Material Event (Form 8-K)

Nth Cycle and Kensington Capital Acquisition Corp. VI Announce Confidential Submission of Draft Registration Statement on Form S-4 With the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

Nth Cycle is a Pure Play Mineral Refiner for Rare Earths, Copper, and Battery Materials Aiming to Onshore the Critical Mineral Supply Chain with its Proprietary Electroextraction Platform and

OYSTER System to Reduce Dependence on Foreign Refiners

Proposed Transaction Implies a Pro Forma Enterprise Value of Approximately $585 Million

BURLINGTON, MA and WESTBURY, NY - Aug. 7, 2026 - Nth Cycle, Inc. ("Nth Cycle" or the "Company"), a pure-play critical minerals refiner focused on building midstream processing capacity, and Kensington Capital Acquisition Corp. VI ("Kensington") (NYSE: KCAC.U), a special purpose acquisition company, today announced the confidential submission of a draft registration statement on Form S-4 (the "Registration Statement") to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC").

The Registration Statement relates to the previously announced proposed business combination between Nth Cycle and Kensington. Subject to the completion of the SEC review process and satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including the approval of Kensington's shareholders, the combined company will be named Nth Cycle Holdings, Inc., and its common stock is expected to be listed on the NYSE under the ticker symbol "NTH."

Dr. Megan O'Connor, Co-Founder and CEO of Nth Cycle, commented: "This submission represents an important milestone as we advance our efforts to becoming a publicly traded company and to scaling the refining capacity that the U.S. and its allies urgently need. Critical minerals are abundant globally, but carry little commercial value until they are refined, leaving the United States and its partners dependent upon China. We built our modular OYSTER system to mitigate this national security threat while also executing at a lower cost and with less waste than conventional refineries. Partnering with Kensington gives us the opportunity to execute on our mission at the speed these markets demand."

Justin Mirro, Chairman and CEO of Kensington, added: "Nth Cycle's OYSTER system delivers a capital-efficient solution to a critical U.S. supply-chain bottleneck and can be deployed wherever refining capacity is needed most. We are partnering with Megan and her team to scale the technology and strengthen America's critical minerals supply chain."

The onshoring of critical mineral refining is one of the most important supply chain challenges facing the U.S. economy, with foreign-owned companies controlling 85% of global capacity. Nth Cycle developed a modular refining platform to systematically solve this challenge and create new critical mineral supply chains in the West. Traditional refining requires significant capital, centralized facilities, and extensive permitting. Nth Cycle's system is designed to reduce capital intensity by upwards of 70%, while building at 5 to 10 times smaller scale with installation and permitting completed within as little as 24 months.

Positioned for the Next Industrial Era, Aligned with Government Policy and Private-Sector Demand

Critical minerals sit at the center of the new industrial economy, and like oil, they hold little value until they are refined. China today controls the purification of roughly 85% of the world's mineral-rich materials, including feedstock sourced from the United States and Europe. Reducing that concentration has become a national priority across the West, and building domestic refining capacity is among the most direct ways to address it.

Nth Cycle is currently focused on three metal markets where federal policy and private-sector demand are converging: rare earths, which enable military systems and advanced electronics; copper, essential to moving electricity, data, and industrial power; and battery materials, which underpin energy storage, transportation, and electrification. The Company's OYSTER system and electroextraction platform lower the capital, time, and emissions required to convert industrial scrap, black mass, and primary feeds into refined nickel, cobalt, copper, and rare earth products.

Transaction Overview

The business combination values Nth Cycle at an implied enterprise value of $585 million, assuming no redemptions by Kensington's shareholders in connection with the closing and the payment of estimated transaction expenses. Transaction proceeds to the combined company are expected to consist of up to $230 million in Kensington's trust, subject to redemptions, and a common stock PIPE of up to $100 million, of which $40 million has to date been committed by new and existing investors. Additional information about the proposed transaction, including a copy of the Business Combination Agreement and investor presentation, included in a Current Report on Form 8-K filed by Kensington with the SEC on July 22, 2026 and available at www.sec.gov.

Kensington's units (each of which consists of one Class A ordinary share, one-quarter of one Class 1 warrant and three-quarters of one Class 2 warrant), new units (each of which consists of one Class A ordinary share and three-quarters of one Class 2 warrant) and Class 1 warrants are listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbols "KCAC.U," "KCA.U" and "KCAC.W," respectively. Each whole warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment. The new units will not separate into Kensington's Class A ordinary shares and Class 2 warrants, and Kensington's Class A ordinary shares and the Class 2 warrants will not trade separately, unless and until consummation of Kensington's initial business combination.

About Nth Cycle, Inc.

Nth Cycle is a critical minerals midstream refining company building the technology and infrastructure needed for Western supply chains. The company addresses the structural bottleneck of foreign dependence to process domestic critical mineral resources with its modular OYSTER system and proprietary electroextraction platform. Combined, they dramatically lower capital intensity, deployment time and emissions to convert industrial scrap, black mass and primary feeds into intermediate and refined products within the nickel, cobalt, copper and rare earth value chains. These advancements enable the domestic production and allied partnerships vital to industrial competitiveness, economic growth, and national security.

About Kensington Capital Acquisition Corp. VI

Kensington Capital Acquisition Corp. VI (NYSE: KCAC.U) is a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) led by Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Justin Mirro, Vice Chairman and President, Dieter Zetsche, Chief Operating Officer, Robert Remenar, Chief Technology Officer, Simon Boag and Chief Financial Officer, Daniel Huber. Kensington's independent directors are William Kassling, Anders Pettersson, Mitchell Quain, Donald Runkle and Matthew Simoncini.