Stardust Power Inc.

Good afternoon, and welcome to the Stardust Powers, Inc. third quarter 2024 earnings call. My name is Cherie, and I'll be your operator today. Before this call, Stardust Powers issued its financial results for the third quarter and its September 30th, 2024 in a press release. Joining us on today's call are Stardust Powers founder and CEO Roshan Pujari and CFO Uday Devespur. Following their remarks, we will open the call for questions. Before we begin, Johanna Gonzalez, Stardust Powers Director of Investor Relations and Communications, will make a brief introductory statement. Ms. Gonzalez, please proceed.

Thank you, operator. Good afternoon, everyone. Before management begins their formal remarks, we would like to remind everyone that some statements we're making today may be considered forward-looking statements under securities laws and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. As a result, we caution you that there are a number of factors, many of which are beyond our control, which could cause actual results and events to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. For more detailed risks, uncertainties and assumptions relating to our forward-looking statements, please see the disclosures in our earnings release and public filings made with the SEC. We disclaim any obligation or undertaking to update forward-looking statements to reflect circumstances or events that occur after the date the forward-looking statements are made, except as required by law. We refer you to our filings with the SEC for detailed disclosures and descriptions of our business, as well as uncertainties and other variable circumstances, including but not limited to risks and uncertainties identified under the caption risk factors in our recent filings. You may get Stardust Power's SEC filings by visiting the SEC website at www.sec.gov. I would like to remind everyone this call is being recorded and will be made available for replay via a link available in the Investor Relations section of Stardust Power's website. Now I will turn the call over to Stardust Power's CEO, Roshan Pajari. Roshan?

