Solid Power Inc (SLDP) 2024 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Greetings, everyone, and welcome to the Solid Power second-quarter 2024 earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded.

大家好，歡迎參加 Solid Power 2024 年第二季財報電話會議。（操作員指示）謹此提醒，本次會議正在錄製中。

It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Melanie Solomon, Investor Relations. Thank you. Solomon, you may begin.

現在我很高興向您介紹主持人，投資者關係部梅蘭妮·所羅門 (Melanie Solomon)。謝謝。所羅門，你可以開始了。

Thank you, operator. Welcome, everyone and thank you for joining us today. I'm joined on today's call by Solid Power's President and Chief Executive Officer, John Van Scoter; and Chief Financial Officer, Linda Heller. A copy of today's earnings release is available on the Investor Relations section of Solid Power's website, www.solidpowerbattery.com.

謝謝你，接線生。歡迎大家，感謝您今天加入我們。Solid Power 總裁兼執行長 John Van Scoter 參加了今天的電話會議。和財務長琳達·海勒。今天的收益報告副本可在 Solid Power 網站 www.solidpowerbattery.com 的投資者關係部分取得。

I'd like to remind you that parts of our discussion today will include forward-looking statements as defined by the US securities laws. These forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations and assumptions about future events and are based on currently available information as to the outcome and timing of future events.

我想提醒您，我們今天討論的部分內容將包括美國證券法定義的前瞻性陳述。這些前瞻性陳述是基於管理層目前對未來事件的預期和假設，並基於有關未來事件的結果和時間安排的當前可用資訊。

Except as otherwise required by applicable law, Solid Power disclaims any duty to update any forward-looking statements to reflect future events or circumstances. For a discussion of the risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in today's forward-looking statements, please see Solid Power's most recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission which can be found on the company's website at www.solidpowerbattery.com.

除非適用法律另有要求，Solid Power 不承擔更新任何前瞻性陳述以反映未來事件或情況的義務。有關可能導致實際結果與今天的前瞻性聲明中表達的結果存在重大差異的風險和不確定性的討論，請參閱Solid Power 向美國證券交易委員會提交的最新文件，該文件可在該公司網站www. solidpower.com 上找到。

With that, let me turn it over to John Van Scoter.

接下來，讓我把它交給約翰·範·斯科特。

Thank you for joining us today. In early 2024, Solid Power outlined four key goals: Expand our electrolyte capabilities and market reach. Advance our A-2 sample cell designs. Execute our partnerships effectively. And strengthen our presence in Korea.

感謝您今天加入我們。2024 年初，Solid Power 概述了四個關鍵目標： 擴大我們的電解質能力和市場覆蓋範圍。改進我們的 A-2 樣品池設計。有效地執行我們的合作夥伴關係。並加強我們在韓國的存在。

Overall, I view our progress through the first half of the year positively as we continue to be laser focused on the challenges and opportunities ahead of us in order to commercialize what could be a step function improvement in battery technologies. During the past three months, we increased our electrolyte sample shipments to potential customers. I am pleased with the pace of electrolyte sampling with many repeat shipments to OEMs and we continue to receive encouraging feedback.

總體而言，我對今年上半年的進展持積極態度，因為我們將繼續專注於面臨的挑戰和機遇，以便將電池技術的階梯功能改善商業化。在過去的三個月裡，我們增加了潛在客戶的電解液樣品出貨量。我對電解液取樣的速度感到滿意，並多次向原始設備製造商重複發貨，並且我們繼續收到令人鼓舞的回饋。

On the cell side, we are primarily focused on our continued advancements in A-2 cell design, which has been designed to meet our very high standards with the improvements aimed at higher performance and our relentless pursuit of safety.

