Press release

GRST forms Joint Venture with Chairman of Realtek to Spearhead Adoption of Ultra-green, Water-based Manufacturing of Lithium-ion Batteries

Hong Kong, July 6, 2021 – GRST, the Hong Kong technology start-up behind the world’s first water-based manufacturing technology for high-performance lithium-ion batteries and Grand Prix winner at the International Exhibition of Invention Geneva 2019, has formed a joint venture with the Chairman of Realtek Semiconductor Corporation (TPE:2379), Nan Hung Yeh, to spearhead the adoption of next-generation lithium-ion batteries that are not only significantly cleaner to produce and recycle, but are also cheaper.

GRST’s WATMAR³ ultra-green, water-based manufacturing technology for lithium-ion batteries releases up to 40% less greenhouse gases during manufacturing and up to 80% during recycling, compared to current industry practices.

This will help many countries reach their carbon neutrality goals, given that lithium-ion battery demand is expected to grow tenfold by 2029, according to market intelligence firm Roskill(1).

With WATMAR³ technology, lithium-ion battery manufacturers no longer have to rely on highly toxic, polluting, and expensive NMP solvent and PVdF binder in their cathode production. Instead, they can obtain a license for GRST’s WATMAR³ technology, which uses water as an affordable, clean solvent and includes GRST’s proprietary water-soluble binder. This will give battery manufacturers a competitive edge in an increasingly crowded international market.

The joint venture with Mr. Yeh, of which GRST holds a 65% share, will license GRST’s patented WATMAR³ technology to lithium-ion battery manufacturers based in China and demonstrate the groundbreaking technology in its own giga-factories. The joint venture has already signed an agreement with Jiashan County in Zhejiang Province to build the world’s greenest lithium-ion battery giga-factory using WATMAR³ technology. Its first batteries to be manufactured via water-based technology are expected to roll out by late 2022.

GRST will transfer its WATMAR³ patents for the China region to the joint venture and provide technical and operational support. Mr. Yeh, who helped build the world’s sixth largest fabless semiconductor company out of Taiwan's “Silicon Valley”, will focus on bringing the WATMAR³ technology to the China market.

In the long run, GRST hopes to facilitate greener industry practices globally by pulling down the barriers that international manufacturers of electric vehicles, electronics devices, and energy storage systems face to produce and recycle their batteries cleanly.

“WATMAR³ water-based manufacturing of lithium-ion batteries have worked well in pilot projects for mini-buses, air-conditioning systems, and consumer electronics. We now plan to spearhead mass adoption of WATMAR³ technology in more applications, beginning with electric two-wheelers, power tools, and energy storage systems using batteries from our first giga-factory,” said Justin Hung, CEO of GRST. “All our batteries will be 100% trackable to facilitate future recycling.”

WATMAR³ technology has been certified for use in electric vehicles, consumer electronics, mining products, and marine products.

About GRST

GRST is a technology company with strong research capabilities in water-based manufacturing and recycling solutions of lithium-ion batteries. Our award-winning, patented WATMAR³ technology creates high-performance lithium-ion batteries at lower costs and lower GHG emissions. For more information, please visit grst.com