Thank you, Joanna, and thank you all for joining us today. Welcome to the Stardust Power third quarter 2024 earnings call. I'd like to briefly discuss the macro environment before providing an update on the development of Stardust Power's lithium refinery. Stardust Power was founded on the idea the world needs more battery-grade lithium to power the energy transition, which we believe is not only essential to satisfy demand for power, but is important to U.S. national security. Over the past decade, we have seen the demand and potential demand for lithium increase due to the growth of lithium ion batteries. These batteries are essential to electric vehicles. Currently, we see a large demand and limited supply of lithium and even less refining capacity globally. Critical materials and in particular battery grade lithium is a national security priority for the United States. According to a 2024 benchmark study, China dominates the market with an estimated 65% of the lithium market due to their stranglehold on global lithium refining capacity. We believe it is essential that we're able to refine battery grade lithium domestically in the United States. As the founder, this is the opportunity that we saw from our collective experience in the industry. At Stardust Power, our mission is to secure U.S. energy leadership through the production of IRA compliant battery grade lithium. To that end, Stardust Power is working towards building one of the largest lithium refineries in North America. The facility will be centrally located in the United States and in proximity to both offtake and supply. The refinery will be located in Muskogee, Oklahoma, with a projected annual production capacity of up to 50,000 metric tons per year. The site is approximately 66 acres with an option for an additional 40 acres. We chose this site for three main reasons. First, as mentioned, it is centrally located in the United States with projected access to multi-module logistics, including the largest inland waterway system in America, and to roads and railway that can access 92% of the U.S. population within 24 hours. Second, it is in proximity to both off-take customers and feedstock supply. Third, there is access to a highly skilled workforce from the oil and gas sector. There is a legacy oil and gas sector workforce, which we can tap into in Oklahoma. We are developing the refinery in two phases. The first phase is the construction of up to 25,000 metric tons per annum production lines. The second phase is to add a second production line of an additional up to 25,000 metric tons per annum to create a total capacity of up to 50,000 metric tons per annum. In phase one, we will build the back end of the production line first, processing a technical grade lithium into battery grade lithium carbonate. We believe building the back end of the line first allows us to generate revenue quicker and get to market faster with our supply. Following this step, we will continue to build the balance of the line, which could enable us to process lithium chloride feedstock into battery-grade lithium carbonate. The first phase is expected to take approximately 18 to 24 months to build. We are planning to start earthworks early and are in the process of securing critical long lead equipment ahead of time. We anticipate efficiencies in phase two leading to a reduction in time of construction. The total expected capital expenditures needed to build the facility is estimated at 1.2 billion, which currently includes a 40% contingency allocation. The first phase will cost approximately $690 million, with the second phase costing approximately $510 million. Turning to supply, we are optimizing design of our refinery for multiple sources of brine feedstock so we can aggregate supply and scale manufacturing of battery-grade lithium products more efficiently. We are investing upstream by securing offtake agreements with potential suppliers such as IG Lithium LLC and Usha Resources. Our central refinery provides an opportunity for raw material producers that might not be able to develop their projects otherwise. We can develop or co-develop lithium assets to augment supply at projects such as Jackpot Lake in Nevada and others. We plan to use a combination of off-the-shelf technology and best-in-class GLE technology, which would limit the technology risk for our business. We have a robust pipeline to supplement our supply and seek to have more news in the upcoming months. Given rising geopolitical tensions and the ability for China to threaten supply, the U.S. has facilitated grants and funding to support the energy transition, including lithium refining. The state of Oklahoma has identified up to $257 million of largely state incentives. Federal incentives potentially worth billions of dollars exist as well, and we have planned to apply for available incentives and opportunities for which we qualify to help offset bill costs. Stardust power is expected to source from North America or Inflation Reduction Act compliant countries. Processing inside the United States is also expected to make us IRA and or FTA compliant. We will seek to source from and sell to allied country customers and companies and bolster the energy transition. At Stardust Power, sustainability is built into each step of our process. These principles guide us in creating long-term value for our business, being a responsible corporate citizen while addressing the pressing challenges of climate change and the energy transition. We are developing a strong North American critical material supply chain, which is secure, safe and sustainable in each aspect. It starts with our choice of extraction. We are designing our production lines with zero liquid discharge. Our facility will be almost fully electric while keeping our options open for infrastructure readiness, allowing us to minimize air emissions and be option rich down the line as we scale. The existing grid draws as much as 70% of its power from sustainable sources such as wind, hydro, and natural gas. We are also evaluating the use of solar power in the future at our site. Lastly, our main byproduct is a type of salt, a similar grade to a road salt, which can be sold and used. On July 8th, 2024, we completed our merger with Global Partner Acquisition Corp 2 and listed on the NASDAQ global market. At the same time, we raised approximately 12 million in conjunction with the listing. We were delighted to ring the opening bell on the NASDAQ on July 12th, culminating in more than a year's work and one step closer to breaking ground on one of the largest lithium refining plants in North America. We have made important personnel hires. We welcome Parmita Das as Chief Strategy Officer and Senior Advisor to the CEO. With more than 20 years of leadership experience in some of the world's largest metals and minerals companies, Parmita will support the company's next phase of commercialization and development. Adam Johnson also joined us as Chief Commercial Officer with extensive experience in M&A, government relations, and other commercial endeavors in the metals and mining space. On October 8th, the company announced it entered into a 90-day exclusivity period with KMX Technologies, Inc., during which the parties will negotiate the exclusive licensing in North America for KMX's vacuum membrane distillation technology for the lithium sector, which separates lithium from water sources. This could potentially have significant capital and operating expense savings for the company, as well as potentially reduce the energy and carbon intensity of the refining process. We are working to finalize definitive agreements. We also announced the engagement of MUFG Bank as lead financial advisor to Stardust Power. MUFG will assist with structuring and financing of our first phase of the project. We chose MUFG due to their abilities as one of the largest banks globally and their extensive experience in the natural resources sector. Turning to business updates. This past August, we announced the selection of Primero USA to complete a front end loaded level three or definitive engineering study. We are now in month four of the study and 15% of the engineering study has been completed with 40% of process design in progress. We have obtained Oklahoma Department of Transportation approval for a permanent access driveway from Highway 64 with OG&E providing a 161 kV electrical line and substation for the refinery. The geotechnical study has been completed and poses no major challenges to the site surface or subsurface. The land has less than a 2% gradient, which requires minimum cut and fill requirements, meaning reduced initial capex, and we anticipate breaking ground on the site in the next eight weeks. Turning to permits and ongoing site activities, bid documents for initial site preparation are in progress, as is stormwater permitting with the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality. All trade-off studies have been completed and vendor quotations have been requested for more than half of all of our priority mechanical equipment items. We have been proactive in our workforce development. We are working with the Indian Capital Technology Center, a local technology school, and universities, such as Oklahoma State University, where they have demonstrated they are aligning their programs with employment opportunities our business creates. We are also engaging with America Works in Muskogee to provide jobs for workers. Through the Port of Muskogee, Stardust Power and other manufacturers in the area have funded scholarships for individuals interested in the manufacturing, further supporting workforce development. In response to the milestones achieved on our execution roadmap, Stardust Power has amplified its government engagement strategy to align closely with the advancing stages of its operational and innovation objectives. As part of these efforts, Stardust Power is enhancing its outreach with federal and state policymakers to build a deeper public-private partnership and foster regulatory alignment, securing potential funding avenues that support sustainable energy solutions. Key initiatives for 2025 include establishing dedicated government affairs resources to actively engage with relevant committees of jurisdictions, increase participation in policy forums on clean energy, and strengthen collaborative networks with key agencies overseeing renewable energy initiatives. These proactive measures could potentially position Stardust Power to leverage legislative and regulatory developments and advance its mission to lead in energy innovation. In recent months, Stardust Power has participated in key state-level events such as the Oklahoma State University Polytech Rural Workforce Roundtable and the Select Oklahoma Conference on Economic Development. The company sponsored the Tulsa Renewable Business Alliance Annual Summit in September and attended the Port Muskogee Business Industry Awards in October. Our managing director, John Riesenberg, recently represented Stardust Power at the State Chamber of Oklahoma fly-in in Washington, D.C. Turning to upcoming milestones, we are moving towards some very exciting and potentially transformative milestones for the company. breaking ground at the Muskogee site and starting major construction for phase one, completing the FEL restudy or FID phase, which will determine how much the project will cost and build to roll out. It is an exciting and busy time for our team where we are all laser focused on execution and meeting these milestones on time to deliver value for our shareholders. And with that, I now turn to Uday Devaspar, our Chief Financial Officer, for his remarks on financials. Uday?