<img src="https://ml.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/9a2a92ba-a7a5-4d2f-a237-98e04f727e4d?size=2" nborder="0" align="left" hspace="5" vspace="5" title="ForgeNano_Logo_FullColor_Digital_RGB.png" alt="Forge Nano"/><ul><li>DOE-backed facility will expand to nearly 315,000 square feet, create more than 250 jobs and scale domestic battery manufacturing capacity to up to 3 GWh annually</li><li>Samsung SDI partnership brings strategic investment, manufacturing expertise and commercial support to Forge Nano’s U.S. battery manufacturing platform</li><li>Senator Ted Budd, Representative Deborah Ross, Morrisville Mayor TJ Cawley and Assistant Secretary of the Department of Energy Audrey Robertson joined Forge Nano to mark the company’s next phase of U.S. manufacturing growth </li></ul> DENVER and MORRISVILLE, N.C., Aug. 19, 2026 <a href="https://www.globenewswire.com" target="_blank">(GLOBE NEWSWIRE)</a> -- <a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/Tracker?data=YNCiroNhPp05-_rlr7nIqUK656fKZHSiaFc2NQrCLSu5y3jteq92uFD-vNNMs4Vh4CBmTD6Y28-ArWRj5qtqsgJuB_pxfzUmifd7_RO64fk=" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" title="Forge Nano, Inc.">Forge Nano, Inc.</a>, a leading U.S.-based semiconductor equipment and advanced materials company pioneering Atomic Layer Deposition (“ALD”) technology for artificial intelligence (“AI”)-era chip manufacturing and defense battery applications, which has signed an agreement to merge with Archimedes Tech SPAC Partners II Co. (“Archimedes II”) (NASDAQ: ATII), today celebrated the groundbreaking of a major expansion of its lithium-ion battery manufacturing facility in Morrisville, North Carolina. <img alt="Forge Nano executive leadership team breaks ground on its Morrisville, NC lithium-ion battery manufacturing facility alongside North Carolina Senator Ted Budd, U.S. Representative Deborah Ross, Mayor of Morrisville TJ Cawley and the Assistant Secretary of the Department of Energy Audrey Robertson." data-mce-style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" height="400" src="https://ml.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/42a740fd-7057-45f8-a33e-e3320da62ea0/dsc03501.jpg" style="display:block; margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto;" width="600" data-dpi="300" data-caption="Forge Nano executive leadership team breaks ground on its Morrisville, NC lithium-ion battery manufacturing facility alongside North Carolina Senator Ted Budd, U.S. Representative Deborah Ross, Mayor of Morrisville TJ Cawley and the Assistant Secretary of the Department of Energy Audrey Robertson." data-filename="DSC03501.jpg" /> Forge Nano executive leadership team breaks ground on its Morrisville, NC lithium-ion battery manufacturing facility alongside North Carolina Senator Ted Budd, U.S. Representative Deborah Ross, Mayor of Morrisville TJ Cawley and the Assistant Secretary of the Department of Energy Audrey Robertson. U.S. Senator Ted Budd, U.S. Representative Deborah Ross, Morrisville Mayor TJ Cawley and Assistant Secretary of the Department of Energy Audrey Robertson joined Forge Nano CEO Paul Lichty, employees, strategic partners and community leaders at the facility to mark the milestone and highlight the importance of expanding domestic battery manufacturing capacity for defense, aerospace and other critical U.S. markets. The expansion will transform Forge Nano’s existing 100,000-square-foot Morrisville operation into a manufacturing campus approaching 315,000 square feet, create more than 250 jobs in North Carolina and establish approximately 3 gigawatt-hours (“GWh”) of annual battery cell manufacturing capacity at full production. The facility is designed to address one of the most significant vulnerabilities facing the U.S. battery industry: the nation’s dependence on foreign-controlled supply chains for batteries used in applications critical to national security. Forge Nano’s Gigafactory is intended to establish a secure, U.S.-based manufacturing hub capable of supplying advanced lithium-ion batteries at scale. “Today’s groundbreaking marks an important step toward building a battery supply chain in America,” said Paul Lichty, CEO of Forge Nano. “We’re combining Forge Nano’s technology with world-class manufacturing expertise, federal support and North Carolina’s growing advanced manufacturing ecosystem to bring critical battery production to the United States. America’s Battery Gigafactory will give defense, aerospace and commercial customers access to advanced battery cells manufactured here at home, at the scale needed to compete globally.” The project is financed by up to $100 million in non-dilutive funding from the U.S. Department of Energy and reflects a collaborative effort among Forge Nano, federal and state partners and strategic industry collaborators to strengthen America’s domestic battery supply chain. “Maintaining America’s technological edge requires strategic investment in our national security and commercial interests. Forge Nano’s new Morrisville facility will strengthen U.S. battery manufacturing capabilities—advancing American leadership in critical technologies, expanding domestic production, and helping us compete with China. North Carolina’s strong workforce and business climate make it an ideal place to grow this cutting-edge industry. This partnership will strengthen our domestic manufacturing base, create new opportunities for American workers, and keep North Carolina at the forefront of innovation,” said Senator Budd. “North Carolina’s Research Triangle has long been a center for innovation, and investments like Forge Nano’s are helping translate that progress into advanced manufacturing and good-paying jobs here at home,” said Congresswoman Deborah Ross. “Expanding domestic battery