在電池方面，我們主要關注 A-2 電池設計的持續進步，該設計旨在滿足我們非常高的標準，改進旨在更高的性能和我們對安全的不懈追求。

Next, I'd like to highlight some successes with our key partners. First, SK On with which we greatly deepened our relationship in January of this year is going according to plan. We completed the first milestone under our R&D License Agreement and made strong progress on deliverables under the Line Installation Agreement.

接下來，我想重點介紹我們與主要合作夥伴的一些成功。首先，今年1月與SK On大幅加深了合作關係，目前正在按計畫進行。我們完成了研發許可協議下的第一個里程碑，並在生產線安裝協議下的可交付成果方面取得了強勁進展。

Following the training we completed with SK On in April, our focus has been on continuing to share information on our cell development program and preparing for installation of SK On's line in Korea. It is no small undertaking to design and install an EV line, and we are thankful for SK On's strong partnership. The next step is to begin the factor acceptance testing of certain equipment. Overall, we remain on track to have SK On's new EV cell line up and running by mid-2025.

繼四月與 SK On 完成培訓後，我們的重點是繼續分享有關我們的電池開發計劃的信息，並為在韓國安裝 SK On 的生產線做好準備。設計和安裝電動車線路並非易事，我們感謝 SK On 的強有力的合作夥伴關係。下一步是開始對某些設備進行因素驗收測試。總體而言，我們仍有望在 2025 年中期之前讓 SK On 的新型電動車電池系列投入運作。

Next, Ford continues to be a key partner for us as we collaborate with them on various projects on both the cell and electrolyte side of the house. We look forward to sharing relevant updates in the future.

接下來，福特仍然是我們的重要合作夥伴，我們與他們在電池和電解質方面的各種項目上合作。我們期待將來分享相關更新。

Lastly, we continue to collaborate with BMW employees embedded at our Louisville facility and visit with them in Germany. Last month, we extended our JDA with BMW until the third quarter as we negotiate a longer term JDA extension with BMW. After demonstrating our ability to scale from a 2 amp-hour cell to a 20 amp-hour cell and finally to the 60 amp-hour A-1 EV cell under our original JDA, we expect the extension will be heavily focused on improving a cell design and advancing cell performance with a shared ultimate goal to see an all solid-state cell commercialized.

最後，我們繼續與駐紮在路易斯維爾工廠的寶馬員工合作，並拜訪他們在德國的情況。上個月，我們與寶馬就長期 JDA 延期進行了談判，將與 BMW 的 JDA 延長至第三季。在展示了我們在最初的 JDA 下從 2 安培小時電池擴展到 20 安培小時電池並最終擴展到 60 安培小時 A-1 EV 電池的能力後，我們預計此次擴展將重點關注改進電池設計和提高電池性能，共同的最終目標是實現全固態電池的商業化。

As with all our partnerships, our relationship with BMW is a truly collaborative process, and we expect we will have a JDA extension that is mutually beneficial to both companies, especially with our desire to see BMW be successful with its forthcoming solid-state line.

與我們所有的合作夥伴關係一樣，我們與寶馬的關係是一個真正的協作過程，我們希望 JDA 擴展對兩家公司都有利，特別是我們希望看到寶馬憑藉其即將推出的固態產品線取得成功。

As we discussed in the last call, we have been in discussions with BMW regarding their demo car program and how we can support it and we promise to provide more information as we have better clarity. I'm pleased to report the BMW successfully built modules using the A-1 cells we shipped previously to BMW. Each module contained 72 cells with 60 amp-hour capacity. BMW was able to use those modules to conduct testing including initial drive cycle testing.

正如我們在上次電話會議中討論的那樣，我們一直在與寶馬討論他們的演示車計劃以及我們如何支持它，我們承諾在情況更清楚時提供更多資訊。我很高興地向大家報告，寶馬使用我們之前運送給寶馬的 A-1 電池成功構建了模組。每個模組包含 72 個電池，容量為 60 安培小時。BMW能夠使用這些模組進行測試，包括初始駕駛循環測試。

Overall, we view this as a remarkable achievement by both companies and from which we each learned a lot. However, with the expected focus on the forthcoming extended JDA to be on cell performance improvements, BMW has paused future deliveries of cells for the demo car program. As we progress with our development program, we plan to discuss with BMW future opportunities for a demo car using Solid Power technology.

