Aqua Metals Inc (AQMS) 2025 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Greetings and welcome to the Aqua Metals Q3 2025 conference call.(Operator instructions). It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Rob Fink, Investor relations.

各位來賓，歡迎參加 Aqua Metals 2025 年第三季電話會議。 （操作員說明）現在，我很高興為大家介紹主持人，投資者關係部門的羅伯芬克。

Thank you, Rob. You may begin.

謝謝你，羅布。你可以開始了。

Thank you operator and thank you everybody for joining. Earlier today, Aqua Metals issued a press release providing an operational update and discussing financial results for the third quarter ended September 30th, 2025. This release is available in the investor relations section of the company's website at aquametals.com. Hosting the call today are Steve Cotton, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Eric West, Chief Financial Officer.

感謝操作員，也感謝各位的參與。今天早些時候，Aqua Metals 發布了一份新聞稿，提供了營運更新信息，並討論了截至 2025 年 9 月 30 日的第三季財務業績。本新聞稿可在本公司網站 aquametals.com 的投資人關係欄位查閱。今天主持電話會議的是總裁兼執行長史蒂夫·科頓和財務長埃里克·韋斯特。

Before we begin, I would like to remind participants that during this call, management will be making forward-looking statements. Please refer to the company's report on Form 10Q. It was filed today, November 12th, for a summary of the forward-looking statements and the risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those forward-looking statements. Aqua Metals cautions investors not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. The company does not undertake and specifically disclaims any obligation to update or revise such statements to reflect new circumstances or unanticipated events as they occur, except required by law.

在會議開始之前，我想提醒各位與會者，在本次電話會議中，管理階層將發表一些前瞻性聲明。請參閱公司提交的 10Q 表格報告。該文件於今天（11 月 12 日）提交，概述了前瞻性陳述以及可能導致實際結果與這些前瞻性陳述有重大差異的風險、不確定性和其他因素。Aqua Metals提醒投資者不要過度依賴任何前瞻性陳述。除法律另有規定外，本公司不承擔任何義務，並明確聲明不承擔任何義務，在發生新的情況或意外事件時更新或修改此類聲明以反映情況。

As a reminder, after the formal remarks, we'll be taking questions. We'll take as many questions as we can fit in and as time is allowed and with that, I'd like to turn the call over to Steve Cotton. Steve, the call is yours.

再次提醒各位，正式致詞結束後，我們將接受提問。我們會盡可能回答問題，只要時間允許。現在，我想把電話交給史蒂夫‧科頓。史蒂夫，這由你決定。

Thanks everyone and welcome to our Q3 update. This past quarter and the subsequent weeks represent a meaningful strengthening of aqua metals. We advanced our technology, expanded commercial pathways across both battery and emerging critical mineral supply chains, and strengthened our balance sheet with $17.1 million in new funding.

感謝大家，歡迎收看我們的第三季業績報告。在過去一個季度及隨後的幾週，水族金屬價格出現了顯著走強。我們推進了技術發展，拓展了電池和新興關鍵礦物供應鏈的商業管道，並透過1710萬美元的新資金增強了資產負債表。

I want to start there. Combined with our disciplined operating approach, this capital provides aqua metals multiple quarters of strategic runway and flexibility. Eric will speak more to the details, but it's important to note this was a proactive raise, not a reactive one. Capital raised from a position of strength and strategic momentum. We brought in capital proactively to accelerate the plan and strengthen our strategic footing, and we believe that decision positions us exceptionally well as we move towards full commercialization.

我想從那裡開始。結合我們嚴謹的營運方式，這筆資金為水產金屬提供了多個季度的策略發展空間和靈活性。艾瑞克會詳細說明情況，但需要指出的是，這是一個主動加薪，而不是被動加薪。利用自身實力和策略優勢籌集資金。我們積極引入資金，以加快計劃實施並加強我們的策略基礎，我們相信這項決定使我們在邁向全面商業化的過程中處於非常有利的地位。

On the technology front, Q3 marked continued validation of the open refining platform. We successfully processed 1 metric ton of lithium iron phosphate or LFP cathode scrap at pilot scale, producing battery grade lithium carbonate validated by OEM and third-party testing. To our knowledge, Aqua metals remains the only company to demonstrate an economically viable path for producing battery grade lithium carbonate by recycling from LFP at commercially relevant scale.

