material patents in Japan, Europe and also the United States. From a corporate perspective, we had a successful equity raise in December of 2024 that did conclude in January 2025. We negotiated agreement with lithium energy for the natural graphite. So as Bob mentioned, the ultimate going public in 2025 of Axon Graphite or a Mount Dromedary asset. We did have active reimbursement from our Department of Energy MESC grant of approximately -- just under $13 million, $12.9 million in 2024, and that does continue in 2025. And as Bob indicated, as we have covered Chris Burns, moving to a strategic adviser role in early 2025 and continuing to advise the business. On the potential impact of the U.S. administration reviews, in short, we remain very active with the Department of Energy and have conversations with the Department of Defense. We've seen no material decrease or any decrease, if anything, those conversations and support are increasing. So we're very happy with where we are with the U.S. government, state governments and also city and county local governments in Chattanooga, Tennessee and Hamilton County, which Chattanooga resides. And so we continue to have strong support from the U.S. government at the federal state and local level, and we're very excited about this ongoing continued support. Overall, and as we've indicated, the Riverside facility is at capacity with the offtake agreements with Stellantis, PowerCo and Panasonic. The volume of those offtake agreements actually go into and wrap into our Enterprise South facility of 31,500 tonnes. So we are already working on that facility to be at capacity. We continue several discussions with offtake -- potential offtake customers. And as you can see, we have a number of on the right-hand side, there's the contracted customer volumes in blue and then potential conversations in green. There are a variety of inbound conversations and our outbound business development efforts. We are continuing those efforts strongly to completely contract and have under contract, our production volumes also at the Enterprise South facility. This Enterprise South facility is our next phase of our anode business. This is a rendering of this fully built out 31,500 capacity building. We hope to complete the construction by the end of 2028. This will bring our total capacity just over 50,000 tonnes per annum. As mentioned, we were offered conditional commitment from the Department of Energy Loan Program Office, LPO. We're working to satisfy those requirements. And we are also looking at additional tax incentives under the program, 45X by the U.S. government which we believe this facility will qualify for. On our cathode business, it's an evolving technology that we have received certain patents on, as I mentioned. We are working very hard to commercialize this asset from a licensing process with several interested parties that will continue in 2025, and we look forward to bringing you exciting news about that in the not-too-distant future. And as Bob indicated, as we look at the highlights we're focused on for our continued growth, scaling the Riverside production facility and evolving into the construction of Enterprise South, securing financing for that scale-up on both for both Riverside and Enterprise South, continuing to secure strong Tier 1 customers in addition to those we have now, again, to build out that available capacity that we're constructing and continuing to have be a strong leader in battery materials, technology and efforts across the board as we learn more and refine our processes to bring more technologies to the marketplace. Our goal is overall for the future of NOVONIX, scaling our anode materials, commercializing the cathode business, continuing to focus on capital raising being very mindful of our advantages from an environmental perspective and being just at the forefront of overall product innovation. This concludes CEO presentation.

Thanks, Robert. The results of this meeting will be released through the ASX as soon as possible and will also be displayed on our website. On behalf of the Board and management, thank you to everyone who attended the AGM to all those who engaged with us by submitting questions in advance and during the meeting. Thank you all for attending this AGM. We hope you and your families stay safe and well. This concludes the official business of this meeting. Ladies and gentlemen, I now declare the 2025 AGM closed. Are there any questions on the CEO presentation? And if so, are there any audio questions in respect of general business from holders online today in person?

Just want to welcome Robert Long aboard. Just a couple of questions. But are you feeling that there's more motivation from the possible customers that they want to get more quickly with the change in government?

Yes. We've had recent meetings within the last 8 weeks with all of our customers on a regular basis, be it online or actually in Chattanooga. And there's very much keen focus and excitement and wanting to move forward as quickly as possible.

And if I could add to that. Also, it's important that we all understand there are significant number of gigafactory battery facilities under construction in the United States today. We are working hard with our potential customers to align our deliverables on product, synthetic graphite to coincide with the start-up of their batteries. The last thing we want to do is be producing synthetic graphite and no customers ready to take it. Conversely, we're the leader in this field in the United States today. We're the only company with this kind of a clean production capability that we're developing, and we're really set up nicely for the demand that we anticipate, not only from EVs, but also other products out there that require lithium-ion batteries. Any other questions from the audience?

Just another question. The 48C tax credits, can you elaborate on why there was a nonselection on that situation?

There was what? I'm sorry.

The 48C tax credit that was...

We failed to receive those for the enterprise sale. I think they were limited -- there were a significant number of applications. And since we received a favorable ruling grant in the first round, the government had other participants that received an award for the second granting of those tax credits, very much support of our process, and therefore, we will pursue the 45X tax credit. There's another option for us to pursue.

