American Resources Corporation's ReElement Technologies Expands Executive Team with Appointment of Ben Wrightsman as President
Well-established leader in the battery sector brings significant industry, operational and commercial expertise
Former CEO of Battery Innovation Center (BIC) of Indiana where he successfully led it from a stalled rural engagement facility to a globally known innovation and incubation center of record impact, revenue, and recognition
FISHERS, IN / ACCESSWIRE / August 21, 2023 / American Resources Corporation's (NASDAQ:AREC) ("American Resources" or the "Company") ReElement Technologies LLC ("ReElement"), a leading provider of high performance refining capacity of rare earth and battery elements, announced today it has expanded its executive team with the appointment of Ben Wrightsman as President of ReElement. Mr. Wrightsman will work alongside the executive team to expand the business geographically through the deployment of its next-generation refining capacity, commercial partnerships, as well as product offerings within both North America and international markets.
"Adding Ben to the team is a testament to the technology we possess and the groundbreaking results we have generated over the past 24 months," said Mark Jensen, CEO of ReElement Technologies. "Ben brings excellence in operational growth, establishing product differentiation and has been making an impact from day one."
Mr. Wrightsman most recently served as CEO of the Battery Innovation Center where he focused on serving the commercial Industry, Department of Defense, Department of Energy, and global research institutes to rapidly develop, test, advise, and commercialize the next generation of safe, reliable, lightweight, and cost-effective energy storage systems. His more than 23-year career in the battery / electronics industry has spanned companies such as Energy Systems Network, EnerDel, Eclipse Energy and Diversified System. With ReElement, he will be leading the operational team and reporting directly to the CEO.
Mr. Wrightsman, added, "It is a privilege to work alongside with and lead the amazing team at ReElement. The State of Indiana and the United States was once the center of the critical technology supply chain. Our goal is to reestablish world-leading innovation and operational scale to create a resilient domestic supply chain capable of supporting the advanced energy transition. Additionally, we want to ensure a collaborative global impact through our technologies and building key industry partnerships."
With its initial commercial battery production train at its first Noblesville, Indiana facility, ReElement has the refining capacity to process approximately 137,500 kilograms per year of battery materials to produce ultra-high pure battery minerals or compounds. The Company is in the design and engineering phase to implement its second and larger scale battery production line in Marion, Indiana which will have an initial, annual refining capacity of approximately 13,750,000 kilograms per year with the ability to efficiently expand on a modular basis thereafter. As previously announced, this is in addition to its initial commercial production train that is used to recycle end-of-life permanent magnets for the separation and purification of their inherent rare earth elements. The Company continues to scale its first rare earth and critical element recycling facility in Noblesville, Indiana which is being developed as a modularly-scalable, commercial facility and is also currently evaluating additional sites for both standalone and co-located facilities.
ReElement's advanced chromatography refining methods are unique in that it's an efficient continuous, closed-loop, column-based, modular system that is able to operate at multiple stages and recover high value components from a variety of feedstocks. Typically, the Company's process first isolates pure lithium while also isolating and recovering supplemental products such as the inherent iron phosphate from LFP-type batteries, and manganese, cobalt and nickel, from NMC-type batteries, with minimal increase in costs. Additionally, chromatography produces minimal waste making it environmentally benign and much easier to permit relative to conventional refining methods.
American Resources continues to focus on running efficient streamlined operations in being a new-aged supplier of raw materials to the infrastructure and electrification marketplace in the most sustainable of ways, while also helping the world achieve its goals of carbon neutrality. By operating with low or no legacy costs and having one of the largest and most innovative growth pipelines in the industry, American Resources Corporation works to maximize value for its investors by positioning its large asset base to best fit a new-aged economy, while being able to scale its operations to meet the growth of the markets it serves.
About ReElement Technologies LLC
ReElement Technologies LLC is redefining how critical and rare earth elements are both sourced and processed while focusing on the recycling of end-of-life products such as rare earth permanent magnets and lithium-ion batteries, as well as coal-based waste streams and byproducts to create a low-cost and environmentally-safe, circular supply chain. ReElement Technologies has developed its innovative and scalable "Capture-Process-Purify" process chain in conjunction with its licensed intellectual property including 16 patents and technologies and sponsored research partnerships with three leading universities to support the domestic supply chain's growing demand for magnet and battery metals. For more information visit reelementtech.com or connect with the Company on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
About American Resources Corporation
American Resources Corporation (NASDAQ:AREC) is a next-generation, environmentally and socially responsible supplier of high-quality raw materials to the new infrastructure market. The Company is focused on the extraction and processing of metallurgical carbon, an essential ingredient used in steelmaking, critical and rare earth minerals for the electrification market, and reprocessed metal to be recycled. American Resources has a growing portfolio of operations located in the Central Appalachian basin of eastern Kentucky and southern West Virginia where premium quality metallurgical carbon and rare earth mineral deposits are concentrated.
American Resources has established a nimble, low-cost business model centered on growth, which provides a significant opportunity to scale its portfolio of assets to meet the growing global infrastructure and electrification markets while also continuing to acquire operations and significantly reduce their legacy industry risks. Its streamlined and efficient operations are able to maximize margins while reducing costs. For more information visit americanresourcescorp.com or connect with the Company on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other important factors that could cause the Company's actual results, performance, or achievements or industry results to differ materially from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond American Resources Corporation's control. The words "believes", "may", "will", "should", "would", "could", "continue", "seeks", "anticipates", "plans", "expects", "intends", "estimates", or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain such identifying words. Any forward-looking statements included in this press release are made only as of the date of this release. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update or supplement any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances. The Company cannot assure you that the projected results or events will be achieved.
Investor Contact:
JTC Team, LLC
Jenene Thomas
833-475-8247
[email protected]
RedChip Companies Inc.
Todd McKnight
1-800-RED-CHIP (733-2447)
[email protected]
Company Contact:
Mark LaVerghetta
Vice President of Corporate Finance and Communications
317-855-9926 ext. 0
[email protected]
SOURCE: American Resources Corporation
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