在技​​術方面，第三季標誌著開放式煉油平台的持續驗證。我們成功地在試驗規模上處理了 1 公噸磷酸鐵鋰 (LFP) 正極廢料，生產出經 OEM 和第三方測試驗證的電池級碳酸鋰。據我們所知，Aqua metals 仍然是唯一一家證明透過從磷酸鐵鋰 (LFP) 中回收，以商業相關規模生產電池級碳酸鋰的經濟可行途徑的公司。

As the industry evolves with both NMC and LFP chemistries, our feedstock flexible refining technology positions us for the next phase of market demand. We also saw the strategic network effects of our platform really beginning to compound.

隨著 NMC 和 LFP 化學品的不斷發展，我們的原料靈活精煉技術使我們為下一階段的市場需求做好準備。我們也看到我們平台的戰略網路效應開始真正累積。

Our MOU agreements with Moby Robotics and Impossible Metals extend the aqua refining platform into deep sea mineral feedstocks rich in nickel, cobalt, manganese, and rare earth elements, while our LOI agreement with West Wind Elements advances discussions for the potential supply of 500 metrics to 1,000 metric tons, which is approximately $12 million of recycled nickel carbonate annually based on today's nickel prices.

我們與 Moby Robotics 和 Impossible Metals 簽署的諒解備忘錄協議將水提煉平台擴展到富含鎳、鈷、錳和稀土元素的深海礦物原料，而我們與 West Wind Elements 簽署的意向書協議推進了關於潛在供應 500 公噸至 1000 公噸的討論，按目前的鎳價計算，這相當於每年 1200 萬美元的鎳再生。

Together, these initiatives reinforce Aquavell's expanding role in sustainable domestic critical mineral supply. These aren't pivots, they're deliberate extensions of our core technology into adjacent markets, reinforcing our role in securing strategic metals for the energy transition. We also regained compliance with NASDdaq listing requirements, strengthening our market position as we advanced toward commercial operations and continued active industry engagement through events such as the battery show and the battery recycling workshop in Kuzu, China.

這些措施共同鞏固了 Aquavell 在永續國內關鍵礦產供應方面不斷擴大的作用。這些並非轉型，而是我們核心技術向鄰近市場的有意延伸，旨在加強我們在確保能源轉型策略金屬供應方面的作用。我們也重新獲得了納斯達克上市要求的合規性，隨著我們推進商業運營並透過電池展和在中國葛頭舉辦的電池回收研討會等活動繼續積極參與行業活動，我們鞏固了市場地位。

Throughout, we've remained disciplined. Aqua Mills has always taken a long-term view, partnering with the right stakeholders, deploying capital efficiency, and building a platform designed to scale rationally and sustainably. I'm really proud of how consistently the team has delivered on that balanced approach, executing near-term priorities while keeping clear focus on long-term creation.

我們始終保持著自律。Aqua Mills 一直秉持長遠眼光，與合適的利害關係人合作，高效利用資本，並建立一個旨在合理、可持續地擴展規模的平台。我為團隊始終如一地貫徹這種平衡的方法而感到非常自豪，他們既能執行近期優先事項，又能始終專注於長期創造。

Looking ahead, we see a consolidating industry cantering around a smaller number of technically validated, financially strong recyclers with proven solutions. That environment plays to our strengths. While we don't front run announcements, we continue to. Evaluate compelling opportunities, and we expect to remain selectively active as the market evolves. This is a dynamic period in energy and critical mineral supply chains, and we intend to help shape what comes next from a position of strength. And to our shareholders, partners, and employees, thank you all for your continued support. Our mission remains clear. Our strategy is intact, and our momentum is building at a pivotal moment for the clean energy supply chain. With that, I'll turn it over to Eric to review the financials.

