EQS-News: DEG Impulse Development Support

ASX Release / 14 April 2026

DEG Impulse Development Support

EcoGraf Limited (“EcoGraf” or “the Company”) (ASX: EGR; FSE: FMK) is pleased to announce it has advanced an application for co-funding with DEG Impulse, a subsidiary of the German development finance institution DEG and part of the KfW Group, to support community development initiatives for  the Epanko Graphite Project in Tanzania (“Epanko Project”).

The application has been submitted under the develoPPP program and follows the initial meeting with DEG Impulse in Frankfurt (refer KfW IPEX-Bank Debt Financing Program and Due Diligence Update for Epanko dated 8 December 2025). As previously announced, EcoGraf has mandated KfW IPEX-Bank to arrange a senior secured loan facility of up to US$105 million for the Epanko Project under the German Untied Loan Guarantee (UFK) scheme.

The Company has successfully held further meetings at its Epanko Project in Tanzania with Mr Daniel Thomann, Director Support Programmes from DEG Impulse, and key members of the Company’s Tanzanian team.  develoPPP is a program of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) that co-funds private-sector projects delivering sustainable social and environmental outcomes.

The site visit included inspections of key development areas associated with Stage 1 of the Epanko Project (73,000 tonnes per annum graphite concentrate capacity), along with a detailed review of a range of ongoing and planned community development initiatives.  The Company’s develoPPP application includes a range of initiatives aligned with its Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) and broader community development strategy, including:

• Resettlement village development, including potable water supply and treatment systems, and solar power systems for resettlement housing
• Education infrastructure, including schools, sanitation facilities, teacher housing and associated upgrades
• Community health centre, including construction of staff housing and sanitation infrastructure
• Community and education programs and facilities, including:
  - Vocational and skills training programs: aligned with livelihood restoration and mine workforce development
  - Native plant nursery and flora conservation programs
  - Local enterprise development
  - Waste and recycling management facilities
  - Environmental restoration initiatives

The Company is in the final stages of preparing its submission for the develoPPP grant, with a proposed project commencement date of 1 July 2026, subject to grant approval.

These initiatives form part of EcoGraf’s commitment to delivering long-term, sustainable benefits to host communities, alongside project development undertaken in accordance with International Finance Corporation (IFC) Performance Standards and the World Bank Equator Principles, consistent with its project financing strategy and mandate with KfW IPEX-Bank.
 

Various photos of Mr Daniel Thomann, Director Support Programmes from DEG Impulse with the Epanko team and District officials during the site visit.
 

This announcement is authorised for release by Andrew Spinks, Managing Director.

For further information, please contact:

INVESTORS 

Andrew Spinks  

Managing Director 

T: +61 8 6424 9002

Forward looking statements

Various statements in this announcement constitute statements relating to intentions, future acts and events. Such statements are generally classified as “forward looking statements” and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause those future acts, events and circumstances to differ materially from what is presented or implicitly portrayed herein. The Company gives no assurances that the anticipated results, performance or achievements expressed or implied in these forward-looking statements will be achieved.

Production targets

The information in this announcement relating to production targets and financial information derived from the production targets for the Epanko Project is based on the updated Bankable Feasibility Study released on 25 February 2026. The Company confirms that all material assumptions underpinning the production targets and forecast financial information derived from the production targets set out in the announcement dated 25 February 2026 continue to apply and have not materially changed.

About EcoGraf

EcoGraf is building a vertically integrated battery anode materials business to produce high purity graphite products for the lithium-ion battery and advanced manufacturing markets. Over US$30 million has been invested to date to create a highly attractive graphite business which includes:

• Epanko Graphite Mine in Tanzania;

• Mechanical Shaping Facility in Tanzania; 

• EcoGraf HFfree^® Purification Facilities located in close proximity to the electric vehicle, battery and anode manufacturers; and

• EcoGraf HFfree^® Purification technology to support battery anode recycling.   

In Tanzania, the Company is developing the TanzGraphite natural flake graphite business, commencing with the Epanko Graphite Project, to provide a long-term, scalable supply of feedstock for EcoGraf^® battery anode material processing facilities, together with high quality large flake graphite products for specialised industrial applications.

In addition, the Company is undertaking planning for its Mechanical Shaping Facility in Tanzania, which will process natural flake graphite into spherical graphite (“SpG”). This mechanical micronising and spheronising is the first step in the conversion of high-quality flake graphite concentrate into battery grade anode material used in the production of lithium-ion batteries.

Using its environmentally superior EcoGraf HFfree^® purification technology, the Company will upgrade the SPG to produce 99.95%C high performance battery anode material to supply electric vehicle, battery and anode manufacturers in Asia, Europe and North America.

Battery recycling is critical to improving supply chain sustainability and the Company’s successful application of the EcoGraf HFfree^®   purification process to recycle battery anode material provides it with a unique ability to support customers to reduce CO₂ emissions and lower battery costs.

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