NASDAQ:AQMS Aqua Metals Q1 2025 Earnings Report $0.75 -0.02 (-2.76%) Closing price 06/18/2025 04:00 PM EasternExtended Trading$0.76 +0.00 (+0.46%) As of 06/18/2025 07:57 PM Eastern Extended trading is trading that happens on electronic markets outside of regular trading hours. This is a fair market value extended hours price provided by Polygon.io. Learn more. ProfileEarnings HistoryForecast Aqua Metals EPS ResultsActual EPS-$1.03Consensus EPS -$0.60Beat/MissMissed by -$0.43One Year Ago EPSN/AAqua Metals Revenue ResultsActual RevenueN/AExpected RevenueN/ABeat/MissN/AYoY Revenue GrowthN/AAqua Metals Announcement DetailsQuarterQ1 2025Date5/8/2025TimeAfter Market ClosesConference Call DateThursday, May 8, 2025Conference Call Time4:30PM ETUpcoming EarningsAqua Metals' Q2 2025 earnings is scheduled for Monday, August 4, 2025, with a conference call scheduled at 4:30 PM ET. Check back for transcripts, audio, and key financial metrics as they become available.Conference Call ResourcesConference Call AudioConference Call TranscriptPress Release (8-K)Quarterly Report (10-Q)Earnings HistoryCompany ProfilePowered by Aqua Metals Q1 2025 Earnings Call TranscriptProvided by QuartrMay 8, 2025 ShareLink copied to clipboard.Key Takeaways In Q1, Aqua Metals produced initial samples of nickel carbonate and mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP), unlocking new revenue streams and enhancing its customer value proposition. The company achieved an LFP recycling breakthrough with lab and bench‐scale demonstrations that can process a 50/50 blend of NMC and LFP feed, effectively doubling lithium carbonate output and improving project economics. Aqua Metals entered into an agreement to sell its Sierra Arc facility, which will retire all remaining debt, generate meaningful cash reserves, and reduce holding costs by approximately $100,000 per month. The firm recorded a noncash impairment charge of about $5.2 million on the Sierra Arc facility in Q1, contributing to a wider net loss of $8.3 million versus $5.5 million year-over-year. CFO Judd Merrill will transition out on May 16, with Eric West, a six-year Aqua Metals veteran, stepping in as the new CFO on May 19 under a consultancy arrangement to ensure a smooth handover. AI Generated. May Contain Errors.Conference Call Audio Live Call not available Earnings Conference CallAqua Metals Q1 202500:00 / 00:00Speed:1x1.25x1.5x2xTranscript SectionsPresentationParticipantsPresentationSkip to Participants Bob MeyersInvestor Relations at Aqua Metals00:00:00Any 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 as required by law. As a reminder, after the formal remarks, we will be taking questions. Questions will be accepted on the call from analysts, and all other investors can submit a question using the webcast portal provided in today's earlier press releases. We will take as many questions as we can in our available time slot. Bob MeyersInvestor Relations at Aqua Metals00:00:30And with that, I'd like to turn the call over to Steve Cotton, CEO of Aqua Metals. Steve, the call is yours. Steve CottonCEO, President & Director at Aqua Metals00:00:38Thank you, Bob, and thank you all for joining us today. I'm pleased to report on what has been an important first quarter for Aqua Metals as we continue to execute on our mission to build a low cost, resilient domestic battery materials supply chain. It's been just over a month since our last call, but there are some important updates that we'll discuss today. Joining me today are Judd Merrill, our chief financial officer, and Eric West, our incoming CFO. Judd will be making remarks on our q one results and answering questions today, and then we'll begin transitioning from his role to Eric later this month and will continue as a consultant through August. Steve CottonCEO, President & Director at Aqua Metals00:01:17We'll speak more on that shortly. So let's begin with our operational updates, starting with what we have accomplished to build an adaptive platform for critical minerals recovery. In q one, we achieved three key technical and operational milestones position us at the forefront of battery recycling innovation. First, our product line expansion. We produced initial samples of nickel carbonate and mixed hydroxide precipitate or MHP, which align with our developing downstream partners' needs. Steve CottonCEO, President & Director at Aqua Metals00:01:50These are not just technical wins. They unlock new revenue opportunities and enhance our developing customer and partner value proposition. Second, our LFP recycling breakthrough. We completed a successful engineering analysis and then lab and bench scale demonstration for lithium recovery from LFP batteries. As many of you know, LFP or lithium iron phosphate is poised to dominate both EV and stationary storage markets. Steve CottonCEO, President & Director at Aqua Metals00:02:20Importantly, our process can handle a blend of 50% NMC, or nickel manganese cobalt, and 50% LFP input, effectively doubling our lithium carbonate output and improving project economics. Third, our purity and performance advancements. We have continued to improve our battery grade lithium carbonate assays to meet specific and stringent potential customer specifications, which further strengthens our position as a trusted domestic supplier. So in short, as market needs evolve, so does Aqua Metals. We are continuously advancing our technology and adjusting our overall business and commercialization strategy to meet the challenges and seize the opportunities that we see ahead. Steve CottonCEO, President & Director at Aqua Metals00:03:08So now turning to our site strategy. We have entered into an agreement to sell property. This strategic move allows us to retire all of our debt, generate meaningful cash reserves, and reduce our holding costs by approximately a hundred thousand dollars per month. This decision is about resilience and flexibility. We are aligning our capital deployment with today's market environment, characterized by lower lithium prices, uncertainty in our industry, and the tighter capital markets. Steve CottonCEO, President & Director at Aqua Metals00:03:41By lightening our footprint now, we gain the freedom to evaluate more cost efficient locations, ideally near the feedstock and offtake sources for which we are developing, which could both lower CapEx and introduce meaningful OpEx efficiencies as we advance towards commercial deployment. We remain fully committed to building our first commercial arc, and we're actively engaged with our potential supply, offtake, and funding partners to determine the best path forward. Switching now to the leadership front. As I mentioned earlier, Judd Merrill will transition from CFO on May 16 after several years of dedicated service. Judd, we really sincerely thank you for all of your commitment and leadership through transformative times, and we all wish you the best on your next venture. Steve CottonCEO, President & Director at Aqua Metals00:04:30And directly related to Judd's departure, we are pleased to welcome Eric West as our incoming CFO effective May 19. As many of you listening already know, Eric has six years of experience with Aqua Metals through his prior role, including VP of Finance. And we are also grateful that he has agreed to return to the company in the CFO role have every confidence in his ability to help lead us into this next phase. Judd will also ask Eric to introduce himself in a moment. So to summarize my comments as we look ahead, Aqua Metals is first, expanding and adapting its product portfolio and commercial plant economic model to match market conditions and where the critical minerals market is heading. Steve CottonCEO, President & Director at Aqua Metals00:05:15Second, managing capital prudently and adapting our strategy to strengthen our already well proven resilience as a company. And third, aligning the right leadership to deliver on our goals, including the previously announced recent additions to our board of directors adding key commercial and financial market expertise. We are operating with a clear eye on long term value