Solidion Technology Inc.: Form 10-Q for the period ended Jun 30, 2024

References in this report (the “Quarterly Report”) to “we,” “us” or the “Company” refer to Solidion Technology, Inc. References to our “management” or our “management team” refer to our officers and directors. The following discussion and analysis of the Company’s financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and the notes thereto contained elsewhere in this Quarterly Report. Certain information contained in the discussion and analysis set forth below includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties.

Restatement of Previously Issued Financial Statements

The following discussion and analysis summarizes the significant factors affecting our operating results, financial condition, liquidity and cash flows as of and for the periods presented below. The following discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with our unaudited condensed consolidated and combined financial statements and the related notes thereto included in this report. This report restates amounts as of and for the quarter ended June 30, 2023, included in our Definitive Proxy Statement dated November 8, 2024. See Note 2 - “RESTATEMENT OF PREVIOUSLY ISSUED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS” in “Unaudited Condensed Consolidated and Combined Financial Statements”, for additional information. The impact of the restatement is reflected in Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations below.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. We have based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations and projections about future events. These forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions about us that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “continue,” or the negative of such terms or other similar expressions. Factors that might cause or contribute to such a discrepancy include, but are not limited to, those described in our other SEC filings.

Overview

Solidion Technology, Inc. is a Dallas, TX, USA-based advanced battery technology company focused on the development and commercialization of battery materials, components, cells, and selected module/pack technologies. Solidion is recognized as a global leader in intellectual property in both the high-capacity anode and the high-energy solid-state battery, as recognized by KnowMade, a French company that specializes in research and analysis of scientific and patent information. Solidion is uniquely positioned to offer advanced anode materials (delivering a specific capacity from 300 to 3,500+ milliampere-hours per gram mass (“mAh/g”)) as well as silicon-rich all-solid-state lithium-ion cells, anodeless lithium metal cells, and lithium-sulfur cells, each featuring an advanced polymer or hybrid solid electrolyte that is most process-friendly.

Our Technologies and Products

Anode active materials

Our products include graphite-based anode materials. What makes us be different from other manufacturers would be that the Company will have the flexibility to use raw materials from sustainable sources. In order to reach the ambitious goal of net zero greenhouse gas emission by 2050, thorough examination of the entire supply chain line can show insufficiencies. With the increasing trend of EVs on the road, proliferation of renewable energy – battery systems, the scrutiny of battery material production impacts on the environment becomes increasingly relevant. Graphite is currently indispensable as a battery anode material, dominating the vast majority of the rechargeable battery market due to its long-term cycle life and low cost of production. Synthetic graphite is currently produced almost exclusively from petroleum coke and pitch. Solidion proposes to manufacture battery-grade anode materials by introducing renewable and carbon negative biochar produced from waste biomass as alternative feedstock. By collecting dead trees, trimming, and other waste biomass, the process of creating biochar sequesters the elemental carbon and prevents the release of carbon as green-house gas through natural decomposition or wildfires. Hence the process of converting waste biomass to biochar has been shown to be carbon neutral or even negative depending on the end use of the biochar. Given that biochar when mixed into soil, can remain sequestered for scale of thousand years, it will likely remain as sequestered carbon in a sealed cell until recycled and reused, hence prolonging its sequestered state. Solidion has developed a process technology that is expected to allow cost-effective production of anode-grade graphite from this unique sustainable source. Subject to the Supply and License Agreement we entered into with G3, Solidion is allowed to manufacture graphene and graphite products for use in our battery-related products and prohibits resale of the manufactured graphene and graphite products other than after modification to create electrode materials.

Solidion has also developed a cost-effective graphene/silicon or graphene/SiOx composite anode material that enables a significantly higher energy density (for example, an expected 20-30% increase in the EV driving range) likely at a reduction in the cell cost in terms of U.S. dollars per kilowatt hour (“kWh”). Graphene has proven to be effective in resolving the battery capacity decay problem caused by repeated volume expansion/shrinkage of silicon. Solidion provides silicon-rich or SiOx-rich high-capacity anode materials that exhibit outstanding performance-to-cost ratio and aims to significantly extend the EV driving range on one battery charge. Additionally, Tesla suggested on its 2020 “Battery Day” that the best silicon anode should have low-cost silicon particles with a simple design to reduce material cost, instead of highly engineered structures such as the Chemical Vapor Deposition process (“CVD”) used by our competitors. It should also have elastic, ion-conducting polymer coating that protects these silicon particles, as well as highly elastic binder and some electrode design used in the anode to maintain structural integrity of the electrode. We also have patents that cover these desired features of silicon anode materials.

