- Using FCL's concentrated FCL-X
Pro™ agent, two controlled EVs fires were fully
extinguished in minutes with no reignition, using limited amounts
of agent.
- This major milestone for LIB fire safety was organized by
FCL-X™'s new US distributor - AEST Fire & Safety -
in front of over 50 US firefighters and fire-safety industry
experts.
TORONTO, Nov. 5, 2024
/CNW/ - Full Circle Lithium Corp. ("FCL" or the "Company") (TSXV:
FCLI) (OTCQB: FCLIF), a USA-based
lithium-ion firefighting agent product manufacturer, announces the
resounding success of its innovative proprietary lithium-ion
battery firefighting agent - FCL-X™ -
quickly and safely extinguishing controlled burns of two
electric vehicles (EV) - a Nissan Leaf and a Kia EV9 - with no
reignition.
Organized by the technical team at
FCL-X™'s US distributor AEST Fire
& Safety ("AEST") with the assistance
of regional expert firefighters in Jefferson, Troup, and
Harris County, Georgia, FCL demonstrated
the effectiveness of FCL-X™ in two
real-life EV fires. The demonstrations
used the FCL-X Pro™ concentrate
product. FCL developed FCL-X
Pro™ to assist firefighters in
utilizing FCL-X™ in a more efficient
format for adding to fire engines'
tanks. FCL-X Pro™ comes in a box of two
pails containing enough material to mix with 250
gallons (g) of water per pail or 500g per box
of two pails. Most fire engines have tank capacities
varying from 250g to over 1,000g which makes our format
ideal depending on the size of the tank on the fire engine.
"FCL-X™, a proprietary product under patent
application, is the first and only product in the
world that we are aware of to truly
extinguish lithium-ion battery fires, from small
to large EV batteries," said David Laviner, Founder &
President of AEST. "The fire service and industrial
customers alike are years behind in being able to extinguish
lithium-ion battery fires effectively. Before
the creation of the FCL-X™ fire
suppression agent, there was no great way to extinguish
lithium-ion battery fires, and this has cost lives
and significant property damage. Now, together
with FCL, AEST can change that."
Carlos Vicens, CEO and
Director of FCL stated, "We are on the verge of
something transformative for the fire and safety
industry. The FCL-X™ fire
suppression agent has demonstrated time and again that it
is uniquely effective in safely extinguishing and mitigating
the risks associated with dangerous lithium-ion battery
fires. We look forward to having this product in the hands of
first responders, and every person that needs it, consistent with
our mission to ensure accessibility to this critical safety
solution that should ultimately safeguard lives and
property."
Controlled EV Burns
The first burn was performed on a fully equipped
and functioning 2014 Nissan Leaf with a 40-kWh battery at
approximately 50% battery charge. AEST's team of firefighters
ignited the vehicle using a blow torch from beneath the car and
started extinguishing the vehicle only after it was fully engulfed
in flames and the battery was in a full thermal
runaway. The fire was first attacked with an extinguisher and
immediately after with a 30-gallon per minute (gpm) pressure hose
and nozzle. Usually, firefighters attack these fires with
one or two 125 gpm pressure hoses and nozzles. The fire was under
control in less than five minutes while using less than 250g
of FCL-X™. Another important effect of
using FCL-X™ on an EV fire was the rapid
extinguishing of the fire in other parts of the vehicle excluding
the battery, which was evident by the limited damage to the
interior of the vehicle.
The second burn was performed on a Kia EV9 with a
77kWh battery at approximately 95% battery charge. AEST's team
of firefighters ignited the vehicle by puncturing the battery
from the back seat and started extinguishing
the vehicle only after it was fully engulfed in flames and the
battery was in full thermal run-away. In this case, because of
the size of the fire, it
was immediately attacked with a 30-gpm pressure hose
and high-pressure nozzle. Again, the team
demonstrated the efficacy of FCL-X™ with a
purposely very low gpm. The fire was under control in less
than six minutes while using approximately 350
gallons of FCL-X™. The effectiveness
of FCL-X™ on the remaining part of the
burning vehicle excluding the battery was evident as a large
portion of the interior vehicle was almost unaffected by the fire.