展望未來，我們看到產業正在整合，以少數幾家技術成熟、財務實力雄厚、擁有成熟解決方案的回收企業為中心發展。這種環境能發揮我們的優勢。雖然我們不會搶先發佈公告，但我們仍然會這樣做。評估具有吸引力的投資機會，並預期隨著市場的發展，我們將保持選擇性活躍。能源和關鍵礦產供應鏈正處於一個充滿活力的時期，我們打算憑藉自身優勢，幫助塑造未來的發展方向。感謝各位股東、夥伴和員工一直以來的支持。我們的使命依然明確。我們的策略保持不變，在清潔能源供應鏈的關鍵時刻，我們的發展勢頭正在不斷增強。接下來，我將把財務報表交給艾瑞克審核。

Thanks Steve, I'll provide an overview of our financial results and current balance sheet position. We ended the quarter with $2.9 million in cash and cash equivalents, up from $1.9 million at the end of Q2. During the quarter, we raised approximately $4.1 million through our ATM and equity line programs, maintaining flexibility while supporting pilot operations and commercial planning activities.

謝謝史蒂夫，我將概述我們的財務表現和目前的資產負債表狀況。本季末，我們持有現金及現金等價物290萬美元，高於第二季末的190萬美元。本季度，我們透過 ATM 和股權融資計畫籌集了約 410 萬美元，在支持試點營運和商業規劃活動的同時，保持了靈活性。

Subsequent to the quarter end, we closed a $13 million investment from the leading institutional investor, bringing total recent capital raised to over $17 million. With this funding, we now have multiple quarters of operating runway and the resources needed to complete engineering and permitting work as we finalize site selection for our first commercial scale aqua refining facility.

季度末之後，我們獲得了來自領先機構投資者的 1,300 萬美元投資，使近期籌集的總資金超過 1,700 萬美元。有了這筆資金，我們現在有多個季度的營運資金，以及完成工程和許可工作所需的資源，同時我們正在最終確定第一個商業規模水精煉設施的選址。

Now I'm moving to highlight a few items on the income statement. Total operating costs were approximately $2.7 million for the quarter compared to $3 million in the prior year period. The decrease reflects continued cost discipline while maintaining key technical and commercial development programs.

現在我要重點介紹一下損益表中的幾個項目。本季總營運成本約為 270 萬美元，而去年同期為 300 萬美元。這一降幅反映了在維持關鍵技術和商業開發專案的同時，持續進行的成本控制。

General administrative expense was approximately $2.1 million down from $2.5 million last year, and R&D expense totalled about $0.6 million which is consistent with our focus on continued process improvement and expanding our suite of off-tape material options. We reported a net loss of $2.8 million for the quarter or negative $1.52 per share compared to a net loss of $4.7 million or negative $6.87 per share in Q3 of 2024.

一般管理費用約為 210 萬美元，低於去年的 250 萬美元；研發費用總計約 60 萬美元，這與我們持續改進流程和擴大非膠帶材料選擇範圍的重點相一致。本季淨虧損 280 萬美元，即每股虧損 1.52 美元，而 2024 年第三季淨虧損 470 萬美元，即每股虧損 6.87 美元。

Year-to-date, net loss improved to $12.3 million or negative $7.41 per share from $19.2 million or negative $27.63 per share in the same period last year.

今年迄今，淨虧損從去年同期的 1,920 萬美元（每股虧損 27.63 美元）改善至 1,230 萬美元（每股虧損 7.41 美元）。

A reduction of more than 1/3, reflecting lower operating expense and discipline management of overhead. Operating cash used year-to-date was approximately $7.2 million compared to $10.4 million in the same period last year. Looking ahead, as Steve outlined, we anticipate a modest increase in cash use as we ramp R&D, process optimization, and site readiness efforts in support of commercialization.

減少了三分之一以上，反映出營運費用降低和對間接費用的嚴格管理。今年迄今的經營現金使用額約為 720 萬美元，而去年同期為 1,040 萬美元。展望未來，正如史蒂夫所概述的那樣，隨著我們加大研發、製程優化和場地準備工作以支持商業化，我們預計現金使用量將略有增加。

We will continue to manage spending with discipline and ensure that every dollar invested advances our strategic and technical objectives. Our focus remains on maintaining liquidity, aligning investment with clear milestones, and advancing the commercialization plan efficiently.