Safer Batteries

We plan to produce batteries that bridge the performance and time-to-market gaps. A drop-in solution is expected to be compatible with today’s manufacturing process and equipment. There are two paths we expect to narrow the gap between today’s battery technology and future solid-state performance: silicon-rich solid-state lithium-ion cells and solid-state lithium metal batteries, which we expect to be ready for commercialization in two to three years. Higher energy density and solid-state electrolytes are the key to the next generation of EV batteries. EV batteries must deliver a higher energy density for extended driving range, contain only safe quasi-solid or solid-state electrolytes for safety, improved designs at the material-, cell-, and module/pack-levels for fast charging, and lower anode and/or cathode costs per kilowatt-hour for lower battery costs. Our team’s 15 years of battery research and development efforts have been precisely directed at addressing these issues. Briefly speaking, we plan to produce the following batteries:

• Generation 1: Solid-state lithium-ion cells featuring a silicon-rich anode and a quasi-solid or polymer-inorganic composite electrolyte (intended to be launched in 2026).
• Generation 2: Solid-state lithium metal cells featuring a thin lithium metal anode or an initially lithium metal-free anode (“anode-less”) and a polymer-inorganic composite electrolyte (expected 2026); and
• Generation 3: Solid-state lithium-sulfur cells featuring a lithium metal anode, a sulfur or conversion-type cathode, and an in situ curable polymer-inorganic composite electrolyte (expected 2027).

In summary, Solidion has superior technologies that can be commercialized quickly to solve the EV industry’s most critical issues:

• Cost: We believe that Solidion technology can significantly lower cost/KWh of today’s batteries, accelerating adoption and enabling sustainable EVs to quickly replace internal combustion engines. We also believe that our battery costs can be lower than those of future solid-state battery-producing competitors.
• Time-to-market: Solidion’s solid-state electrolytes are process-friendly, enabling the “future” solid-state batteries to be produced “now” using existing/current lithium-ion battery production equipment. EV OEMs can utilize existing factories to qualify solid-state batteries in two to three years, rather than waiting for four to seven years. This is in stark contrast to other solid-state lithium metal battery companies that will hopefully begin mass production of all solid-state batteries in 2025-30. The implementation of the conventional solid state battery technology requires large factory infrastructure rebuilds and will take years to develop. Solidion will use existing factories, saving time to market, cost and supporting supply chain demand faster.
• Driving range: The solid-state lithium batteries and lithium-sulfur batteries potentially can provide up to a 100% increase in range for the same size battery, eliminating range anxiety.
• Safety: Our fire/flame-resistant quasi-solid and solid-state electrolytes make all types of rechargeable lithium battery safer.
• Battery charging time: Reducing the recharge time to less than 15 minutes can help drive EV adoption and reduce charging infrastructure challenges.
• Total solutions: Low costs and high performance of our batteries will make it economically viable for commercializing battery modules/packs for emergency power applications. These power systems will be capable of connecting to grids and solar/wind-based power sources and will be available for vehicle-to-home (V2H) charging.

Apart from the EV sector, Solidion is strategically exploring entry into diverse markets such as hand-held devices, energy storage systems (ESS), power tools, and e-bikes. We expect our batteries to be poised to capture substantial market shares owing to their distinct advantages, including cost-effectiveness, superior charging/discharging performance, safety features, extended cycle-life, and exceptional durability. These attributes are expected to position us for significant growth and success across multiple sectors.

Summary of Solidion’s products and stages of development

• Anode active materials:
• Graphite-based anode materials (with flexibility to choose raw materials including sustainable sources) are in the final stage of product development.
• Graphene-enhanced silicon oxide ((SiOx) anode materials) are in the final stage of product development.
• Si-rich anode materials: Small-scale manufacturing is in progress (currently 15 metric tons per annum (“MTA”). We are planning expansion to >150 MTA by 2026.