總的來說，我們認為這是兩家公司的非凡成就，我們都從中學到了很多。然而，由於預計即將到來的擴展 JDA 將重點放在電池性能改進上，BMW已暫停未來為演示車項目提供電池。隨著我們開發計劃的進展，我們計劃與寶馬討論使用 Solid Power 技術的演示車的未來機會。

Moving on to our efforts in Korea. In addition to the significant work we are undertaking with SK On, we continue to strengthen relationships across the Korean and Japanese battery landscape. The establishment of a dedicated team in Korea who have much easier access to Japan than they would from Colorado underscores our efforts to engage stakeholders and drive further growth in those technology-rich locations.

繼續我們在韓國的努力。除了我們與 SK On 的重要工作外，我們還繼續加強與韓國和日本電池領域的關係。在韓國建立了一支專門團隊，與科羅拉多州相比，他們更容易進入日本，這突顯了我們在吸引利益相關者並推動這些技術豐富的地區進一步發展方面所做的努力。

We have recently expanded our team in Korea to add business development capabilities. This enables us to further support our collaboration with SK On and increase activity in the Korean and Japanese battery ecosphere. We are talking with most of the major players in Korea and Japan, ramping electrolyte sampling activities with the end goal of developing another global customer. We are repeat sampling with some and providing new sampling with others. And all in all, we are encouraged by these engagements. Overall, I remain encouraged by the progress we are making with our objectives for 2024.

我們最近擴大了在韓國的團隊，以增強業務開發能力。這使我們能夠進一步支持與 SK On 的合作，並增加韓國和日本電池生態圈的活動。我們正在與韓國和日本的大多數主要參與者進行談判，增加電解液取樣活動的力度，最終目標是開發另一個全球客戶。我們正在與一些人重複採樣，並與其他人一起提供新的採樣。總而言之，我們對這些參與感到鼓舞。總體而言，我對我們在實現 2024 年目標方面所取得的進展感到鼓舞。

Now I'm pleased to introduce our new CFO, Linda Heller on her first earnings call today with Solid Power. Linda and I worked together for more than four years at eSolar and she has deep expertise in the renewable energy industry paired with successful experience as a CFO. With Linda as our new CFO, we are updating our financial plan, which has resulted in our adjusted annual revenue guidance.

現在，我很高興在今天與 Solid Power 舉行的第一次財報電話會議上介紹我們的新任財務長 Linda Heller。Linda 和我在 eSolar 共事了四年多，她在再生能源行業擁有深厚的專業知識，並擁有擔任財務長的成功經驗。琳達（Linda）擔任我們的新財務官，我們正在更新我們的財務計劃，這導致我們調整了年度收入指導。

Linda will go through further detail as it primarily relates to technical accounting matters. But I will say that this revision does not impact our long-range plan on the cash runway necessary for commercialization of our technology. I'm thrilled to be working alongside Linda again as we continue to execute toward our key strategic milestones, strengthen our leadership position in solid-state battery technologies, and deliver long-term shareholder value.

琳達將詳細介紹更多細節，因為它主要涉及技術會計事項。但我要說的是，這項修訂不會影響我們技術商業化所需的現金跑道的長期計畫。我很高興再次與琳達一起工作，我們將繼續執行我們的關鍵策略里程碑，加強我們在固態電池技術方面的領導地位，並提供長期股東價值。

Linda?

琳達？

Thank you, John. I'm glad to be joining for my first call at Solid Power. Please excuse my voice as I'm a bit under the weather. I'll start with Q2 results, beginning with revenue. Solid Power delivered $5.1 million in revenue during the second quarter of 2024, primarily driven by continued execution on our collaborative arrangements and government contracts.