我們將繼續嚴格控制支出，確保每一分錢的投資都能推動我們的策略和技術目標。我們將繼續專注於保持流動性，使投資與明確的里程碑保持一致，並有效地推進商業化計劃。

With the strength and balance sheet, discipline, cost structure, and growing technical momentum, Aqua Metals enters 2026 from a position of stability and focus. That concludes my prepared remarks. I will now turn the call back to the moderator for Q&A.

憑藉雄厚的實力和資產負債表、嚴謹的紀律、合理的成本結構以及不斷增長的技術發展勢頭，Aqua Metals 以穩定和專注的姿態進入 2026 年。我的發言稿到此結束。現在我將把電話交還給主持人進行問答環節。

Thank you. We will now be conducting a question-and-answer session. (Operator instructions).

謝謝。接下來我們將進行問答環節。（操作說明）

Mickey Legg with the Benchmark Company.

米奇·萊格，來自基準公司。

Hey guys, thanks for taking my questions and congrats on the quarter.

大家好，感謝你們回答我的問題，也恭喜你們本季取得好成績。

I'd like to start with. Maybe what are a few of the biggest gaining factors to securing first build, and if you were able to clear those, how long, do you expect to get the commissioning from there? Thanks.

我想先從…開始。或許，確保首次建造成功的關鍵因素有哪些？如果能夠克服這些因素，預計從那時到最終投入使用需要多長時間？謝謝。

Hey, Mickey, good to hear your voice as always, and thanks for the question. So really, I think what you're asking is, with a stronger cast position, why not begin building the arc, commercial facility now? And ask me how I know that's a great question. The answer is really simple, discipline.

嘿，米奇，很高興一如既往地聽到你的聲音，謝謝你的提問。所以，我認為你真正想問的是，既然擁有更強大的演員陣容，為什麼不現在就開始建造這個商業設施呢？問我怎麼知道這是個好問題。答案其實很簡單，就是自律。

While it may be tempting to accelerate the construction immediately, as we have seen several players attempt in the past, prior market conditions have informed our philosophy on a go forward, which is really build once and build right and build when the demand is contracted and not when we would build on speculation as the industry has done in the past. We're really sequencing the arc launch to align with market timing and feedstock certainty and offtake. And really being fully ready from a capital perspective, so this approach will ensure that we avoid unnecessary dilution and maintain strategic leverage, and we can really execute that build from a position of confidence. Hope that answers your question.

雖然立即加快建設可能很誘人，就像我們過去看到一些參與者所做的那樣，但之前的市場狀況影響了我們未來的發展理念，那就是真正做到一次建成，一次做好，並且在需求萎縮時建設，而不是像該行業過去那樣在投機時建設。我們正在精心安排弧形發射的順序，以配合市場時機、原料供應的確定性和市場需求。從資本角度來看，我們已經做好了充分的準備，因此這種方法將確保我們避免不必要的股權稀釋，保持戰略優勢，並且我們可以真正從充滿信心的位置來執行這一建設。希望這能解答你的疑問。

Yeah, it does. I was more talking about, securing that partnership so that you feel comfortable with the timing of the build. What's keeping the partnership discussions, how are those going? What, any colour on those, and how they're progressing, maybe that would be helpful.

是的，確實如此。我更多的是在談論如何確保這種合作關係，以便您能對專案的進度安排感到滿意。是什麼原因導致合作談判陷入僵局？談判進展如何？那些東西有顏色嗎？它們的生長情況如何？也許這些資訊會有幫助。

Yeah, so on the OEMs and commercial partnerships I would say interest is really increasing meaningfully. And our pilot scale run that we just announced of the one metric ton of LFT or lithium iron phosphate cathode scrap producing that battery grade lithium carbonate is even further resonated on the commercial side and those commercial developments with OEMs and other ecosystem potential partners. We've really seen growing inbound interest, I would say deeper engagement from existing and prospective partners.