Other questions, please? It was mentioned -- let me just say it was mentioned in our briefing that we're pretty about where the current administration lies. In any new administration changeover in the United States, the new administration comes in and makes changes, and so we were on our toes watching what might come. The reality is we're getting stronger support now than we were before, which was very strong for all the right reasons. Number one, we don't want to be left to the decision-making of one country to either provide anode materials and other critical minerals to us and allow us to be, therefore, subject to their will. So this is an important priority for the United States. And I would argue the rest of countries other than China, who we don't want one country either in the United States controlling this. So we think there's great opportunity here. Certainly challenges remain. We're all well aware. You wouldn't be here if you weren't aware of some of those challenges. But we're -- I am the most confident I've ever been with this company. We just need to get out there and deliver and working hard. We talked about the CEO change. We talked about our focus on Chattanooga. We've transitioned to a company now that's really focused on delivering, and we're going to deliver. Suzie, questions?

We have a number of online questions that have come in. So yes, we received a number of online questions from shareholders, which were answered by Robert during his CEO address. And some questions which have not yet been answered, then we'll go through them now. I also want to note that one shareholder has asked a large number of questions, some of which we regard as procedural in nature. So we propose to answer most, but not all of the questions posed by that shareholder. One of the questions was around shareholder communications. So I'll respond to that, Bob, if that's -- if you're okay with that. So I just want to note that the company takes our compliance with continuous disclosure obligations very, very seriously. We're committed to keeping shareholders up to date on all material developments. We have communicated the reasons for our leadership changes, and we've also kept shareholders up-to-date with new offtake arrangements and new loan arrangements with the U.S. government.

And I would add also in 2024, we had 40 releases, approximately 1 every 9 days, and we're required to do certain releases with respect to the ASX rules and that's we abide by those religiously.

Another question. And Tony, this one will probably -- Tony and Sharan, these ones are for you. There's a question around regarding why Tony you sold some shares? And a question around why Sharan hasn't bought any shares?

Okay. As for me, I've been effectively a founder of this company about 10 years ago. I have put a lot of my own money into the company. I have never sold a share up until recently when I sold some shares to pay the tax that's applicable to those shares that I received as performance rights. So it's part of my income, and I've got to pay tax on it. I don't get any cash. I just give the stock. So on this occasion, for the first time in a decade, I sold a small enough parcel of shares to pay my tax.

And I will be purchasing shares. But as a new director, getting my feet under the table. And to be honest, being back in Australia for just on 2 years now from a 12-year employment overseas, I've just actually been sort of stabilizing my own income base, paying tax on a mix of Australian and international income, and I will regularize the share buy as quickly as possible.

And I'd like to add, from my perspective, I'm like Tony bought a lot of shares with my own money. I had to sell a certain tranche recently to help pay the taxes on the shares that were able to get. And as you might imagine, the United States charges some significant income tax as well. So that's the reality of it. But we still hold a significant number of shares. We're invested in this company, if anyone is.

Next question, there's a number of questions that relate to an update on equipment delays and timing for build out of the facility.

Well, with respect to equipment delays, we're in a new technology. This is not off-the-shelf technology. This is not off-the-shelf equipment. Some of it is, but certainly, some of it is we're having custom made. And we have developed this technology. It's the only one out there. The rest of this synthetic graphite is produced in Acheson furnaces. And if anyone's ever seen the overhead pictures of an Acheson furnace in Mongolia, you'll understand why it's located in Mongolia. You would not want this in your neighborhood. And even if they're not clean, you couldn't get it permitted in our country or Australia. So this is an obvious rationale.

Thank you, Bob. One final question. If someone from the Board could comment on the time line for closure of the DOE loan?

I'm sorry, the what?

Time line for the closure of the DOE.

Good question. The Loan Program Office is very much aligned with what we're doing. They're very supportive. They had a changeover in leadership. The new leadership is just as supportive and their closure is aligned exactly with what our qualification requirements are, one of which, by the way, was the approval by the city and county in the state to allow us to put our site in a location that's very advantageous to us at a price very advantageous to us. That was just passed unanimously by the two councils. And so we expect the Department of Energy to come forth when we're all aligned and ready to go. Tony, do you want to expand on that?

No, I think you've covered that adequately. Robert, I think we continue to just tick off, tick off the various milestones.

There are various conditions precedent to the closure of that loan. We work very closely with the loan program office, working through those. A time schedule is established to work on those major milestones. So it's a very active process.

So the government is acting like a bank. Getting ready to loan us money. What else?

No further questions.

Okay. Thank you, Suzie. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. This concludes our AGM. I appreciate everyone coming out, especially with the weather. And we're excited about this company if we didn't portray that idea in the process, but we are very, very excited. Thank you.