AMG Critical Materials N.V.

Good day and welcome to the AMG Earnings Q2 2021 conference call. Today's call is being recorded. At this time, I would like to turn things over to Michelle Fisher, Vice President of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Welcome to AMG's second quarter 2021 earnings call. Joining me on this call are Dr. Hein Schimmelbusch, the Chairman of the Management Board and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Jackson Dunkel, the Chief Financial Officer, and Mr. Eric Jackson, the Chief Operating Officer. AMG's second quarter 2021 earnings press release issued earlier today is on AMG's website. Today's call will begin with a review of the second quarter 2021 business highlights by Dr. Schimmelbusch. Mr. Dunkel will comment on AMG's financial results, and Mr. Jackson will discuss operations. At the completion of Mr. Jackson's remarks, Dr. Schimelbusch will comment on strategy and outlook. We will then open the call to take your questions. Before I pass the call to Dr. Schimelbusch, I would like to comment on forward-looking statements. This conference call could contain forward-looking statements about AMG Advanced Metallurgical Group. Forward-looking statements are not historical facts but may include statements concerning AMG's plans, expectations, future revenues or performance, financing needs, plans and intentions related to acquisitions, AMG's competitive strengths and weaknesses, reserves, financial position, and future operations and development, AMG's business strategy and the trends AMG anticipates in in the industries and the political and legal environment in which it operates, and other similar or different information that is not historical information. When used in this conference call, the words expects, believes, anticipates, Plans, may, will, should, and similar expressions and the negatives thereof are intended to identify forward-looking statements. By their very nature, forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, and risks exist that any predictions, forecasts, or similar projections contained by such forward-looking statements will not be achieved. These forward-looking statements speak only as the date of this conference call. AMG expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement contained herein to reflect any change in AMG's expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions, or circumstances on which any forward-looking statement is based. I will now pass the floor to Dr. Schimmelbusch, AMG's Chairman of the Management Board and Chief Executive Officer.

Thank you, Michelle. With regard to COVID, active cases at AMG have receded to a very low level. However, it is with our deepest regret that I have to inform you that AMG experienced its first COVID-related fatality. We continue to apply all safety measures at our disposal with the highest degree of attention in order to ensure our employees are working in the lowest risk environment possible. All three of AMG's reporting segments performed well in Q2, and global demand for our products continued to strengthen throughout the first half of 2021. In 2007, we introduced AMG to the public markets as a producer of critical materials. The real meaning of criticality has become more apparent over time. And in particular, materials associated with electricity storage are now perceived as especially critical because increased electricity storage is required in order to enable higher utilization of renewable energy production. All of AMG's strategic projects cluster in our clean energy material segment and are proceeding as planned. Each of these projects is oriented towards growing our production of electricity storage materials or increasing our footprint in the circular economy. AMG's vanadium second spent catalyst recycling facility in Sainsville, Ohio, the largest capital project of AMG, AMG has undertaken to date, is scheduled to come in on time and on budget. AMG Lithium has signed the engineering contract and has purchased the site and long-term lead items for the battery-grade lithium hydroxide refinery in Bitterfeld, Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany. After extensive tests, a new plant to produce vanadium oxide and vanadium electrolyte materials from spent catalyst is under construction at EMG Titanium and Alloys and Coatings in Nürnberg, Germany. AMG Engineering is building AMG's first industrial battery, a hybrid lithium-venadium redox flow battery system for use in one of our operating units to flatten production-driven spikes in electricity demand and thereby reduce CO2 emissions and energy costs. The market potential for this battery concept is very large. I would now like to pass the floor to Jackson Dunkel, AMG's Chief Financial Officer. Jackson.