creation, making the right moves at the right times to build a flexible, high performance business and maintain that resilience as we have to date. So with that, I'll turn it over to Judd to walk through the financials. After that, we'll open the call for q and a. Judd MerrillCFO at Aqua Metals00:05:55Thanks, Steve. First, this being my last call as the CFO of the company, I want to take a moment to thank the shareholders, stakeholders, my colleagues, the board, and Steve for the trust and support in my role here over the last six and a half years. Sometimes, though, opportunity knocks, I have taken a new role in a competitive company to be announced soon. While I leave the role of CFO here in very capable guardianship of Eric West, Eric and I have known each other for and worked together for many years, including here at Aqua Metals, and I am providing consultancy to the company and to Eric through August for a seamless transition. Judd MerrillCFO at Aqua Metals00:06:36I thought I'd ask Eric to introduce himself briefly on this call. Eric, go ahead. Eric WestCFO at Aqua Metals00:06:42Thanks, Judd and Steve, and to the board for giving me the opportunity to smoothly take the helm from Judd and help drive forward our future. I'm returning to Aqua Metals to take this role because I believe in the company's value proposition, the strength of the team, and in my abilities to make a positive impact on the company's future. I will leave it at that for now and look forward to engaging with shareholders and stakeholders directly in the near future. I'll turn it back over to Jed now to cover the Q1 financials and Q and A. Judd MerrillCFO at Aqua Metals00:07:10Thanks, Eric. Let me start my comments with our balance sheet. We ended the quarter with total cash of approximately $1,600,000 As we have reported, we have listed the Sierra Arc asset for sale. The sale will result in the retirement of all debt and produce cash proceeds while also reducing holding costs by approximately 100,000 per month. This decision adds cash runway allowing the company to evaluate more cost effective cost efficient locations for future development. Judd MerrillCFO at Aqua Metals00:07:44The Sierra Arc facility includes the building structure, the underlying land, and various permanent improvements that were previously classified construction in progress within the plant, property, and equipment on the company's consolidated balance sheet. The total carrying value of the asset group was approximately 9,300,000.0 net of depreciation. An impairment charge of approximately 5,200,000.0 was recorded during the three months ended 03/31/2025. The company anticipates the sale will be completed during the February. I will move now to the income statement. Judd MerrillCFO at Aqua Metals00:08:24Plant operations decreased approximately 1,500,000.0 or 67.2% for the three months ended 03/31/2025 as compared to the three months ended 03/31/2024. The decrease was primarily driven by a reduction in payroll and related costs of approximately 786,000 resulting from workforce reductions implemented in August 2024 and continued reductions during the February. Additionally, professional fees decreased by approximately 390,000, and supplies, materials, inventory adjustments, and other overhead related expenses decreased by 309,000. General and administrative expense decreased 619,000 or approximately 27 2020.7% for the three months ended 03/31/2025 compared to the three months ended 03/31/2024. The decrease was primarily due to the re a reduction in payroll and related costs of approximately 737,000 and a 49,000 decrease in director's fees. Judd MerrillCFO at Aqua Metals00:09:34These decreases were partially offset by an increase of 41,000 professional fees and a hundred and 26,000 supplies, materials, and other overhead expenses. For the three months ended 03/31/2025, the company recognized a noncash impairment of approximately 5,200,000.0 related to construction in progress for the facility. The impairment was the result of strategic shift and revised capital allocation priorities, which led management to discontinue development of the facility for its originally intended use. As a result, the carrying amount of the facility was reduced to reflect its estimated recoverable value. Our net loss for the three months ended 03/31/2025 was approximately 8,300,000.0 or a negative dollar and 3¢ per basic and diluted share compared to a net loss of 5,500,000.0 or a negative dollar and 5¢ per basic and diluted share for the three months ended 03/31/2024. Judd MerrillCFO at Aqua Metals00:10:37Now moving to the cash flow statement. Net cash used in operating activities during this period consisted primarily of our net loss adjusted for noncash items such as depreciation, amortization, and stock based compensation charges, as well as net changes in working capital. Net changes in investing of activities primarily included my minor previously committed fixed asset acquisition. Net cash provided by financing activities was 638,000 for the three months ended 03/31/2025, consisting of 1,200,000.0 net proceeds from the sale of Aqua Metals shares pursuant to the at the market offering or ATM, offset by 66,000 related to tax withholdings to cover RSU vesting and 500,000 principal payment made on notes payable. We are actively engaging with potential and strategic financial partners aligned with our long term strategy. Judd MerrillCFO at Aqua Metals00:11:42That concludes my remarks on the company financials. I will now turn it back over to the moderator for Q and A. Operator00:11:51Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, the floor is now open for questions. And we'll take our first question from Mickey Legg from Benchmark. Please go ahead, Mickey. Mickey LeggEquity Research Analyst at The Benchmark Company LLC00:12:18Hey, guys. Thanks for taking my questions, and congrats on making it through another quarter. Judd, congrats on your new role too. You know, I I wish you the best. And, Eric, it's it's nice to meet you over the phone, and congrats on the new role as well. Mickey LeggEquity Research Analyst at The Benchmark Company LLC00:12:39So I guess just to start, you know, have to ask on the the Sierra Arc sale, you know, kudos to, you know, find use yourself some breathing room there. Could you just walk me through, you know, that process, you know, your thought process with that and exactly, you know, how much runway does this give you. And it seems like if I can read into this a little bit, there's more of a focus on colocating now. Could you just, you know, correct me there if that's right and and walk me through that? Thanks. Steve CottonCEO, President & Director at Aqua Metals00:13:19Hey, Mickey. Yeah. This is Steve. Thanks for the question. And I'll I'll start with the CEREC and kind of my view and the the industry as a whole. Steve CottonCEO, President & Director at Aqua Metals00:13:32And as as everyone's looking at the the critical minerals industry is seen, I would say there are companies that have had to effectively cease operations due to large initial outlays and building what we would characterize as really large plants. And we've always been market aware and willing to pivot and willing to adapt the current conditions early enough, and that gives us kind of that pragmatic and survivor instinct that we've demonstrated in the past for those of you that have known us for a long time. Along with our own belief, most analysts and players in this industry do believe that it's gonna thrive for those that survive. Selling the CR now gives us that hundred thousand dollar a month savings carrying cost and gets us that meaningful cash runway to continue to develop our commercial relationships with that pragmatic and what I would say is resilient shift in focus to build it when they come compared to, what the industry has been doing, which has been build it and then they will come. We're fully committed to building the first arc once we finalize the off take and supply financing for the entire project, and our commercial discussions have led us to alternate locations. Steve