是的，就原始設備製造商和商業合作夥伴關係而言，我認為各方興趣確實在顯著增長。我們剛剛宣布的試點規模生產，利用一噸 LFT（磷酸鐵鋰）正極廢料生產電池級碳酸鋰，在商業方面以及與 OEM 和其他生態系統潛在合作夥伴的商業發展方面，都產生了更大的影響。我們已經看到客戶的興趣顯著增長，現有合作夥伴和潛在合作夥伴的參與度也越來越高。

And continued validation of our results, really all the while we're utilizing the strength of our team and what I would characterize as our mature innovation centre right here in Tahoe, Reno, with what we think is North America's most sophisticated and proven lab and bench and full blown pilot operation. So we expect that interest to continue as we continue to move through the commercialization milestones, and a lot of that is about product qualification and building those relationships and we also think that our recently strengthened balance sheet certainly will enhance the additional credibility that we have.

我們不斷驗證我們的成果，同時充分利用我們團隊的力量，以及我稱之為成熟的創新中心——位於塔霍湖和里諾的創新中心，我們認為這裡擁有北美最先進、最成熟的實驗室、實驗台和完整的試驗作業。因此，我們預計隨著我們繼續推進商業化里程碑，這種興趣將會持續下去，這很大程度上與產品認證和建立關係有關，我們也認為我們最近加強的資產負債表肯定會增強我們所擁有的額外信譽。

Have in those discussions and expect to be able to report. Some things soon but as I said earlier it's kind of a condition precedent for us to feel very good about the commercial relationships to be one of the key ingredients to justify the capital spend on a on a commercial sized build.

參與這些討論並期望能夠報告。有些事情很快就會發生，但正如我之前所說，這算是先決條件，我們需要對商業關係感到非常滿意，這是證明在商業規模的建設上進行資本支出合理性的關鍵因素之一。

Got it. Okay, I'll keep an eye out for more info on that front as it's released, maybe shifting gears a little bit to the feedstock front. You mentioned that before, wanting to feel comfortable with having that secured before you do anything. To committal, maybe, could you just talk about your comfortability there, specifically on the black mass front and how secure you feel about, locking that down in the near to near term, given a pretty volatile macro.

知道了。好的，我會密切注意這方面的最新消息，也許會稍微把注意力轉移到原料方面。你之前提到過，希望在做任何事情之前，先確保這一點得到保障。為了做出承諾，或許您可以談談您在這方面的舒適度，特別是關於黑彌撒方面，以及考慮到宏觀經濟相當不穩定，您對在近期鎖定黑彌撒有多大的安全感。

So yeah, the feedstock, there's plenty of it, but B, what's really happening to that feedstock today with the preprocessors that collect the batteries and de-energize and crush them and produce the black mass which is the input to our process, those materials are being sent to commercial scale refiners that already exist in the Asia Pack region. And so, the metals, the payables on those black masks are high because those entities out there have large facilities that they need to feed in order to keep them moving economically, where, whereas here in the US and Frankly, all of the Americas, let alone North America, there is currently zero commercial scale refining capacity.

所以，原料確實很充足，但是，B，如今這些原料在預處理廠的運作下究竟發生了什麼事？預處理廠收集電池，使其斷電、破碎，並生產我們製程的原料──黑色物質，這些材料被送到亞洲包裝區已有的商業規模精煉廠。因此，那些黑色面具上的金屬和應付帳款很高，因為那些實體擁有大型設施，需要為其提供原料才能維持經濟運轉，而在美國，坦白說，整個美洲，更不用說北美了，目前沒有任何商業規模的精煉能力。

And so what that means is that feedstock needs to get diverted to the commercial facilities that have the refining capacity here. And that's the classic chicken and the egg. Do you build the facility on speculation? And then go for the feedstock, or do you secure the feedstock and then build the facility to suit? We've chosen the latter path, and so we're not concerned about being able to get the feedstock and we also, because of the economics of our process, are very confident in our ability to process that black mass. At the same payables that are being sold to the folks in Asia, but we need to get those contracts in a place where we feel they're truly bankable and another key ingredient of that of that build process. But we're making great progress on that, and we feel like we're getting closer and closer while in the meantime we strengthen the balance sheet.