History

Honeycomb Battery Company Merger

On February 2, 2024, Nubia Brand International Corp., a Delaware corporation (“Nubia” and after the Transactions described herein, “Solidion” or “Solidion Technology, Inc.”), consummated a merger (the “Closing”) pursuant to a Merger Agreement, dated February 16, 2023 (as amended on August 25, 2023, the “Merger Agreement”), by and among Nubia, Honeycomb Battery Company, an Ohio corporation (“HBC”), and Nubia Merger Sub, Inc., an Ohio corporation and wholly-owned subsidiary of Nubia (“Merger Sub”). Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, Merger Sub merged with and into HBC (the “Merger,” and the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement, the “Transactions”), with HBC surviving such merger as a wholly owned subsidiary of Nubia, which was renamed “Solidion Technology, Inc.” upon Closing.

We received net proceeds from the Merger totaling $17,555. The Company is applying the proceeds from the Merger toward its corporate growth strategy related to the commercialization of our battery technology and the scaling of its manufacturing operations.

Equity Financing

On March 13, 2024, Solidion entered into a private placement transaction (the “Private Placement”), pursuant to a Securities Purchase Agreement (the “Subscription Agreement”) with certain institutional investors (the “Purchasers”) for aggregate gross proceeds of approximately $3.85 million, before deducting fees to the placement agent and other expenses payable by the Company in connection with the Private Placement. The net proceeds from the Private Placement were used for working capital and general corporate purposes. The Private Placement closed on March 15, 2024.

As part of the Private Placement, the Company issued an aggregate of 5,133,332 units and pre-funded units (collectively, the “Units”) at a purchase price of $0.75 per unit (less $0.0001 per pre-funded unit). Each Unit consists of (i) one share of Solidion Common Stock (or one pre-funded warrant to purchase one share of Common Stock), (ii) two Series A warrants each to purchase one share of Common Stock, and (iii) one Series B warrant to purchase such number of shares of Common Stock as determined on the reset date (as defined in the Subscription Agreement), and in accordance with the terms therein.

The reset period ended on July 2, 2024 (the “Reset Date”), with the lowest 10-day VWAP on June 28, 2024, being $0.4347. Consequently, the reset price was established at $0.3478. As a result, the Series A Warrants and Series B Warrants held by investors were reset to 22,141,701 shares and 5,749,598 shares, respectively. As of June 30, 2024, investors had exercised 0 Series A Warrants and 199,943 Series B Warrants, resulting in the issuance of 199,943 common shares.

Components of Results of Operations

Revenue

The Company is focused on commercializing and manufacturing battery materials and next-generation battery cells. Historically, and during the periods presented, we have generated minimal revenue from product samples. We do not expect to begin generating significant revenue until we complete the commercialization process and build out manufacturing capacity. Future capacity may come from joint ventures with strategic partners, sourcing third-party manufacturing from our network, or pursuing mergers and acquisitions.

Operating Expenses

Research and Development

Research and development expenses consist primarily of personnel expenses, including salaries, benefits, equipment, engineering, maintenance of facilities, data analysis, and materials.

Selling, general and, administrative

Selling, general and administrative expenses primarily consist of personnel expenses, including salaries, benefits, and stock-based compensation related to executive management, finance, legal, and human resource functions. Other costs include business development, contractor and professional services fees, audit and compliance expenses, insurance costs and general corporate expenses, such rent, office supplies and information technology costs.

Other Income (Loss)

Change in fair value of Derivative Liabilities

Change in fair value of Derivative Liabilities consists of fluctuations in the fair value of an agreement between the Company and investors facilitating future purchases of the Company’s stock by the Investor based on a Monte Carlo simulation model.

Interest Income

Interest income is derived from the Company’s operating cash account, which is periodically invested in short-term money market funds.

Interest Expense

Interest expense consists primarily of the interest on the Company’s short-term notes, and D&O insurance premium financing arrangement.

Results of Operations

The following information includes, in management’s opinion, all necessary adjustments to fairly present its results of operations for these periods. This data should be read in conjunction with Solidion’s financial statements and accompanying notes. These results of operations are not necessarily indicative of future performance.

Summary of Statements of Operations for the Three Months Ended June 30, 2024 and 2023

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Operating Expenses

Operating expenses increased by $1,900,333 for the three months ended June 30, 2024. This increase was primarily driven by professional fees, stock-based compensation, insurance, and other administrative costs associated with the Company operating as a public entity as of February 2, 2024.

Other Income (expense)

Other income increased by $24,951,334 for the three months ended June 30, 2024. This increase was largely driven by a gain of $24,966,700 due to a change in the fair value of derivative liabilities related to the Forward Purchase Agreement, and warrants related to the Private Placement financing. Additionally, there was a loss of $17,820,998 from the issuance of common stock and warrants related to the Private Placement financing.

