Dragonfly Energy (NASDAQ: $DFLI): Nevada Trade Mission To Canada
Dragonfly Energy is a leader in the green energy storage industry. Developing some of the most popular Lithium-ion Battery products in the RV and Marine industries today, through the Battle Born Batteries brand, while advancing the future of battery technology through unique patented manufacturing processes forged by a robust R&D department. Enabling high quality, effective domestic cell production and building towards the widespread deployment of proprietary non-flammable solid state battery cells- built for safe, long term energy storage.
Transcript
00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 - Hey everyone, it's Jordan Robertson with Benzinga.
00:04 And joining me today from Dragonfly Energy
00:06 is Vik Singh, Director of Research and Development
00:09 and Dominic Sennett, Director of Government Affairs.
00:11 How are you guys?
00:13 - Great, Jordan, thanks for having us.
00:14 - Doing well this morning, Jordan, thank you.
00:16 - Of course, and jumping right in, Dominic,
00:18 can you give us a quick overview of Dragonfly Energy?
00:21 - Yeah, thank you.
00:22 Dragonfly Energy is a comprehensive
00:24 battery technology company that has been funding its R&D
00:27 through sales of battery packs, which are designed
00:30 to displace lead acid batteries in various applications,
00:33 including RV industry, marine, off-grid storage,
00:37 and other stationary applications.
00:39 Currently, we're looking to vertically integrate
00:41 our production process here in Nevada.
00:44 - Wonderful, and Vik, can you tell us about the opportunities
00:46 within the state for this industry
00:48 and how it's earning that distinction?
00:50 - Absolutely, so Nevada, obviously,
00:52 I think what we hear about most often
00:53 is there's a lot of lithium here in the ground,
00:56 which is a very, very important component
00:58 to the lithium supply chain, but really,
01:00 Nevada's gone much further than that.
01:03 We've got a lot of infrastructure here in the state
01:05 around cell production and pack production,
01:08 whether it's for stationary markets like Dragonfly
01:11 or even the EV markets and the Tesla Gigafactory here,
01:14 and we've taken a step further after that
01:16 and have developed the technology and the industries
01:18 here in the state to recycle those batteries
01:20 and reintroduce the critical elements back into the market
01:23 and support the supply chain.
01:24 So it really completes the lithium loop here in the state
01:27 and supports the businesses that are involved.
01:30 - And Vik, another question for you.
01:32 Why is developing a domestic battery market so critical?
01:35 - Well, I think given today's climate,
01:38 whether we're talking about climate change,
01:40 we're talking about the supply chain risks
01:42 of something like COVID-19, or even just general geopolitics,
01:46 it's really important for us to have a strong
01:48 and robust supply chain as we look to grow our business
01:51 and expand into new markets.
01:53 And so this is just an important component
01:55 of that initiative.
01:57 - Absolutely, and what role does Dragonfly Energy play
02:00 in making this happen?
02:01 - So we like to call ourselves
02:02 a comprehensive battery technology company.
02:05 We're working across the board
02:06 from taking recycled materials or mine materials
02:09 and testing cathode production with them.
02:12 As Dominic mentioned, we're moving into cell production
02:15 to support our existing core pack production business
02:18 that serves the stationary markets.
02:20 So we're really in that middle region
02:22 where we're taking the raw materials, we're using them,
02:24 we're delivering them to customers,
02:26 and then we're leaving it to the recyclers
02:28 to extract those materials afterwards.
02:30 - And Dominic, you recently announced
02:32 joining the Nevada Battery Coalition as a founding member.
02:34 Tell us about the organization
02:36 and the company's role within it.
02:37 - Yeah, we're very proud to be a founding member
02:39 of the Nevada Battery Coalition.
02:41 The coalition is an advocacy group
02:43 composed of companies all along the battery supply chain,
02:47 and we're informing both public and private sectors
02:50 regarding the economic, environmental,
02:52 and national security implications
02:55 associated with the battery supply chain
02:57 in order to strengthen Nevada's position
02:59 as a leading battery center in North America.
