31 July 2026 | News
Image Courtesy: Public Domain
NEO Battery Materials Ltd. ("NEO" or the "Company") (TSXV: NBM) (OTC: NBMFF), a low-cost, silicon-enhanced battery manufacturer enabling high-performance capabilities for drones, robotics, and physical AI, is pleased to announce it has received two separate purchase orders for its battery products and manufacturing services: one from Narma Inc. ("Narma" or the "Customer"), a South Korean surveillance, logistics, and agricultural drone manufacturer, and one from a North American Fortune 500 automotive company.
Narma's order comprises NEO's 34Ah (ampere-hour) drone battery packs and a custom-engineered 22Ah pack for integration into its vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) unmanned aircraft for validation purposes. Narma was established by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute ("KARI"), the primary aerospace research and development organization of the Korea AeroSpace Administration ("KASA"), as a research spin-off company. The Customer has successfully commercialized electric dual tilt-rotor drone technologies and has validated its products through partnerships, with a continued development focus on payload capacity, speed, and operational efficiency.
Narma has indicated a procurement priority in reducing reliance on geographically concentrated supply chains while enhancing lithium-ion battery performance to realize extended flight times and payload capacity. Recently, the Customer was selected as an Award Vendor in both Small Lift and Medium Lift categories by the State of North Dakota's Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) procurement program. To comply with the requirements of the U.S. National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for the program, NEO aims to actively support Narma by supplying NDAA-compliant, non-Chinese/FEOC manufactured battery solutions.
The second purchase order was received from a North American Fortune 500 automotive company in support of its advanced battery development initiative. Separate from end-to-end battery products, the Company is servicing certain battery manufacturing processes to the Fortune 500 customer as part of its contract manufacturing business. In contrast to longer lead-time orders in the Company's pipeline, these purchase orders are for immediate production and delivery within the near term.
"NEO is continuing to target various downstream verticals and customer profiles to expand business opportunities and create a robust sales pipeline. With NEO's distinct cell development and manufacturing expertise from global battery manufacturers, the Company is gaining adoption as not only a contract manufacturer but also a close collaborator on designing and optimizing end products and systems," said Mr. Spencer Huh, CEO and President of NEO.
As announced on June 29, 2026, NEO entered into a Stock Purchase Agreement of its Korean subsidiary, NEO Battery Materials Korea Co., Ltd., with Automobile & PCB Inc. to strengthen ownership of its key operating asset (the "Transaction"). Pursuant to the 30-day timeline set out in Section 3.5 of TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV) Policy 3.3, NEO provides updates that conditional acceptance has been received, and the Company is awaiting final acceptance to close the Transaction subject to fulfilling certain conditions required by the TSXV.