CottonCEO, President & Director at Aqua Metals00:14:45And that could improve the CapEx and OpEx and other efficiencies, especially needed in the current market conditions to produce EBITDA that is bankable. And that's really what we believe is the best approach given the current difficult market conditions and public policy shift, etcetera, is to is to do what we've done and to partner and go where the materials are versus bring the materials to us and not carry the load in the meantime. I'll turn it over to Jud just to give another quick summary in terms of what it means for us economically on, you know, how it saves us money so we can be very clear on that. Judd MerrillCFO at Aqua Metals00:15:23Yeah. Hi, Mickey, and thanks for your comments and and your questions. So the CRQ, we owe about $3,000,000 on that. That's the only debt the company has left. And so anything that we sell above and beyond that price will add to our cash balance. Judd MerrillCFO at Aqua Metals00:15:45And so, you know, in the past and we're still kind of in the same area of about 500,000 a month burn. And that's just our base kind of, like, holding cost and and being a publicly traded and and employees and all that and and even some of the cost related to the work that's still ongoing at our innovation center, which we still are operating and and running, you know, on ongoing basis. So, you know, we anticipate that, you know, we'll be over that debt price quite a bit, and and that will just add to our cash balance and help with the runway. Mickey LeggEquity Research Analyst at The Benchmark Company LLC00:16:23Got it. Okay. Okay. That's clear. Alright. Mickey LeggEquity Research Analyst at The Benchmark Company LLC00:16:28And, yeah, that kind of segues into my next question, you know, which is related to the macro and how things have been so dynamic, I guess, you could put it. Has there been an uptick in customer inbounds given all, you know, the tariff announcements and discussions there. You know? It it seems like OEMs don't really have a choice but to go domestic now for their lithium, but, you know, there's clearly not a lot of domestic products. So I'm just curious, you know, what what sort of conversations you're having there. Steve CottonCEO, President & Director at Aqua Metals00:17:13Yeah. It's, an interesting time in the industry for sure. Everybody is trying to figure out what the public policy moving forward is going to be and how that translates to government support from a policy perspective, from a loan guarantee perspective, and from grant perspective, even grants that were previously issued or, in question. And so, that coupled with, the drop in lithium prices that are really frankly below, any project financeable, number for a mine, to consider opening up a new lithium mine, That is, got most analysts, and we agree with those analysts believing that this is a temporary bump in the road, so to speak. And that we will see those lithium prices, come up because it has to in order for the industry to really work. Steve CottonCEO, President & Director at Aqua Metals00:18:01Think of it like what the minimum price of a barrel per oil has to be. It's the same type of a scenario. So we see, the industry in the meantime, looking not only at their own capabilities, but, looking at each other. And this is very common, when an industry, is new and maturing and hits a bump in the road that you see a phase of consolidation and a phase of, more open armed partnerships. And that's what we've been experiencing is the activity level of engaging with not only the large players, but the medium and the small players, has really gone through the roof, which is a really positive thing because now everybody talking and trying to collectively figure out how to build this industry from the ground up in The US. Steve CottonCEO, President & Director at Aqua Metals00:18:46So we're really encouraged by that. And like I said in my earlier comments, it's, it is the game of survivor. And in order to thrive, you've got to survive. And so we're very situationally aware and making sure that we continue to survive and be there for when this industry really starts to thrive. Mickey LeggEquity Research Analyst at The Benchmark Company LLC00:19:06Got it. Got it. Okay. Understood. I thought the product line expansion and the LFP recycling was an interesting development, and, you know, it's another example of how you guys are able to be nimble in this rapidly evolving industry. Mickey LeggEquity Research Analyst at The Benchmark Company LLC00:19:29And it seems like that being driven by some of these customer discussions you're having and some of the the off take product that they're looking for to meet some of their specifications. Could you just talk about the opportunity there and, you know, where, what the thought process is with that? Steve CottonCEO, President & Director at Aqua Metals00:19:50Yeah. Great. Thank you. That's a great question, and I'd love to talk about that. So I would say our our advancements that we've announced this quarter are really two pronged. Steve CottonCEO, President & Director at Aqua Metals00:20:01And that is that firstly, we're oriented to market partner responsiveness by our nature. So think of that as, like, have it your way. And that means making materials that fit as best as possible as the input for our downstream partners' processes. And that greatly enhances and improves our off take opportunities, engagements with those customers because we're we're we're gonna give it to them their way. Secondly, we're really driving hard for optimization, and that is really to improve the plant economics iteratively. Steve CottonCEO, President & Director at Aqua Metals00:20:36So our process does continue to be the one, if not the only one, that could actually produce positive EBITDA, particularly with the suppressed metals prices and current marketplace conditions that we're seeing. So with that focus on that optimization, we believe strongly that our operating cost at commercial scale could be much lower than the other processes. And that's because they eliminate the need for massive amounts of one time use chemical cost, transport cost, processing cost, and costly and harmful waste streams that come about when you're doing it with that methodology. And that we believe does two things. That optimization improves our margin profile at scale, and that provides what we believe is still a bankable plant build future that can be debt or project financed. Steve CottonCEO, President & Director at Aqua Metals00:21:26And then the second thing that does is that this key work allows us to further advance discussions we've been having with other adjacent players in the critical mineral space for Aqua Metals to also be an enabler in the form of licensing or joint venture or other win win arrangements. Because we have the IP, we have the two plus years of demonstrating lithium aqua refining that have produced battery grade materials, and we have the proof of the economic and environmental and worker safety advantages. And that's what we believe is at the largest scale of battery grade materials production from recycling by us thus far in The US. Mickey LeggEquity Research Analyst at The Benchmark Company LLC00:22:05Great. Great. And then lastly, I just have to throw in one about government discussions and the White House. I know I asked last call, and, you know, you said it might take a couple months for those to progress and to get a bit better line of sight into how those may go. Is there anything more you could tell us? Mickey LeggEquity Research Analyst at The Benchmark Company LLC00:22:29You know, are those active? I see, you know, your mission at creating, you know, domestically produced product that's very aligned with this administration's desire to create this supply chain locally here in The US? Thanks. Steve CottonCEO, President & Director at Aqua Metals00:22:54Yeah. So, the the government side, is kinda we discussed in the last conference call. We've we've been engaging the various stakeholder agencies, and that includes things like the DOD, the