Sunlight Group enhances its corporate structure with a dedicated lead-acid battery recycling subsidiary

Sunlight Group, a member of the international investment Olympia Group and a technology company specializing in innovative industrial electrification solutions for the intralogistics sector and energy storage systems from renewable energy sources, in the context of its corporate transformation, announces that, pursuant to the decision of the Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders on October 27, 2023, it was approved - by virtue of the resolution no. 11620 of the General Registry of Commerce of the Athens Chamber of Commerce and was registered in the General Electronic Commercial Registry (G.E.M.I.) on 01.11. 2023 under Registration No. 3842632 the separation through the spin-off of the Lead-Acid Accumulators and Other Lead Materials (Recycling Sector) by establishing a new company under the name "SUNLIGHT RECYCLING COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL ANONYMOUS COMPANY FOR THE PROCESSING & RECYCLING OF MATERIALS" (Sunlight Recycling) in accordance with the provisions of Law No. 4601/2019 and Law No 4548/2018.

This decision marks another milestone in the Group's commitment to support the circular economy over time with initiatives that contribute to vertically integrated production operations, sustainable development, and the reduction of its carbon footprint. In addition, Sunlight Group guarantees the procurement of raw materials for battery manufacturing at its Xanthi facility, thereby maintaining cost-effective production and upholding the company's competitive edge.

Sunlight Recycling's establishment as a strategic business unit within Sunlight Group aims to accelerate the expansion in the global lead recycling market, leveraging the synergies with the group's collection operations in Greece, Europe, Australia, and America, where Sunlight Group has subsidiaries. As an independent entity, Sunlight Recycling, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sunlight Group, is expected to create new opportunities for sustainable growth and ensure long-term value creation for the Sunlight Group.

With the autonomous operation of Sunlight Recycling, Sunlight Group aims at faster development with a leading team that will have as its exclusive focus the rapid expansion of the specific activity in the next five years.

The focus of Sunlight Group's recycling activity remains the existing recycling plant in Komotini, which following the spin-off has been transferred to Sunlight Recycling, one of the most advanced lead-acid battery recycling plants in the world, certified by the EU's Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS), and Sunlight Group's UBATT companies in Germany, which currently collects over 60.000 tons of used batteries per year and ECORBA in Italy.

As already announced, the production of the Komotini recycling plant is expected to double from 50,000 tons today to 100,000 tons of product in the next 16 months, enabling Sunlight Recycling to cover approximately 50% of Sunlight Group's future needs at the Xanthi industrial complex, while approximately 23,000 tons will also be sold to third parties in Europe.

This investment will make Sunlight Recycling one of the 10 largest recycled lead producers in the world with state-of-the-art equipment and used battery collection networks around the world.

Commenting on the creation of Sunlight Recycling S.A., Lampros Bisalas, CEO of Sunlight Group, stated: "In its new form, Sunlight Recycling will be one of the largest secondary lead producers in the world with an autonomous path within the Group and a distinct leadership team. Our aim is to become a leader in the recycling sector, verticalizing our production process even further, expanding our collection of used batteries in Europe and America through our network of subsidiaries, but above all to become even more competitive. With this move we aim to unleash value creation forces in the context of an ever-changing macroeconomic and geopolitical environment, where control of the supply chain is a strategic advantage. We remain fully committed to our operational, strategic, and environmental objectives and in this direction, we believe that the autonomous path of Sunlight Recycling will give new impetus and greater expansion to the business, in order to make a decisive contribution to the quantitative and qualitative objectives of the Sunlight Group. Our business plan is quite ambitious, and we look forward to seeing the benefits of this move in the coming years."

The new company, Sunlight Recycling, is a 100% subsidiary of Sunlight Group, which was substituted from 01.11.2023 automatically and without any other procedure, as the universal successor of the assets and liabilities of the Branch, including but not limited to real estate, equipment, and other fixed assets, and it shall assume all rights and obligations relating to the Branch, including the existing contractual relationships and administrative licenses issued to Sunlight Group and relating to the Branch. Similarly, the employees occupied solely in the Branch have been transferred automatically to Sunlight Recycling, which will assume the position of employer without any change in their terms of employment, benefits, and working conditions.