Aqua Metals Reports Second Quarter 2026 Results and Advances Phased Commercialization Plan for Headwaters ARC Staged commercialization plan is designed to establish domestic[...]

Aqua Metals Reports Second Quarter 2026 Results and Advances Phased Commercialization Plan for Headwaters ARC

Staged commercialization plan is designed to establish domestic processing capacity for the fast-growing LFP critical minerals processing market

Reno, NV, July 30, 2026 - Aqua Metals (NASDAQ: AQMS), a U.S. critical minerals processing company commercializing lower-cost recovery and refining technologies, today reported financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2026, and provided an update on execution of its phased Headwaters ARC commercialization plan.

Strategic Initiatives and Pathway to Revenue Generation

"The second quarter marked Aqua Metals' transition from technology validation to commercial execution," said Steve Cotton, President and CEO of Aqua Metals. "We believe the next major buildout in the domestic battery supply chain is not another battery factory. It is the processing infrastructure required to recover critical minerals from the manufacturing scrap and end-of-life batteries those factories produce. Headwaters ARC is designed to be that infrastructure.

"Our commercialization plan is intentionally phased. Phase 1 is designed to deploy commercially proven preprocessing equipment to recover copper, aluminum and high-grade black mass from segregated LFP battery materials, establishing a pathway to revenue while reducing execution risk. Phase 2 is designed to expand the value we recover from that material, with AquaRefining™ integrated after that base is operating to upcycle black mass into battery-grade lithium carbonate, iron phosphate and graphite, creating the opportunity to capture significantly greater value from the same feedstock.

"Every workstream we have advanced, from site diligence and engineering to equipment selection, capital formation and customer engagement, was directed at one objective: reducing execution risk and shortening the path to commercial operations at Headwaters ARC."

Headwaters ARC Commercialization Progress

On July 7, 2026, Aqua Metals announced it had advanced to final site-specific diligence and negotiations on a Midwest development opportunity for Headwaters ARC, the Company's planned commercial battery recycling and critical minerals recovery campus. The opportunity includes an existing industrial facility of approximately 150,000 square feet and approximately 50 or more acres of land, located within a short drive of six major LFP gigafactory projects. The Company expects to announce its selected development path during the current quarter, subject to completion of diligence, negotiations, financing, and customary approvals.

During and subsequent to the quarter, Aqua Metals advanced five foundational workstreams supporting the Headwaters ARC commercialization plan:

A Staged Commercial Model

Phase 1 is expected to include production of high-specification black mass, aluminum fines and copper fines, while building strategic feedstock and offtake relationships. Phase 1 will utilize commercially proven mechanical preprocessing equipment, with a strategic focus on LFP materials. Phase 2 is expected to expand the economic opportunity and upcycle the black mass to battery-grade lithium carbonate, iron phosphate and graphite utilizing proven AquaRefining™ processes and equipment. Aqua Metals believes this sequence can establish a pathway to revenue and cash flow earlier than a conventional greenfield refinery development, while relying on established equipment to reduce execution risk.

Phase 1 and Phase 2 development remains subject to completion of diligence, site acquisition, financing, permitting and customary approvals.

Positioned to Address an Underserved LFP Market

Aqua Metals believes the rapid expansion of LFP battery manufacturing for stationary energy storage systems and electric vehicles is creating one of the most underserved segments of the North American critical minerals supply chain. Based on the Company's market analysis, informed by third-party industry research, recyclable LFP manufacturing scrap from major regional cell production is expected to increase approximately 15 times by 2030. Unlike nickel and cobalt-bearing chemistries, LFP materials require an economically efficient, lithium-focused recycling pathway that maximizes value recovery across aluminum, copper, black mass and lithium products. Aqua Metals believes its phased model is designed to address that requirement.

Technology Validation and Federal Engagement

Aqua Metals' Innovation Center and demonstration plant at the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center continue to serve as the technical foundation for commercialization, with more than 5,000 cumulative operating hours across extended multi-feedstock campaigns. During the quarter, the Company continued to validate commercial process flows, advance battery-grade lithium carbonate and iron phosphate product development, and support engineering of the proposed Headwaters ARC platform. The Company has demonstrated recovery of battery-grade lithium carbonate from both LFP and NMC feedstocks, with lithium carbonate independently confirmed to battery-grade specifications.

In June 2026, Aqua Metals was selected as an industrial partner on a DOE-funded Idaho National Laboratory program evaluating electrochemical alternatives to solvent extraction for nickel and cobalt. The Company does not expect the program to have a material near-term financial impact.

Commercial Partnerships

The Company's previously announced commercial partnerships remain active, including the multi-year supply agreement with 6K Energy, the non-binding LOI with Westwin Elements, and multiple memoranda of understanding with strategic industry participants.

Aqua Metals believes these relationships, along with additional relationships now under development, will advance toward definitive commercial agreements alongside site control, equipment partner selection and product qualification at Headwaters ARC.

Outlook

Looking ahead, Aqua Metals' priorities for the remainder of 2026 are focused on advancing Headwaters ARC toward Phase 1 execution. Near-term milestones include:

"Our priorities for the balance of 2026 are specific and measurable," Cotton added. "Secure the site, select the equipment partner, convert feedstock and offtake discussions into agreements, and complete the capital formation work required to fund Phase 1. We entered this phase debt-free and with the capital discipline that carried us through the downturn, and we intend to deploy capital in step with commercial milestones rather than ahead of them."

Conference Call and Webcast

Aqua Metals will host a conference call and webcast to discuss these results at 4:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, July 30, 2026.

The live conference call webcast and replay can be accessed from the investor relations section of the Company's website at https://ir.aquametals.com/.

About Aqua Metals

Aqua Metals (NASDAQ: AQMS) is commercializing a lower-cost approach to recovering and processing critical minerals in the United States. Its patented AquaRefining™ process is designed to eliminate costly one-time-use chemicals, reduce waste streams and associated disposal costs, and provide a safer working environment than conventional metals processing methods.

The Company's staged commercialization strategy combines established mechanical processing with AquaRefining™ technology. Through its planned Headwaters ARC campus, Aqua Metals intends to recover copper, aluminum and black mass from segregated LFP battery materials using commercially proven equipment, establishing a pathway to revenue through processing before adding a simplified AquaRefining™ process to recover and valorize lithium carbonate and iron phosphate. The planned Headwaters ARC campus is designed to expand over time to process NMC battery materials and other critical mineral feedstocks, leveraging a common processing platform to serve multiple domestic supply chains.

Aqua Metals is advancing applications across battery materials, rare earth elements and other critical mineral resources. Its strategy is designed to support advanced U.S. manufacturing, create high-quality domestic jobs, strengthen resilient domestic supply chains, and enable lower-cost production of critical minerals essential to energy storage, electrification, defense and other strategic industries. For more information, visit www.aquametals.com