DOE, etcetera, etcetera. And we're taking full advantage of the opportunity, but we don't have specific feedback yet. And we've been advised by our well respected DC based government relations partner, that it will likely take a few more months to gain a little bit more clarity of what the go forward policy and then following with that policy, the funding support will or won't be for the industry. Steve CottonCEO, President & Director at Aqua Metals00:23:31That said, we are aligned with the administration's interest in securing the domestic supply chain and keeping all these critical and valuable materials in The US where they can then be reintroduced into The US manufacturing operations, creating manufacturing jobs rather than really the current conditions where effectively The US is a net exporter of critical materials in the form of black mass that goes to Asia and an importer of the battery cells and systems that come back as a net importer. And everyone agrees on that being a major problem and a major priority to address. And so we're really hopeful and active in trying to affect the outcome to see government support really kick in in this space again later this year. Mickey LeggEquity Research Analyst at The Benchmark Company LLC00:24:15Got it. Okay. That's all for me. Thanks, guys. Steve CottonCEO, President & Director at Aqua Metals00:24:20Thanks, Nikki. Operator00:24:21Once again, that's star one if you do have a question or comment. And I'll turn the floor over to Bob Myers for additional questions. Bob MeyersInvestor Relations at Aqua Metals00:24:39Yes. Thank we thank you. We have received a few questions. First questions, are potential partners testing the quality of your more recent material that you're producing? Steve CottonCEO, President & Director at Aqua Metals00:24:53Yeah. That's a good question. So, yes, the the primary focus of our pilot demonstration plan operations continue to today and beyond in our innovation center here in Tahoe Reno Industrial Center continues to be producing and assaying ourselves product samples and sending those samples and testing varying feedstock sources to create those samples and getting those materials in the hands of all these potential off takers that we've been talking to, like I was mentioning earlier. We've continued doing this in q one through now. And those commercial relationships, of course, really underpin the financing of moving forward with that commercial scale facility. Bob MeyersInvestor Relations at Aqua Metals00:25:35Great. Thank you. The next question is similar. With the appropriate financing for Anarch, how quickly can these new initiatives translate into revenues? Steve CottonCEO, President & Director at Aqua Metals00:25:50Yeah. So even with the Sierra Arc, we would need to build an additional building. So we believe that we could potentially improve time to market by taking a suitable building or buildings that already exist, such as a brown field sitting somewhere else in the country closer to supply and offtake partners that we're talking to. And that could be better suited to our new plant layout process flows, with these improvements that we made by adding the LMP, mixing it in with the NMC, and producing these other products to be able to produce EBITDA, at the maximum level. And, as I already pointed out, we're in several discussions with these adjacent players in the industry that already have facilities, and we can be an enabler for them. Steve CottonCEO, President & Director at Aqua Metals00:26:34And that means making their EBITDA producing value proposition and time to market greater and faster, and that might allow for improvements for them in those types of scenarios. One company in in this industry cannot do it all. So we believe that in addition to helping ourselves, we're positioned uniquely to be able to help all the other companies do it better. Bob MeyersInvestor Relations at Aqua Metals00:26:58Got it. Thank you. Pivoting a little to the financials and Judd in particular, can Judd tell us a little bit more about his departure? Judd MerrillCFO at Aqua Metals00:27:10Yes. Sure, Bob. So this decision was based kind of on a a long term opportunity that advances my career in a in a noncompetitive opportunity, and it's not related to Aqua Metals. You know, it's really been a pleasure. I'm I'm seriously being here at Aqua Metals and being the CFO, and I wish the best for the team. Judd MerrillCFO at Aqua Metals00:27:29And that's why I'm available during a transition period. We've worked out a ninety day plus consulting period where I can help smoothly transition my role to Eric, the incoming CFO. You know, and I've I've worked with Eric for quite a bit of time, not only at Aqua Metals, but in a prior role, and and I have full confidence, in him and and a go forward plan with that. Bob MeyersInvestor Relations at Aqua Metals00:27:53Great. Thank you. And we have, I think, one more question for you. Can you expand a little bit on your early remarks around near term and long term financing opportunities? Judd MerrillCFO at Aqua Metals00:28:07Yeah. So start we'll start with the near term. You know, that's been driven by our desire to, you know, retire some existing debt by the end of this cup this quarter that we're in now, and that's gonna revert reduce burn. So we'll be making interest payments and other holding cost, and that helps our cash run rate. Also, near term financing has included the judicious use of the ATM and potential asset disposition of, like, fungible equipment. Judd MerrillCFO at Aqua Metals00:28:39And as we announced today, real estate that won't be we don't need to be bearing the cost, you know, for at this time. And then on the long term, you know, a lot of this has remained the same. Just trying to find the right partner for project financing, and they're still in debt based finance capital. And we're still having discussions and and, you know, advancing that. And there's some opportunities there, that we're continuing to have. Judd MerrillCFO at Aqua Metals00:29:09We're also having, directly related discussions about feedstock and offtake partnerships that make the financing the first, arc bankable. And then also how we can work together with these partners to fund the go forward strategy. Operator00:29:30Excellent. Thank you. And that's all the time we have for questions. I'll now turn the floor back to Steve Cotton for closing remarks. Steve CottonCEO, President & Director at Aqua Metals00:29:38Great. Well, thank you, operator. And, you know, I'll just close by saying, this is consolidation time for players in Critical Minerals for sure. And consolidation also means partnerships. We've seen, for example, in one example, Lighten acquired many of NorthFull's assets and many other instances of consolidation and partnering. Steve CottonCEO, President & Director at Aqua Metals00:29:57And this is really common with the development of any industry that hits the proverbial bump in the road. And we're definitely paying intention engaging with all the opportunities with all the parties that are out there. And where it makes sense, we'll explore a better way forward on that front. But in the meantime, we've really added to the resilience and the runway of the company with the the courageous decisions that we've made as a management team to date. And I feel very confident in our ability to continue to survive to make the day that we shall thrive. Steve CottonCEO, President & Director at Aqua Metals00:30:28And I thank everybody for your support and continued confidence in Aqua Metals, and we will see you soon. Operator00:30:36Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, this does conclude today's teleconference. We thank you for your participation. You may disconnect your lines at this time, and have a great day.Read moreParticipantsExecutivesBob MeyersInvestor RelationsSteve CottonCEO, President & DirectorJudd MerrillCFOEric WestCFOAnalystsMickey LeggEquity Research Analyst at The Benchmark Company LLCPowered by Earnings DocumentsPress Release(8-K)Quarterly report(10-Q) Aqua Metals Earnings HeadlinesAqua Metals