謝謝你，約翰。我很高興參加 Solid Power 的第一次電話會議。請原諒我的聲音，因為我有點不舒服。我將從第二季的業績開始，首先是收入。Solid Power 在 2024 年第二季實現了 510 萬美元的收入，這主要是由於我們的合作安排和政府合約的持續執行。

Operating expenses were $32 million driven by increased production costs and labor associated with cell and electrolyte development, scaling of operations and execution under joint development agreements and other collaborative arrangements. Operating loss was $26.9 million and net loss was $22.3 million or $0.13 per share. Capital expenditures totaled $4.4 million, primarily representing investments in electrolyte production capabilities, including the build out of a new electrolyte research and development lab.

營運費用為 3,200 萬美元，原因是與電池和電解質開發、聯合開發協議和其他合作安排下的營運規模和執行相關的生產成本和勞動力增加。營業虧損為 2,690 萬美元，淨虧損為 2,230 萬美元，即每股虧損 0.13 美元。資本支出總計 440 萬美元，主要代表對電解液生產能力的投資，包括建造新的電解液研發實驗室。

Solid Power's liquidity position remains strong with $358.8 million of total liquidity as of June 30, 2024. In addition, accounts receivable totaled $12.3 million. Deferred revenue was $10.1 million while total current liabilities were $22.9 million. Turning to the second half of the year, we continue to expect fiscal year 2024 cash used in operations to be in the range of $60 million to $70 million and capital expenditures to be in the range of $40 million to $50 million. Included in these ranges is approximately $35 million in operational and capital investments the company deferred from 2023.

Solid Power 的流動性狀況依然強勁，截至 2024 年 6 月 30 日，流動性總額為 3.588 億美元。此外，應收帳款總額為1,230萬美元。遞延收入為 1,010 萬美元，流動負債總額為 2,290 萬美元。談到下半年，我們繼續預計 2024 財年營運中使用的現金將在 6,000 萬美元至 7,000 萬美元之間，資本支出將在 4,000 萬美元至 5,000 萬美元之間。這些範圍包括公司從 2023 年推遲的約 3,500 萬美元的營運和資本投資。

Total 2024 cash investment is expected to be in the range of a $100 million to $120 million. We are reducing our 2024 revenue guidance to be in the range of $16 million to $20 million. While the business is on track and we are hitting our milestones with partners, there are two factors impacting our expected revenues for the year.

預計 2024 年現金投資總額將介於 1 億至 1.2 億美元之間。我們將 2024 年的收入指引下調至 1,600 萬美元至 2,000 萬美元。雖然業務步入正軌並且我們正在與合作夥伴一起實現里程碑，但有兩個因素影響了我們今年的預期收入。

First, in reviewing the accounting treatment of the SK On agreements, not all of the originally projected revenue will be recognized in 2024. A portion will need to be recognized in 2025. Second, while we continue electrolyte sampling or receiving positive feedback on performance, the uptake in development have been slower than originally forecasted though not unexpected, and is also playing into our revised forecast to a lesser extent.

首先，在審查 SK On 協議的會計處理時，並非所有最初預計的收入都會在 2024 年確認。一部分需要在 2025 年得到認可。其次，雖然我們繼續進行電解液採樣或收到有關性能的積極反饋，但開發的進展速度比最初預測的要慢，儘管這並不意外，並且也在較小程度上影響了我們修訂後的預測。

We continue to work closely with partners and strategic players to optimize and accelerate electrolyte production volumes for ASSB technology. We have a strong balance sheet with which to execute and I'm excited about the company's plans and prospects.

我們繼續與合作夥伴和策略參與者密切合作，優化並加速 ASSB 技術的電解液產量。我們擁有強大的資產負債表可供執行，我對公司的計劃和前景感到興奮。

As John mentioned, the revenue revision does not impact our long range plan on the cash runway necessary for commercialization of our technology. We maintain our long held position as a capital-light ASSB player. And so therefore, we do not rely on near-term revenue to support our long-term commercialization pathway. I'm honored to be here at this pivotal time in the company's trajectory and I look forward to meeting many of you in the coming months.