Summary of Statements of Operations for the Six Months Ended June 30, 2024 and 2023

Operating Expenses

Operating expenses increased by $3,917,552 for the six months ended June 30, 2024. This increase was primarily driven by professional fees, stock-based compensation, insurance, and other administrative costs associated with the Company operating as a public entity as of February 2, 2024.

Other Income (expense)

Other expense increased by $1,055,868 for the six months ended June 30, 2024. This increase was largely driven by a gain of $16,784,200 due to a change in the fair value of derivative liabilities related to the Forward Purchase Agreement, and warrants related to the Private Placement financing. Additionally, there was a loss of $17,820,998 from the issuance of common stock and warrants related to the Private Placement financing.

Cash Flows

The following tables set forth a summary of our cash flows for the periods indicated

Net Cash used in Operating Activities

For the six months ended June 30, 2024, cash used in operating activities was $3,541,372. This primarily resulted from a net loss of $7,747,847, which included non-cash gains and losses, driven by a gain of $16,784,200 due to a change in the fair value of derivative liabilities related to the Forward Purchase Agreement and Private Placement warrants, and a loss of $17,820,998 from the issuance of common stock and warrants related to the Private Placement financing. These non-cash losses were added back to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities, as part non-cash adjustments that also included depreciation and amortization and stock-based compensation, totaling $2,007,965. Additionally, changes in operating assets and liabilities provided $1,161,712 of cash from operating activities.

Net Cash used in Investing Activities

For the six months ended June 30, 2024, the Company used cash of $157,834 in investing activities consisting of capitalized patent costs.

For the six months ended June 30, 2023, the Company used cash of $62,235 in investing activities consisting of capitalized patent costs.

Net Cash provided by Financing Activities

For the six ended June 30, 2024, the Company generated cash of $3,954,930 from financing activities. The Company received proceeds from Private Placement financing and convertible notes of $3,850,000 and $527,500, respectively. These increases were offset by repayment of related party advances of $911,091.

For the six months ended June 30, 2023, the Company generated cash of $1,592,095 from financing activities, consisting of capital contributions by G3.

Going Concern Considerations, Liquidity and Capital Resources

Since Solidion’s inception, the Company has experienced recurring net losses and has generated minimal sales. This raises substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Management’s ability to fund our operations and capital expenditures depends on our ability to raise additional external capital. This is subject to our future operating performance and general economic, financial, competitive, legislative, regulatory, and other conditions, some of which are beyond our control. We are currently engaged in discussions with various financing counterparties to secure sufficient capital to meet our business needs for the foreseeable future. The Company plans to finance its operations with proceeds from the sale of equity securities, government grants and loans, or debt; however, there is no assurance that management’s plans to obtain additional debt, grants or equity financing will be successfully implemented or implemented on terms favorable to the Company.

As of June 30, 2024, we had an accumulated deficit of $97,699,353. Additionally, $3,056,482 in NUBI transaction costs incurred were accrued at the Closing Date in connection with the Merger and are due to be paid within the next twelve (12) months. During the six months ended June 30, 2024, we incurred losses from operations totaling $7,747,847 and net cash used in operating activities of $3,541,372. We expect to continue to incur such losses for at least the next twelve (12) months.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

At June 30, 2024, we have no obligations, assets or liabilities which would be considered off-balance sheet arrangements. We do not participate in transactions that create relationships with unconsolidated entities or financial partnerships, often referred to as variable interest entities, which would have been established for the purpose of facilitating off-balance sheet arrangements.

We have not entered into any off-balance sheet financing arrangements, established any special purpose entities, guaranteed any debt or commitments of other entities, or entered into any non-financial agreements involving assets.

Contractual Obligations

As of June 30, 2024, our contractual obligations are as follows:

The amounts above reflect current liabilities presented on the Company’s financial statements.

At June 30, 2024, we did not have any long-term debt, capital lease obligations, operating lease obligations or long-term liabilities.

Critical Accounting Estimates

We prepare our financial statements in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, which require our management to make estimates that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the balance sheet dates, as well as the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods. To the extent that there are material differences between these estimates and actual results, our financial condition or results of operations would be affected. We base our estimates on our own historical experience and other assumptions that we believe are reasonable after taking account of our circumstances and expectations for the future based on available information. We evaluate these estimates on an ongoing basis.