Announces 2025 Annual Meeting of StockholdersJune 18 at 10:39 PM | finance.yahoo.comAqua Metals Wins Patent for Lithium Recycling TechJune 2, 2025 | msn.comAn AI run of epic proportions is only getting startedI just put together an urgent new presentation that you need to see right away. In short: I believe we are mere days away from a critical announcement from a key tech leader… One that will officially ignite “AI 2.0” – and potentially send a whole new class of stocks soaring. June 19, 2025 | Timothy Sykes (Ad)Aqua Metals wins allowance of foundational U.S. patent for lithium battery recycling technologyJune 2, 2025 | msn.comComstock Announces Appointment of Chief Financial OfficerMay 15, 2025 | globenewswire.comAqua Metals Appoints Eric West as New CFOMay 13, 2025 | tipranks.comSee More Aqua Metals Headlines Get Earnings Announcements in your inboxWant to stay updated on the latest earnings announcements and upcoming reports for companies like Aqua Metals? Sign up for Earnings360's daily newsletter to receive timely earnings updates on Aqua Metals and other key companies, straight to your email. Email Address About Aqua MetalsAqua Metals (NASDAQ:AQMS) engages in reinventing metals recycling activities with its patented AquaRefining technology. The company's technology produces metals and alloys that can be returned into the battery manufacturing supply chain markets, as well as sells metals for use in various advanced manufacturing industries. Its AquaRefining, a low-emissions and recycling technology that replaces polluting furnaces and hazardous chemicals with electricity-powered electroplating to recover valuable metals and materials from spent batteries. Aqua Metals, Inc. was incorporated in 2014 and is headquartered in Reno, Nevada.View Aqua Metals ProfileRead more More Earnings Resources from MarketBeat Earnings Tools Today's Earnings Tomorrow's Earnings Next Week's Earnings Upcoming Earnings Calls Earnings Newsletter Earnings Call Transcripts Earnings Beats & Misses Corporate Guidance Earnings Screener Earnings By Country U.S. Earnings Reports Canadian Earnings Reports U.K. Earnings Reports Latest Articles Broadcom Slides on Solid Earnings, AI Outlook Still StrongFive Below Pops on Strong Earnings, But Rally May StallRed Robin's Comeback: Q1 Earnings Spark Investor HopesOllie’s Q1 Earnings: The Good, the Bad, and What’s NextBroadcom Earnings Preview: AVGO Stock Near Record HighsUlta’s Beautiful Q1 Earnings Report Points to More Gains Aheade.l.f. 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PresentationSkip to Participants Bob MeyersInvestor Relations at Aqua Metals00:00:00Any 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 as required by law. As a reminder, after the formal remarks, we will be taking questions. Questions will be accepted on the call from analysts, and all other investors can submit a question using the webcast portal provided in today's earlier press releases. We will take as many questions as we can in our available time slot. Bob MeyersInvestor Relations at Aqua Metals00:00:30And with that, I'd like to turn the call over to Steve Cotton, CEO of Aqua Metals. Steve, the call is yours. Steve CottonCEO, President & Director at Aqua Metals00:00:38Thank you, Bob, and thank you all for joining us today. I'm pleased to report on what has been an important first quarter for Aqua Metals as we continue to execute on our mission to build a low cost, resilient domestic battery materials supply chain. It's been just over a month since our last call, but there are some important updates that we'll discuss today. Joining me today are Judd Merrill, our chief financial officer, and Eric West, our incoming CFO. Judd will be making remarks on our q one results and answering questions today, and then we'll begin transitioning from his role to Eric later this month and will continue as a consultant through August. Steve CottonCEO, President & Director at Aqua Metals00:01:17We'll speak more on that shortly. So let's begin with our operational updates, starting with what we have accomplished to build an adaptive platform for critical minerals recovery. In q one, we achieved three key technical and operational milestones position us at the forefront of battery recycling innovation. First, our product line expansion. We produced initial samples of nickel carbonate and mixed hydroxide precipitate or MHP, which align with our developing downstream partners' needs. Steve CottonCEO, President & Director at Aqua Metals00:01:50These are not just technical wins. They unlock new revenue opportunities and enhance our developing customer and partner value proposition. Second, our LFP recycling breakthrough. We completed a successful engineering analysis and then lab and bench scale demonstration for lithium recovery from LFP batteries. As many of you know, LFP or lithium iron phosphate is poised to dominate both EV and stationary storage markets. Steve CottonCEO, President & Director at Aqua Metals00:02:20Importantly, our process can handle a blend of 50% NMC, or nickel manganese cobalt, and 50% LFP input, effectively doubling our lithium carbonate output and improving project economics. Third, our purity and performance advancements. We have continued to improve our battery grade lithium carbonate assays to meet specific and stringent potential customer specifications, which further strengthens our position as a trusted domestic supplier. So in short, as market needs evolve, so does Aqua Metals. We are continuously advancing our technology and adjusting our overall business and commercialization strategy to meet the challenges and seize the opportunities that we see ahead. Steve CottonCEO, President & Director at Aqua Metals00:03:08So now turning to our site strategy. We have entered into an agreement to sell property. This strategic move allows us to retire all of our debt, generate meaningful cash reserves, and reduce our holding costs by approximately a hundred thousand dollars per month. This decision is about resilience and flexibility. We are aligning our capital deployment with today's market environment, characterized by lower lithium prices, uncertainty in our industry, and the tighter capital markets. Steve CottonCEO, President & Director at Aqua Metals00:03:41By lightening our footprint now, we gain the freedom to evaluate more cost efficient locations, ideally near the feedstock and offtake sources for which we are developing, which could both lower CapEx and introduce meaningful OpEx efficiencies as we advance towards commercial deployment. We remain fully committed to building our first commercial arc, and we're actively engaged with our potential supply, offtake, and funding partners to determine the best path forward. Switching now to the leadership front. As I mentioned earlier, Judd Merrill will transition from CFO on May 16 after several years of dedicated service. Judd, we really sincerely thank you for all of your commitment and leadership through transformative times, and we all wish you the best on your next venture. Steve CottonCEO, President & Director at Aqua Metals00:04:30And directly related to Judd's departure, we are pleased to welcome Eric West as our incoming CFO effective May 19. As many of you listening already know, Eric has six years of experience with Aqua Metals through his prior role, including VP of Finance. And we are also grateful that he has agreed to return to the company in the CFO role have every confidence in his ability to help lead us into this next phase. Judd will also ask Eric to introduce himself in a moment. So to summarize my comments as we look ahead, Aqua Metals is first, expanding and adapting its product portfolio and commercial plant economic model to match market conditions and where the critical minerals market is heading. Steve CottonCEO, President & Director at Aqua Metals00:05:15Second, managing capital prudently and adapting our strategy to strengthen our already well proven resilience as a company. And third, aligning the right leadership to deliver on our goals, including the previously announced recent additions to our board of directors