正如約翰所提到的，收入調整不會影響我們技術商業化所需的現金跑道的長期計劃。我們維持了長期以來作為輕資本 ASSB 參與者的地位。因此，我們不依賴短期收入來支持我們的長期商業化道路。我很榮幸能在公司發展軌蹟的這個關鍵時刻來到這裡，我期待在未來幾個月與你們中的許多人見面。

I'll now turn it back to John for closing comments before your questions.

現在我將把它轉回給約翰，讓他在提問之前結束評論。

Thank you, Linda. In closing, I'm pleased to reiterate that the company remains on track to achieve our goals for 2024. I'd like to thank our employees, partners, and stakeholders for their loyalty and dedication. We are planning to hold an analyst and investor event in December to deep-dive into our technology, strategy, long-term model, and we will share more details in the coming months.

謝謝你，琳達。最後，我很高興地重申，公司仍有望實現 2024 年的目標。我要感謝我們的員工、合作夥伴和利害關係人的忠誠和奉獻。我們計劃在 12 月舉辦分析師和投資者活動，深入探討我們的技術、策略和長期模型，我們將在未來幾個月分享更多細節。

We will now take your questions. Operator?

我們現在將回答您的問題。操作員？

(Operator Instructions) Chris Pierce, Needham.

（操作員說明）Chris Pierce，Needham。

Good afternoon, everyone. Just on the second point you made on the revenue guidance reduction, the slower uptick in electrolyte development, is that just broadly a lagging indicator in terms of how OEMs are feeling about EVs at the moment? Or is there something a deeper thought around that?

大家下午好。就您關於收入指導減少的第二點而言，電解質開發的成長速度放緩，這是否只是原始設備製造商目前對電動車的看法的一個滯後指標？或是有什麼更深層的思考嗎？

Good day, Chris. I think I would credit it more to just being a very early stage on the market. When we started the year, we looked into the back half and thought some of the early players would be taking some measurable quantities in the second half. That really hasn't materialized thus far. But it's not unusual for a market that is so nascent as the ASSB market is. So we look forward to updating it and improving it as we go forward, but that's the way it looks to us right now.

美好的一天，克里斯。我想我更願意將其歸功於市場的早期階段。當我們年初時，我們研究了後半段，並認為一些早期的參與者將在下半年獲得一些可衡量的數量。到目前為止，這還沒有真正實現。但對於像 ASSB 市場這樣新興的市場來說，這並不罕見。因此，我們期待著不斷更新並改進它，但這就是我們現在的樣子。

Okay. And then I know that just lastly, the BMW, the JDA has been extended a couple times, is it normal for there to be a pause and I want to make sure I frame it right, but a pause in A-1 deliveries as you reset the agreement like to a longer date or is it that the A-2 cell is coming with the next thing anyway, so the A-1 cell, there's nothing to read into there? I just want to make sure I have the moving pieces right.

好的。然後我知道最後，寶馬，JDA 已經延長了幾次，暫停是否正常，我想確保我的框架正確，但是 A-1 交付暫停，因為你將協議重置為更長的日期，還是A-2 單元將隨下一個內容一起提供，因此A-1 單元中沒有什麼可讀取的？我只是想確保我的移動部件是正確的。

Yes. I think your summary in the latter case is correct, where we got a lot out of the A-1 work at the module level as I indicated. Both companies are very pleased with the progress there. But with A-2 really eminent, the mutual decision was to go ahead and pause the current cell deliveries and refocus around the performance improvement of the A-2 cell later this year.