因此，這意味著原料需要轉移到本地有煉油能力的商業設施。這就是經典的先有雞還是先有蛋的問題。你們建造這個設施是出於投機目的嗎？然後去拿原料，還是先確保原料供應，再建造對應的設施？我們選擇了後一種方案，因此我們不擔心能否獲得原料，而且由於我們製程的經濟性，我們對處理這種黑塊的能力也非常有信心。應付帳款與賣給亞洲人的應付帳款相同，但我們需要讓這些合約達到我們認為真正可靠的程度，這也是建造過程的另一個關鍵因素。但我們在這方面取得了巨大進展，我們感覺自己離目標越來越近了，同時，我們也在加強資產負債表。

Okay, very helpful. Last one here, can you give us maybe a little more colour on the pathway for the nickel product and maybe, just a runway there, saw the LOI with West Wind, but that's not the delivery until 2027, so maybe just more near term what sort of demand you're seeing on that front, any particular directions that that demand is trending? Just curious.

好的，很有幫助。最後一個問題，您能否更詳細地介紹一下鎳產品的發展路徑，以及未來的發展前景？我們看到了與 West Wind 的意向書，但要到 2027 年才能交付，所以能否談談近期內這方面的需求情況，以及需求的發展趨勢？只是好奇而已。

Yeah, sure. So, you mentioned specifically nickel and the agreement we have with West Wind, and that is exciting because we believe that our partnership that we're developing with West Wind will produce the first US nickel production and refinery in the US in a long time and so that really creates a great opportunity that's not an overnight sensation. This is longer-term.

當然可以。所以，您特別提到了鎳以及我們與西風能源公司達成的協議，這令人興奮，因為我們相信，我們正在與西風能源公司建立的合作夥伴關係將在美國建立多年來第一個鎳生產和精煉廠，這確實創造了一個巨大的機會，但這並非一朝一夕就能實現的。這是長期的考量。

View on the nickel for that. That's also an example of nickel supply not necessarily going directly into the battery supply chain. One of the things that we think is special and unique about aqua metals is that we can produce nickel as an example, and cobalt and metal form, to go into the metals markets in general because currently in the US there are no, significant pecan and cam refineries, so those metals need to be able to come out of a process like ours and get into the hands of players like a West Wind. That can produce those materials.

對此，請發表您的看法。這也說明鎳的供應不一定會直接進入電池供應鏈。我們認為水族金屬的獨特之處在於，我們可以生產鎳、鈷等金屬，並將其投放到整個金屬市場。因為目前美國沒有重要的山核桃和鈣精煉廠，所以這些金屬需要透過像我們這樣的工藝生產出來，才能到達像西風這樣的企業手中。它可以生產這些材料。

Additionally, I would say another longer-term thing that we are working on is the deep-sea mining where we can go after some other critical minerals including. More manganese and, additional elements including rare earths, so we really see those relationships as an expansion of our opportunity and optionality and not a deviation from the core mission that we have.

此外，我想說，我們正在努力的另一個長期目標是深海採礦，我們可以從中開採一些其他重要的礦物，包括…更多的錳和其他元素，包括稀土元素，因此我們真正將這些關係視為我們機會和選擇的擴展，而不是偏離我們核心使命的偏離。

So the still nearer term play is to take the black mass, produce the lithium carbonate and the nickel and the cobalt and forms that can get into the supply chain here in the US, be it a battery supply chain and or otherwise.

因此，更近期的策略是利用黑塊，生產碳酸鋰、鎳、鈷以及其他可以進入美國供應鏈的產品，無論是電池供應鏈或其他供應鏈。

Okay great that's all for me thanks and congrats again.

好的，太好了，我的情況就這些了，謝謝，再次恭喜你。

Thanks, great questions.

謝謝，問得很好。

Thank you. I would like to turn the call back to Rob to facilitate questions that were submitted online.