adding key commercial and financial market expertise. We are operating with a clear eye on long term value creation, making the right moves at the right times to build a flexible, high performance business and maintain that resilience as we have to date. So with that, I'll turn it over to Judd to walk through the financials. After that, we'll open the call for q and a. Judd MerrillCFO at Aqua Metals00:05:55Thanks, Steve. First, this being my last call as the CFO of the company, I want to take a moment to thank the shareholders, stakeholders, my colleagues, the board, and Steve for the trust and support in my role here over the last six and a half years. Sometimes, though, opportunity knocks, I have taken a new role in a competitive company to be announced soon. While I leave the role of CFO here in very capable guardianship of Eric West, Eric and I have known each other for and worked together for many years, including here at Aqua Metals, and I am providing consultancy to the company and to Eric through August for a seamless transition. Judd MerrillCFO at Aqua Metals00:06:36I thought I'd ask Eric to introduce himself briefly on this call. Eric, go ahead. Eric WestCFO at Aqua Metals00:06:42Thanks, Judd and Steve, and to the board for giving me the opportunity to smoothly take the helm from Judd and help drive forward our future. I'm returning to Aqua Metals to take this role because I believe in the company's value proposition, the strength of the team, and in my abilities to make a positive impact on the company's future. I will leave it at that for now and look forward to engaging with shareholders and stakeholders directly in the near future. I'll turn it back over to Jed now to cover the Q1 financials and Q and A. Judd MerrillCFO at Aqua Metals00:07:10Thanks, Eric. Let me start my comments with our balance sheet. We ended the quarter with total cash of approximately $1,600,000 As we have reported, we have listed the Sierra Arc asset for sale. The sale will result in the retirement of all debt and produce cash proceeds while also reducing holding costs by approximately 100,000 per month. This decision adds cash runway allowing the company to evaluate more cost effective cost efficient locations for future development. Judd MerrillCFO at Aqua Metals00:07:44The Sierra Arc facility includes the building structure, the underlying land, and various permanent improvements that were previously classified construction in progress within the plant, property, and equipment on the company's consolidated balance sheet. The total carrying value of the asset group was approximately 9,300,000.0 net of depreciation. An impairment charge of approximately 5,200,000.0 was recorded during the three months ended 03/31/2025. The company anticipates the sale will be completed during the February. I will move now to the income statement. Judd MerrillCFO at Aqua Metals00:08:24Plant operations decreased approximately 1,500,000.0 or 67.2% for the three months ended 03/31/2025 as compared to the three months ended 03/31/2024. The decrease was primarily driven by a reduction in payroll and related costs of approximately 786,000 resulting from workforce reductions implemented in August 2024 and continued reductions during the February. Additionally, professional fees decreased by approximately 390,000, and supplies, materials, inventory adjustments, and other overhead related expenses decreased by 309,000. General and administrative expense decreased 619,000 or approximately 27 2020.7% for the three months ended 03/31/2025 compared to the three months ended 03/31/2024. The decrease was primarily due to the re a reduction in payroll and related costs of approximately 737,000 and a 49,000 decrease in director's fees. Judd MerrillCFO at Aqua Metals00:09:34These decreases were partially offset by an increase of 41,000 professional fees and a hundred and 26,000 supplies, materials, and other overhead expenses. For the three months ended 03/31/2025, the company recognized a noncash impairment of approximately 5,200,000.0 related to construction in progress for the facility. The impairment was the result of strategic shift and revised capital allocation priorities, which led management to discontinue development of the facility for its originally intended use. As a result, the carrying amount of the facility was reduced to reflect its estimated recoverable value. Our net loss for the three months ended 03/31/2025 was approximately 8,300,000.0 or a negative dollar and 3¢ per basic and diluted share compared to a net loss of 5,500,000.0 or a negative dollar and 5¢ per basic and diluted share for the three months ended 03/31/2024. Judd MerrillCFO at Aqua Metals00:10:37Now moving to the cash flow statement. Net cash used in operating activities during this period consisted primarily of our net loss adjusted for noncash items such as depreciation, amortization, and stock based compensation charges, as well as net changes in working capital. Net changes in investing of activities primarily included my minor previously committed fixed asset acquisition. Net cash provided by financing activities was 638,000 for the three months ended 03/31/2025, consisting of 1,200,000.0 net proceeds from the sale of Aqua Metals shares pursuant to the at the market offering or ATM, offset by 66,000 related to tax withholdings to cover RSU vesting and 500,000 principal payment made on notes payable. We are actively engaging with potential and strategic financial partners aligned with our long term strategy. Judd MerrillCFO at Aqua Metals00:11:42That concludes my remarks on the company financials. I will now turn it back over to the moderator for Q and A. Operator00:11:51Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, the floor is now open for questions. And we'll take our first question from Mickey Legg from Benchmark. Please go ahead, Mickey. Mickey LeggEquity Research Analyst at The Benchmark Company LLC00:12:18Hey, guys. Thanks for taking my questions, and congrats on making it through another quarter. Judd, congrats on your new role too. You know, I I wish you the best. And, Eric, it's it's nice to meet you over the phone, and congrats on the new role as well. Mickey LeggEquity Research Analyst at The Benchmark Company LLC00:12:39So I guess just to start, you know, have to ask on the the Sierra Arc sale, you know, kudos to, you know, find use yourself some breathing room there. Could you just walk me through, you know, that process, you know, your thought process with that and exactly, you know, how much runway does this give you. And it seems like if I can read into this a little bit, there's more of a focus on colocating now. Could you just, you know, correct me there if that's right and and walk me through that? Thanks. Steve CottonCEO, President & Director at Aqua Metals00:13:19Hey, Mickey. Yeah. This is Steve. Thanks for the question. And I'll I'll start with the CEREC and kind of my view and the the industry as a whole. Steve CottonCEO, President & Director at Aqua Metals00:13:32And as as everyone's looking at the the critical minerals industry is seen, I would say there are companies that have had to effectively cease operations due to large initial outlays and building what we would characterize as really large plants. And we've always been market aware and willing to pivot and willing to adapt the current conditions early enough, and that gives us kind of that pragmatic and survivor instinct that we've demonstrated in the past for those of you that have known us for a long time. Along with our own belief, most analysts and players in this industry do believe that it's gonna thrive for those that survive. Selling the CR now gives us that hundred thousand dollar a month savings carrying cost and gets us that meaningful cash runway to continue to develop our commercial relationships with that pragmatic and what I would say is resilient shift in focus to build it when they come compared to, what the industry has been doing, which has been build it and then they will come. We're fully committed to building the first arc once we finalize the off take and supply