是的。我認為您對後一種情況的總結是正確的，正如我所指出的，我們在模組層級的 A-1 工作中獲得了很多成果。兩家公司都對那裡的進展感到非常滿意。但由於 A-2 確實非常出色，雙方決定繼續並暫停當前的電池交付，並在今年稍後重新關注 A-2 電池的性能改進。

Okay. Thank you and good luck.

好的。謝謝你，祝你好運。

D.A. Davidson.

DA戴維森。

Hi, good afternoon. It's Mike Shlisky of D.A. Davidson. Hey, in the past quarter or two, you've talked a little bit more about OEMs beyond the two plus SK you had in the pipeline -- interest from other companies to your products. Has the pipeline gotten any larger or smaller over the last few months? Or anything you can comment on interest from other people in Solid Power at the current time?

嗨，下午好。我是 D.A. 的 Mike Shlisky。戴維森。嘿，在過去的一兩個季度中，除了您正在醞釀的兩家加 SK 之外，您還更多地談論了 OEM 廠商——其他公司對您的產品的興趣。過去幾個月管道是否變大或變小？或者您可以對目前 Solid Power 中其他人的興趣發表評論嗎？

Sure. Good to hear from you, Mike. Yes, I would say that two things. The pipeline is continuing to grow. So we had objected to sample as many as 15. We're over 10 now and it continues to grow. But equally as important, we've had a lot of multiple sampling to existing potential customers within this period of time. Some of them are sampling 5 times or 6 times as we've gone through the last 90 days.

當然。很高興收到你的來信，麥克。是的，我想說兩件事。該管道正在持續增長。所以我們反對採樣多達 15 個。我們現在已經超過 10 歲了，而且還在繼續成長。但同樣重要的是，我們在這段時間內對現有潛在客戶進行了多次抽樣。在我們過去 90 天的時間裡，其中一些採樣了 5 次或 6 次。

So we give them a sample, they evaluate it, they integrate it into their cell design, give us feedback. We modify it, give them a different sample and rinse and repeat. So that's as important, I think as just the sheer number is the amount of interaction we've had with the folks we have been sampling since the beginning of the year.

因此，我們給他們一個樣品，他們對其進行評估，將其整合到他們的電池設計中，並向我們提供回饋。我們修改它，給他們不同的樣品，然後沖洗並重複。所以這同樣重要，我認為這個數字就是我們自年初以來與我們抽樣的人進行的互動的數量。

Great. Thanks for that. Maybe just to follow-up on that answer, so you're saying the samplings are with the current three main customers. And I think you mentioned around 10 or 12 companies were looking at your products last quarter. Are these the same companies? First of all, has there been any progress since last time as far as either coming to an agreement or their intensity of checking out your technology?

偉大的。謝謝你。也許只是為了跟進這個答案，所以你說樣品是針對當前的三個主要客戶的。我想您提到上個季度大約有 10 到 12 家公司正在研究您的產品。這些是同一家公司嗎？首先，自上次以來，在達成協議或檢查你們技術的強度方面有任何進展嗎？

Yes. We have added since the last call additional new customers in that sampling program and then the ones that we have been sampling prior to that, again, we've done multiple samples to a number of them as a strong indication of their interest and of the progress.

是的。自上次通話以來，我們在該抽樣計劃中添加了更多新客戶，然後是我們之前抽樣的客戶，我們再次對其中一些人進行了多次抽樣，以強烈表明他們的興趣和進步。

Okay. Thank you very much. I will leave it there.

好的。非常感謝。我會把它留在那裡。

And with no further questions at this time, I'd like to turn the floor back over to John for any closing comments.

現在沒有其他問題了，我想將發言權交還給約翰，以徵求結束語。

Thank you for joining the call today everyone and for your interest in Solid Power. We look forward to updating you again next quarter.

感謝大家參加今天的電話會議以及對 Solid Power 的興趣。我們期待下個季度再次為您提供最新消息。

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

今天的電話會議到此結束。此時您可以斷開線路。感謝您的參與。