First publicly disclosed drone customer follows positive testing and validation of Company's high-performance battery products within drone systems
Strategic collaboration to replace Chinese-manufactured batteries with NEO's products and deploy across Korean military procurement and solicitations
Multi-phase, recurring partnership to develop and supply high-performance battery solutions to customer's current and upcoming drone platforms
TORONTO, July 16, 2026 /CNW/ -- NEO Battery Materials Ltd. ("NEO" or the "Company") (TSXV: NBM) (OTC: NBMFF), a low-cost, silicon-enhanced battery manufacturer enabling high-performance capabilities for drones, robotics, and physical AI, is pleased to announce a defense partnership via a joint development agreement (JDA) signed on July 15, 2026, with Assetta Inc. ("Assetta" or the "Customer"), a South Korean drone and aerospace company, to develop and manufacture high-performance, non-Chinese battery products for Assetta's current and upcoming drone platforms.
The partnership represents NEO's first publicly disclosed drone customer and follows positive testing and validation of the Company's battery products within the Customer's drone systems. The strategic collaborative aim is to fully replace the Chinese-manufactured batteries used in Assetta's platforms today, advancing both companies' commitment to secure reliable supply chains free of Foreign Entities of Concern (FEOC) as defined by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA).
"Following our evaluation, Assetta intends to strategically transition our current drone batteries to NEO's products and to deploy them primarily across our Korean defense contracts and solicitations, " said Mr. Hyung-Jun Kim, CEO of Assetta. " Within South Korea and Western-allied markets, NEO uniquely provides capabilities of end-to-end battery solutions and high-quality expertise from global battery makers that can flexibly adapt to changes in performance needs to meet the evolving needs of our products."
Assetta develops and manufactures military-grade, lightweight reconnaissance VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) systems, fibre-optic drones in collaboration with LS Cable & System (a subsidiary of the Korean conglomerate, LS Group), and relevant drone components and software. Serving dual-use markets, including precision agriculture, logistics, and surveying/mapping, Assetta was recently selected for the Republic of Korea Army's inaugural Drone Combat Challenge to test and evaluate Korean-made unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and counter-UAS (cUAS) technologies for battlefield deployment.