financing for the entire project, and our commercial discussions have led us to alternate locations. Steve CottonCEO, President & Director at Aqua Metals00:14:45And that could improve the CapEx and OpEx and other efficiencies, especially needed in the current market conditions to produce EBITDA that is bankable. And that's really what we believe is the best approach given the current difficult market conditions and public policy shift, etcetera, is to is to do what we've done and to partner and go where the materials are versus bring the materials to us and not carry the load in the meantime. I'll turn it over to Jud just to give another quick summary in terms of what it means for us economically on, you know, how it saves us money so we can be very clear on that. Judd MerrillCFO at Aqua Metals00:15:23Yeah. Hi, Mickey, and thanks for your comments and and your questions. So the CRQ, we owe about $3,000,000 on that. That's the only debt the company has left. And so anything that we sell above and beyond that price will add to our cash balance. Judd MerrillCFO at Aqua Metals00:15:45And so, you know, in the past and we're still kind of in the same area of about 500,000 a month burn. And that's just our base kind of, like, holding cost and and being a publicly traded and and employees and all that and and even some of the cost related to the work that's still ongoing at our innovation center, which we still are operating and and running, you know, on ongoing basis. So, you know, we anticipate that, you know, we'll be over that debt price quite a bit, and and that will just add to our cash balance and help with the runway. Mickey LeggEquity Research Analyst at The Benchmark Company LLC00:16:23Got it. Okay. Okay. That's clear. Alright. Mickey LeggEquity Research Analyst at The Benchmark Company LLC00:16:28And, yeah, that kind of segues into my next question, you know, which is related to the macro and how things have been so dynamic, I guess, you could put it. Has there been an uptick in customer inbounds given all, you know, the tariff announcements and discussions there. You know? It it seems like OEMs don't really have a choice but to go domestic now for their lithium, but, you know, there's clearly not a lot of domestic products. So I'm just curious, you know, what what sort of conversations you're having there. Steve CottonCEO, President & Director at Aqua Metals00:17:13Yeah. It's, an interesting time in the industry for sure. Everybody is trying to figure out what the public policy moving forward is going to be and how that translates to government support from a policy perspective, from a loan guarantee perspective, and from grant perspective, even grants that were previously issued or, in question. And so, that coupled with, the drop in lithium prices that are really frankly below, any project financeable, number for a mine, to consider opening up a new lithium mine, That is, got most analysts, and we agree with those analysts believing that this is a temporary bump in the road, so to speak. And that we will see those lithium prices, come up because it has to in order for the industry to really work. Steve CottonCEO, President & Director at Aqua Metals00:18:01Think of it like what the minimum price of a barrel per oil has to be. It's the same type of a scenario. So we see, the industry in the meantime, looking not only at their own capabilities, but, looking at each other. And this is very common, when an industry, is new and maturing and hits a bump in the road that you see a phase of consolidation and a phase of, more open armed partnerships. And that's what we've been experiencing is the activity level of engaging with not only the large players, but the medium and the small players, has really gone through the roof, which is a really positive thing because now everybody talking and trying to collectively figure out how to build this industry from the ground up in The US. Steve CottonCEO, President & Director at Aqua Metals00:18:46So we're really encouraged by that. And like I said in my earlier comments, it's, it is the game of survivor. And in order to thrive, you've got to survive. And so we're very situationally aware and making sure that we continue to survive and be there for when this industry really starts to thrive. Mickey LeggEquity Research Analyst at The Benchmark Company LLC00:19:06Got it. Got it. Okay. Understood. I thought the product line expansion and the LFP recycling was an interesting development, and, you know, it's another example of how you guys are able to be nimble in this rapidly evolving industry. Mickey LeggEquity Research Analyst at The Benchmark Company LLC00:19:29And it seems like that being driven by some of these customer discussions you're having and some of the the off take product that they're looking for to meet some of their specifications. Could you just talk about the opportunity there and, you know, where, what the thought process is with that? Steve CottonCEO, President & Director at Aqua Metals00:19:50Yeah. Great. Thank you. That's a great question, and I'd love to talk about that. So I would say our our advancements that we've announced this quarter are really two pronged. Steve CottonCEO, President & Director at Aqua Metals00:20:01And that is that firstly, we're oriented to market partner responsiveness by our nature. So think of that as, like, have it your way. And that means making materials that fit as best as possible as the input for our downstream partners' processes. And that greatly enhances and improves our off take opportunities, engagements with those customers because we're we're we're gonna give it to them their way. Secondly, we're really driving hard for optimization, and that is really to improve the plant economics iteratively. Steve CottonCEO, President & Director at Aqua Metals00:20:36So our process does continue to be the one, if not the only one, that could actually produce positive EBITDA, particularly with the suppressed metals prices and current marketplace conditions that we're seeing. So with that focus on that optimization, we believe strongly that our operating cost at commercial scale could be much lower than the other processes. And that's because they eliminate the need for massive amounts of one time use chemical cost, transport cost, processing cost, and costly and harmful waste streams that come about when you're doing it with that methodology. And that we believe does two things. That optimization improves our margin profile at scale, and that provides what we believe is still a bankable plant build future that can be debt or project financed. Steve CottonCEO, President & Director at Aqua Metals00:21:26And then the second thing that does is that this key work allows us to further advance discussions we've been having with other adjacent players in the critical mineral space for Aqua Metals to also be an enabler in the form of licensing or joint venture or other win win arrangements. Because we have the IP, we have the two plus years of demonstrating lithium aqua refining that have produced battery grade materials, and we have the proof of the economic and environmental and worker safety advantages. And that's what we believe is at the largest scale of battery grade materials production from recycling by us thus far in The US. Mickey LeggEquity Research Analyst at The Benchmark Company LLC00:22:05Great. Great. And then lastly, I just have to throw in one about government discussions and the White House. I know I asked last call, and, you know, you said it might take a couple months for those to progress and to get a bit better line of sight into how those may go. Is there anything more you could tell us? Mickey LeggEquity Research Analyst at The Benchmark Company LLC00:22:29You know, are those active? I see, you know, your mission at creating, you know, domestically produced product that's very aligned with this administration's desire to create this supply chain locally here in The US? Thanks. Steve CottonCEO, President & Director at Aqua Metals00:22:54Yeah. So, the the government side, is kinda we discussed in the last conference