We consider an accounting estimate to be critical if: (i) the accounting estimate requires us to make assumptions about matters that were highly uncertain at the time the accounting estimate was made, and (ii) changes in the estimate that are reasonably likely to occur from period to period or use of different estimates that we reasonably could have used in the current period, would have a material impact on our financial condition or results of operations. There are items within our financial statement that require estimation but are not deemed critical, as defined above. We have identified the following as our critical accounting estimate as of and for the three months ended June 30, 2024:

Forward Purchase Agreement

The Company accounts for the forward purchase agreement as either equity-classified or liability-classified instruments based on an assessment of the FPA specific terms and applicable authoritative guidance in ASC 480, and FASB ASC 815, “Derivatives and Hedging” (“ASC 815”). The assessment considers whether the FPA are freestanding financial instruments pursuant to ASC 480, meet the definition of a liability pursuant to ASC 480, and whether the FPA meets all of the requirements for equity classification under ASC 815, including whether the FPA is indexed to the Company’s own common shares and whether the FPA holders could potentially require “net cash settlement” in a circumstance outside of the Company’s control, among other conditions for equity classification. This assessment is conducted at the time of FPA issuance and as of each subsequent quarterly period end date while the FPA are outstanding.

For issued or modified FPA that meet all of the criteria for equity classification, the FPA is required to be recorded as a component of additional paid-in capital at the time of issuance. For issued or modified FPAs that do not meet all of the criteria for equity classification, the FPA are required to be recorded at their initial fair value on the date of issuance, and each balance sheet date thereafter. The Company accounts for outstanding FPA as liability-classified instruments.

The fair value of the FPA is Level 3. The determination of the fair value requires significant estimates and judgments. Please see Note 15 – Fair Value Measurements to the financial statements for the significant assumptions and estimates.

Changes in the significant assumptions and estimates could materially impact the valuation and the amounts recorded in the financial statements.

Recent Accounting Standards

In December 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-09, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures (ASU 2023-09), which requires disclosures of incremental income tax information within the rate reconciliation and expanded disclosures of income taxes paid, among other disclosure requirements. ASU 2023-09 is effective for the fiscal year beginning after December 15, 2024. Early adoption is permitted. The Company’s management does not believe the adoption of ASU 2023-09 will have a material impact on its financial statements and disclosures.

In November 2023, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2023-07, “Segment Reporting (Topic 280): Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures,” to enhance disclosures for significant segment expenses for all public entities required to report segment information in accordance with ASC 280. The standard did not change the definition of a segment, the method for determining segments or the criteria for aggregating operating segments into reportable segments. The amendments are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023, and interim periods within fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024. Retrospective adoption is required for all prior periods presented in the financial statements. The adoption is not expected to have a material impact to the Company’s financial statements or disclosures.

Management does not believe that any recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting standards, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on the Company’s financial statements.

Disclosure controls and procedures are controls and other procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed or submitted under Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed or submitted under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

Under the supervision, and with the participation, of our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, we evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), as of the end of the period covered by this report. Based on this evaluation, our chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective as of June 30, 2024 because of a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting, as further described below.

Notwithstanding the conclusion by our principal executive officer and principal financial and accounting officer that our disclosure controls and procedures as of June 30, 2024 were not effective, and notwithstanding the material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting described below, management believes that our financial statements and related financial information included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q fairly present in all material respects our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows for the periods presented in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

Material Weaknesses in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

A material weakness is defined as a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that a reasonable possibility exists that a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements would not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.

In connection with the preparation of our financial statements for the period ended June 30, 2024, we identified a material weakness in our internal control over reporting related to accounting due to an insufficient complement of qualified technical accounting and financial reporting personnel to perform control activities involving complex and/or non-routine transactions. This material weakness contributed to an additional material weakness in controls over the period end financial reporting process and preparation of financial statements not being executed timely.

These control deficiencies could have resulted in a misstatement of one or more account balances or disclosures that would result in a material misstatement of the annual or interim financial statements that would not be prevented or detected.

Management’s Plan to Remediate the Material Weaknesses

Remedial actions have been and are being implemented to address the underlying causes of the material weaknesses, including improving technical processes around non-routine or complex transactions, supplementing the technical capabilities of our accounting staff with additional contract resources and improving the documentation of the review of the accounting, presentation and disclosure of such transactions.

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

Except for the identification of the material weaknesses described above, there were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting during the quarter ended June 30, 2024, that materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

We are a smaller reporting company as defined by Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act and are not required to provide the information otherwise required under this item.