03:02 And we're honored to be collaborating
03:03 with like-minded companies in that group
03:05 to really close the lithium loop here in Nevada.
03:08 - Yes, and what do you hope comes from the efforts
03:10 of the Nevada Battery Coalition
03:12 and the collective companies that are members?
03:14 - So we're hoping that we continue to strengthen
03:16 our existing relationships with the other companies
03:19 like Ioneer and Aqua Metals.
03:21 We have an off-take agreement with Ioneer to supply lithium,
03:24 as well as an agreement with Aqua Metals
03:28 to take their recycled lithium
03:29 and to make battery cells with that.
03:32 And we're hoping that just to empower the local companies
03:36 and ourselves to ensure that Nevada
03:39 is an industry leader in the lithium.
03:41 - And Vic, back to you.
03:43 You've crossed borders with your efforts
03:44 participating in a Nevada trade mission to Canada
03:47 with the state's governor, Joe Lombardo.
03:49 What was the objective behind this trade mission?
03:51 - Well, I think the trade mission on a very high level
03:54 was to strengthen ties between a state
03:57 here in the United States, Nevada,
03:58 and two regions in Canada, primarily Ontario and Quebec.
04:02 Ontario in particular and Quebec
04:05 both have similar economies to Nevada in some degree.
04:08 They've got large metropolitan areas to the south
04:10 and large reserves and natural resources
04:13 and strong, robust mining industries.
04:15 So building collaboration,
04:17 building partnerships in that sector,
04:18 and then taking it a step further
04:20 to see how we can work together
04:22 to strengthen each other's supply chains
04:24 and make us more robust as we face the challenges,
04:28 whether they're geopolitical or supply chain oriented,
04:31 moving forward together.
04:32 - Absolutely.
04:33 And Dominic, why do you believe Dragonfly Energy
04:35 was selected to participate
04:36 and represent battery manufacturing industry
04:38 on this mission?
04:40 - Dragonfly Energy is really an integral part
04:42 of the battery supply chain,
04:44 both on the manufacturing side and the distribution side
04:47 with our well-known battery brand, Battle Born Batteries.
04:51 And through that, we represent various links
04:54 on the battery supply chain.
04:57 And really to do this effectively,
05:00 we need to secure a North American supply chain
05:02 for our batteries, most notably lithium,
05:04 iron, phosphate, and graphite.
05:06 - And Vic, last question for you.
05:08 Why was the timing of this trade mission so important?
05:11 - Well, I think, you know, given the last two years,
05:14 we've seen how sensitive supply chain
05:17 in particular can be to,
05:19 whether it be COVID-19 disruptions
05:21 or even geopolitical concerns associated with Asia.
05:25 So I think the timing of this was really relevant
05:27 because if we wanna strengthen businesses
05:30 and really put them in a great position
05:32 to navigate these obstacles,
05:34 we need to have strong ties with our neighbors
05:36 and robust supply chains associated with those ties.
05:40 - Of course.
05:41 And Dominic, hot take,
05:41 what are the biggest challenges the battery sector
05:44 will face in the coming years
05:45 and how can we best position ourselves
05:46 to overcome them?
05:47 - I think one of the biggest challenges
05:49 in the coming years is really going to be
05:51 sustained support from both federal and state governments.
05:55 Currently, the Department of Energy
05:56 and the federal government are putting a lot of money
05:59 into building up the battery supply chain,
06:02 but these are very capital intensive industries
06:05 and the continued investment is really critical
06:09 to make sure that this industry is sustained long-term.
06:13 - Wonderful.
06:14 Thank you so much.
06:15 That's all I have for today.
06:15 Hope to see you guys back.
06:16 Thank you, Jordan.
06:17 - Thank you, Jordan.
06:18 (upbeat music)
06:21 (upbeat music)
06:23 ♪ You're a good friend ♪