call. We've we've been engaging the various stakeholder agencies, and that includes things like the DOD, the DOE, etcetera, etcetera. And we're taking full advantage of the opportunity, but we don't have specific feedback yet. And we've been advised by our well respected DC based government relations partner, that it will likely take a few more months to gain a little bit more clarity of what the go forward policy and then following with that policy, the funding support will or won't be for the industry. Steve CottonCEO, President & Director at Aqua Metals00:23:31That said, we are aligned with the administration's interest in securing the domestic supply chain and keeping all these critical and valuable materials in The US where they can then be reintroduced into The US manufacturing operations, creating manufacturing jobs rather than really the current conditions where effectively The US is a net exporter of critical materials in the form of black mass that goes to Asia and an importer of the battery cells and systems that come back as a net importer. And everyone agrees on that being a major problem and a major priority to address. And so we're really hopeful and active in trying to affect the outcome to see government support really kick in in this space again later this year. Mickey LeggEquity Research Analyst at The Benchmark Company LLC00:24:15Got it. Okay. That's all for me. Thanks, guys. Steve CottonCEO, President & Director at Aqua Metals00:24:20Thanks, Nikki. Operator00:24:21Once again, that's star one if you do have a question or comment. And I'll turn the floor over to Bob Myers for additional questions. Bob MeyersInvestor Relations at Aqua Metals00:24:39Yes. Thank we thank you. We have received a few questions. First questions, are potential partners testing the quality of your more recent material that you're producing? Steve CottonCEO, President & Director at Aqua Metals00:24:53Yeah. That's a good question. So, yes, the the primary focus of our pilot demonstration plan operations continue to today and beyond in our innovation center here in Tahoe Reno Industrial Center continues to be producing and assaying ourselves product samples and sending those samples and testing varying feedstock sources to create those samples and getting those materials in the hands of all these potential off takers that we've been talking to, like I was mentioning earlier. We've continued doing this in q one through now. And those commercial relationships, of course, really underpin the financing of moving forward with that commercial scale facility. Bob MeyersInvestor Relations at Aqua Metals00:25:35Great. Thank you. The next question is similar. With the appropriate financing for Anarch, how quickly can these new initiatives translate into revenues? Steve CottonCEO, President & Director at Aqua Metals00:25:50Yeah. So even with the Sierra Arc, we would need to build an additional building. So we believe that we could potentially improve time to market by taking a suitable building or buildings that already exist, such as a brown field sitting somewhere else in the country closer to supply and offtake partners that we're talking to. And that could be better suited to our new plant layout process flows, with these improvements that we made by adding the LMP, mixing it in with the NMC, and producing these other products to be able to produce EBITDA, at the maximum level. And, as I already pointed out, we're in several discussions with these adjacent players in the industry that already have facilities, and we can be an enabler for them. Steve CottonCEO, President & Director at Aqua Metals00:26:34And that means making their EBITDA producing value proposition and time to market greater and faster, and that might allow for improvements for them in those types of scenarios. One company in in this industry cannot do it all. So we believe that in addition to helping ourselves, we're positioned uniquely to be able to help all the other companies do it better. Bob MeyersInvestor Relations at Aqua Metals00:26:58Got it. Thank you. Pivoting a little to the financials and Judd in particular, can Judd tell us a little bit more about his departure? Judd MerrillCFO at Aqua Metals00:27:10Yes. Sure, Bob. So this decision was based kind of on a a long term opportunity that advances my career in a in a noncompetitive opportunity, and it's not related to Aqua Metals. You know, it's really been a pleasure. I'm I'm seriously being here at Aqua Metals and being the CFO, and I wish the best for the team. Judd MerrillCFO at Aqua Metals00:27:29And that's why I'm available during a transition period. We've worked out a ninety day plus consulting period where I can help smoothly transition my role to Eric, the incoming CFO. You know, and I've I've worked with Eric for quite a bit of time, not only at Aqua Metals, but in a prior role, and and I have full confidence, in him and and a go forward plan with that. Bob MeyersInvestor Relations at Aqua Metals00:27:53Great. Thank you. And we have, I think, one more question for you. Can you expand a little bit on your early remarks around near term and long term financing opportunities? Judd MerrillCFO at Aqua Metals00:28:07Yeah. So start we'll start with the near term. You know, that's been driven by our desire to, you know, retire some existing debt by the end of this cup this quarter that we're in now, and that's gonna revert reduce burn. So we'll be making interest payments and other holding cost, and that helps our cash run rate. Also, near term financing has included the judicious use of the ATM and potential asset disposition of, like, fungible equipment. Judd MerrillCFO at Aqua Metals00:28:39And as we announced today, real estate that won't be we don't need to be bearing the cost, you know, for at this time. And then on the long term, you know, a lot of this has remained the same. Just trying to find the right partner for project financing, and they're still in debt based finance capital. And we're still having discussions and and, you know, advancing that. And there's some opportunities there, that we're continuing to have. Judd MerrillCFO at Aqua Metals00:29:09We're also having, directly related discussions about feedstock and offtake partnerships that make the financing the first, arc bankable. And then also how we can work together with these partners to fund the go forward strategy. Operator00:29:30Excellent. Thank you. And that's all the time we have for questions. I'll now turn the floor back to Steve Cotton for closing remarks. Steve CottonCEO, President & Director at Aqua Metals00:29:38Great. Well, thank you, operator. And, you know, I'll just close by saying, this is consolidation time for players in Critical Minerals for sure. And consolidation also means partnerships. We've seen, for example, in one example, Lighten acquired many of NorthFull's assets and many other instances of consolidation and partnering. Steve CottonCEO, President & Director at Aqua Metals00:29:57And this is really common with the development of any industry that hits the proverbial bump in the road. And we're definitely paying intention engaging with all the opportunities with all the parties that are out there. And where it makes sense, we'll explore a better way forward on that front. But in the meantime, we've really added to the resilience and the runway of the company with the the courageous decisions that we've made as a management team to date. And I feel very confident in our ability to continue to survive to make the day that we shall thrive. Steve CottonCEO, President & Director at Aqua Metals00:30:28And I thank everybody for your support and continued confidence in Aqua Metals, and we will see you soon. Operator00:30:36Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, this does conclude today's teleconference. We thank you for your participation. You may disconnect your lines at this time, and have a great day.Read moreParticipantsExecutivesBob MeyersInvestor RelationsSteve CottonCEO, President & DirectorJudd MerrillCFOEric WestCFOAnalystsMickey LeggEquity Research Analyst at The Benchmark Company LLCPowered by