謝謝。我想把電話轉回給羅布，讓他回答大家在網路上提交的問題。

Thank you and Steve, Eric, we've received a number of questions from investors ahead of today's call, and I'll be reading those on behalf of those who submitted them to keep the call flowing smoothly, we've consolidated some similar topics and combined related questions where it was appropriate. So, our first question is, can you expand on your financial position and the runway that you see?

謝謝史蒂夫、艾瑞克，在今天的電話會議之前，我們收到了投資者提出的許多問題，我將代表提交問題的投資者宣讀這些問題，以保證電話會議順利進行。我們已經合併了一些類似的主題，並在適當的情況下合併了相關的問題。那麼，我們的第一個問題是，您能否詳細介紹一下您的財務狀況以及您認為可以維持多久？

Absolutely, the most important point for investors to understand is that Aqua Metals is now operating from a position of strength and not necessity, with the $17 million of capital infusion that we received in our continued discipline operating model, we secured multiple quarters of meaningful financial runway.

當然，投資者最需要理解的是，Aqua Metals 現在是憑藉實力而非無奈運作的。我們持續採用嚴格的營運模式，並獲得了 1,700 萬美元的資金注入，從而確保了公司未來幾季的穩健財務狀況。

The funding also supports, our ongoing engineering permitting, and this ultimately the site selection for our first commercial scale facility. This gives us the ability to make measured choices, continued execution upon our commercialization plan, and pursuing additional strategic initiatives, with confidence and credibility.

該資金也用於支持我們正在進行的工程許可審批，並最終為我們第一個商業規模的設施選址。這使我們能夠做出審慎的選擇，繼續執行我們的商業化計劃，並充滿信心和信譽地推進其他策略舉措。

The capital infusion also sends a strong signal of external confidence in the company and our vision. We raise proactively and not reactively, which gives us the flexibility to sequence our steps responsibly. So, the main highlight here is really from, position of stability, momentum, and control.

此次注資也向外界傳遞了對公司及其願景的強烈信心訊號。我們採取積極主動而非被動應對的方式進行籌款，這使我們能夠靈活地、負責任地安排我們的步驟。所以，這裡的主要亮點在於穩定性、動量和控制力。

Awesome thank you. How do you guys view the current consolidation that's happening in the battery recycling industry today?

太棒了，謝謝。你們如何看待目前電池回收產業正在發生的整合趨勢？

Yeah, Rob, this is Steve. I'll take that one. So, what we are seeing now is, what I would characterize as a natural phase in the evolution of the new industrial category. The early entrants proved the need and now the market is really selecting for technologies, business models, and just as importantly, capital structures capable of scaling profitability with commercial sized facilities.

是的，羅伯，這是史蒂夫。我選那個。所以，我們現在看到的，我認為是新興工業類別發展過程中的一個自然階段。早期進入者證明了這種需求，現在市場真正需要的是能夠透過商業規模的設施擴大獲利能力的技術、商業模式，以及同樣重要的資本結構。

Some really good assets are becoming available, and we do expect that trend to continue. So Aqua Metals we feel is very well positioned with our proven technology, the discipline that we've been talking about throughout this call, the continued Nasdaq listing and the strength of the balance sheet, we're not going to chase scale for scale's sake, and we really expect the market to centre on a few technically validated financially prudent operators, and we intend to be one of them. And as the industry consolidation enters its later stages, we see it a bit like the finals at the Olympics, let's say we've earned our lane and we really believe that we're positioned to medal.

一些非常優質的資產正在湧現，我們預計這種趨勢將會持續下去。因此，我們認為Aqua Metals憑藉我們成熟的技術、我們在本次電話會議中一直強調的紀律、納斯達克持續上市以及強勁的資產負債表，處於非常有利的地位。我們不會為了規模而追求規模，我們真心希望市場能夠集中在少數幾家技術成熟、財務穩健的營運商身上，而我們打算成為其中之一。隨著產業整合進入後期階段，我們覺得這有點像奧運的決賽，假設我們已經贏得了自己的位置，我們真的相信我們已經準備好獲得獎牌。

Thank you that that is helpful. You guys didn't mention the specific site for your first commercial facility. Can you provide an update on where you are, the timeline, and some more information there?