The burning vehicle reached up to 1,200F and
FCL-X™ reduced the temperature to approximately
120 -150F within 6 mins.
These results compare extremely favourable and FCL considers
these two controlled burns and past tests a resounding success
specially when compared to current methods. According to the
International Association of Fire and Rescue Services, firefighters
may need to use up to 40,000g of water on average to extinguish an
EV fire, with outliers taking more than 100,000g of water. In
addition to this it can take hours, usually between four to eight
hours to extinguish an EV battery fire and it can smoulder for
hours before reigniting if not properly treated.
Additional videos and photos are being gathered and will be
available soon to the public and investors on
www.fullcirclelithium.com and also on all of FCL's social media
presence.
Operational Update
Hurricane Helene and Milton Impact: Operations at the
Nahunta plant is currently back to normal after power
outages and other infrastructure issues in the area. We can
confirm that there was no impact on the Nahunta plant's
operations and infrastructure besides minimal disruption in
closing and reopening the plant.
Cessation of Recycling and Processing Operations:
As previously reported, given continuing challenges in the
lithium markets, FCL has focused all its efforts and
resources on its FCL-X™ fire extinguishing
agent.
Management Changes: The following persons are
no longer with FCL: (i) Thomas Currin, formerly Chief
Operating Officer of the Company and President of its USA subsidiary, and (ii) William Bourcier, formerly Chief Technical
Officer of the Company. The Company wishes them well in their
future endeavors.
About Full Circle Lithium Corp.
FCL has developed an innovative lithium-ion battery
fire-extinguishing agent - FCL-X™, to address the
increasing number of difficult to extinguish and hazardous
lithium-ion battery-based fires. A PCT patent application has been
filed by the Company to protect its FCL-X™ invention.
Additional information regarding FCL is available on SEDAR at
www.sedar.com under the Company's profile and on its website
www.fullcirclelithium.com.
Cautionary Statement
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services
Provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of
this release.
This news release contains forward-looking statements within
the meaning of securities legislation in the Canada and which are based on the
expectations, estimates and projections of management of the
parties as of the date of this news release unless otherwise
stated. Forward-looking statements are generally identifiable by
use of the words "expect", "anticipate", "continue", "estimate",
"objective", "ongoing", "may", "will", "project", "should",
"could", "believe", "plans", "intends" or the negative of these
words or other variations on these words or comparable terminology.
More particularly, and without limitation, this news release
contains forward-looking statements and information concerning
expectations on the effectiveness of the marketing and sales
of FCL-X™ through distribution
agreements, the viability, effectiveness, safety and additional
commercialization related to FCL-X™ which
is at an early stage of commercialization (which is very difficult
for a start-up venture like FCL as there are much larger and better
capitalized established companies that can potentially quickly
enter the lithium-ion battery fire-fighting market and create
strong competition against FCL), on receiving patent protection
for FCL-X™ and related inventions and
processes, the ability of FCL, a start-up venture, to successfully
commercialize its FCL-X™ including ramping-up
production of the agent to meet potential demand, continue raising
capital, upgrading and refurbishing its plant, and sourcing
feedstock for this and its other lines of business. Such
forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results,
performance or achievements to be materially different from any
future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by
the forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others,
the uncertainties and risk factors related to the technical
elements in a processing and refining business, loss of key
technical and other staff, lithium price fluctuations, the battery
fire-extinguishing agent functioning as expected to meet safety
requirements and fire-fighting related government regulations and
potential client product specifications, and applicable
environmental requirements and issues – see additional risks
described in FCL's public filings. Actual results, developments and
timetables could vary significantly from the estimates presented.
Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking
statements. FCL disclaims any intent or obligation to update
publicly such forward-looking statements, whether as a result of
new information, future events or otherwise, unless required by
law. Additionally, FCL undertakes no obligation to comment on
analyses, expectations or statements made by third parties in
respect of FCL, its financial or operating results or its
securities.
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SOURCE Full Circle Lithium Corp.