謝謝，這很有幫助。你們沒有提到第一個商業設施的具體選址。能否提供一下你目前的位置、時間安排以及其他相關資訊？

Yeah, lots of activity on that front, we continue to make strong progress, I would say on, our site evaluation process and we've advanced diligence on specific key locations and that includes things like engineering and permitting reviews and utility access studies, so we can get the power and, all the other utility aspects that we need for our facility. This includes.

是的，這方面有很多活動，我們在選址評估過程中繼續取得顯著進展，並且對一些關鍵地點進行了深入的盡職調查，包括工程和許可審查以及公用設施接入研究等，以便我們能夠獲得設施所需的電力和其他所有公用設施。這包括：

Alignment with the related developing strategic partners, which is key to that whole process that we don't just plop a facility down in the middle of nowhere that we find the right partner where we have synergies, so we're solving for that as well and we aim to bring forward the most capital efficient and strategically advantageous path, and we do expect that we'll be able to provide more updates as early as this quarter.

與相關的策略夥伴保持一致，這對於整個過程至關重要。我們不會隨意在荒郊野外建廠，而是會找到合適的合作夥伴，實現綜效。因此，我們也在努力解決這個問題，目標是找​​到資本效率最高、策略優勢最顯著的路徑。我們預計最早在本季就能提供更多最新進展。

Our priority is to launch the commercial facility at that right location or even locations sequenced appropriately with the right partner or partners under the right market conditions, and it's aligning those things that make the most sense and I believe that our continued disciplined approach does put us in the best position for long-term success and really execution certainty.

我們的首要任務是在合適的地點，甚至在合適的地點，與合適的合作夥伴，在合適的市場條件下，以適當的順序啟動商業設施。我相信，將那些最有意義的事情結合起來，能夠使我們處於長期成功和執行確定性的最佳位置。

Great, and thank you for that and to round out here with our final question, should investors expect more business development updates in the near term?

好的，謝謝。最後一個問題是，投資人是否應該期待在近期內獲得更多業務發展的最新消息？

Yeah, our philosophy remains consistent. We'll only announce when we can provide clear visibility and confidence. We'll report the news more than we'll forecast the weather, but that said, we are actively advancing the multiple initiatives that we've been talking about both in that commercial and strategic partnership side, and we do expect to share those additional developments as they mature, as I said earlier, potentially as early as this quarter. This is definitely an exciting period for us, and we are executing across multiple fronts, and our mandate is that we keep moving forward steadily and ensuring that each step that we take builds towards our mission of long-term value creation and for platform scale.

是的，我們的理念始終如一。只有當能夠提供清晰的資訊和十足的信心時，我們才會發佈公告。我們會更多地報道新聞，而不是預測天氣，但即便如此，我們正在積極推進我們一直在討論的多項舉措，包括商業合作和戰略合作方面，而且我們預計會隨著這些進展的成熟而分享這些進展，正如我之前所說，最早可能在本季度就會分享。這無疑是我們令人興奮的一段時期，我們正在多個方面開展工作，我們的任務是穩步前進，確保我們採取的每一步都朝著創造長期價值和擴大平台規模的目標邁進。

Thank you. There are no further questions at this time. I'd like to pass the call back over to Steve for any closing remarks.

謝謝。目前沒有其他問題了。我想把電話轉回給史蒂夫，讓他做最後的總結發言。

Well, thank you everybody for listening in on our report for what we think was a very productive and exciting quarter with great prospects for the future for Aqua Metals and our shareholders, and we look forward to keeping everybody updated as we continue to make progress as we always promise to do, and we'll look forward to chatting with everybody soon. Thanks for your attendance and support of the company.

感謝各位聆聽我們的報告。我們認為本季成果豐碩，令人振奮，Aqua Metals及其股東的未來前景一片光明。我們將一如既往地向大家報告最新進展，並期待盡快與大家再次交流。感謝各位的蒞臨和對公司的支持。

This concludes today's teleconference. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation.

今天的電話會議到此結束。您可以在此時斷開線路。感謝您的參與。