production will drive economic growth, create jobs, support our clean energy transition, and strengthen America’s technology supply chain. I was proud to play a small role in bringing this expansion to life by passing the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. I look forward to seeing how Morrisville and the Triangle continue leading the next generation of American manufacturing.” “These batteries will not only serve commercial markets, but also the defense and aerospace applications on which our military depends,” said Assistant Secretary of Energy Audrey Robertson. “That is exactly the kind of manufacturing capacity our country needs. We need to build critical technologies in America. We need to support our armed forces with secure supply chains. And American companies should be able to compete and win in the industries that will define the decades ahead.” Building Domestic Battery Capacity at Scale Expansion construction is expected to begin imminently, with manufacturing equipment scheduled to be delivered over the next 2 years. Production at the facility is expected to begin in 2028. At full production, 3 GWh represents approximately 150 million battery cells per year. Depending on customer demand and product mix, that capacity could support approximately 10–20 million drone batteries, 34,000 electric military vehicles, 6 million BB-2590 radio batteries, 900 6T (Type 2) batteries, or approximately 275 energy storage system containers annually. The timing of the expansion is expected to align with new National Defense Authorization Act (“NDAA”) battery sourcing requirements taking effect in 2028, further increasing the need for secure domestic sources of advanced battery cells for defense applications. Samsung SDI Partnership Supports U.S. Reshoring A central component of Forge Nano’s U.S. battery manufacturing strategy is its strategic partnership with Samsung SDI, one of the world’s leading battery manufacturers. Samsung SDI is supporting Forge Nano in establishing and beginning operations at the Morrisville facility, providing operational and manufacturing expertise for high-throughput battery production. Once the Gigafactory is operational, Forge Nano expects to manufacture Samsung SDI battery cells alongside Forge Nano’s existing cell products in North Carolina. Samsung SDI has also entered into a conditional procurement agreement to purchase cells manufactured at the Gigafactory beginning in 2028, while Forge Nano is a contract manufacturer and an authorized distributor of Samsung SDI battery cells in the U.S. market. The companies are also working to advance the incorporation of Forge Nano’s proprietary Atomic Armor® technology into future Samsung SDI battery products. Samsung SDI further strengthened the partnership in July through a $20 million strategic investment in Forge Nano, including $10 million in Forge Nano’s Series D financing and $10 million in the company’s PIPE financing associated with its planned public listing. Investing in North Carolina’s Advanced Manufacturing Workforce Forge Nano selected North Carolina for the expansion based on the state’s growing advanced manufacturing ecosystem, its pipeline of skilled workers from universities, community colleges and technical programs, competitive state and local incentives and its strong support for companies investing in advanced U.S. manufacturing. The Morrisville location also positions Forge Nano within the Research Triangle’s deep technical and engineering talent base and provides a strong logistical position for transporting battery cells to defense, aerospace, industrial and other customers. As the Gigafactory ramps toward full production, Forge Nano expects the facility to create more than 250 jobs across advanced manufacturing, engineering, operations and technical roles. The project represents a significant investment in both domestic battery manufacturing capacity and the workforce needed to sustain that capacity over the long term. ABOUT FORGE NANO Forge Nano is a leading U.S. based semiconductor equipment and advanced materials company pioneering Atomic Layer Deposition (“ALD”) technology for AI-era chip manufacturing and defense battery applications via its platform technology, Atomic Armor. Atomic Armor is a scalable, adaptable nano-scale coating system that strengthens America’s most critical systems – at the atomic level. The superior surface coatings produced by Forge Nano’s Atomic Armor process allow partners to unlock peak performance. Learn more at https://www.forgenano.com.    Contacts: Media Contact Will McKenna Brand Communications Director, Forge Nano <a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/Tracker?data=st5m8bY2k-RiaIIpQRDoUQnZITJYOMS_DKi3k1rMKt3DIBy9_A_hyRHC-LCMpdHRdLy_rPL1HT_KQFIS5nfxLM7sP-96a2fn8bodvHAZdHA=" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" title="wmckenna@forgenano.com">wmckenna@forgenano.com</a> Investor Relations Contact Bryan Baritot Alliance Advisors IR <a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/Tracker?data=YNCiroNhPp05-_rlr7nIqZ9NfdH8G8sqIjfYyZVDRwG2GiNHuDbDvXhXeAcH2Qr9PyGc5bFQovCEY8hHQN6EgU7B2z232Z7TAhgwlnnXbMeglahkMaL2Cz8wSPn2wqWNKLc1-Mf49WatIRy-hpTPjg==" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" title="ForgeNanoIR@allianceadvisors.com">ForgeNanoIR@allianceadvisors.com</a> A photo accompanying this announcement is available at <a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/Tracker?data=b6gENKiCED0_NJSAq7HGTyawbUow9bNsyat8mrJeTpppIB35yMsE_StY6Latl5GvHvtc2Da9ZfXsbmBger2wfxKHn7FEvSlY3hLYXr0w54hG_t2kMzDifLzqtI4rysoiIltIvcqMpdY_kV6eHSp2Rw6LpfJduzbzraX4UUgaabIXtwc418LGQL_D9M8nbBMKDyWrtrji84cQi5FE0BRudcEk1HlvxGqdXlFy1pecemirpfGfAxBRjK12Qqv4WwOMGNJFAaEtD73SzEoCDHcKew==" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" title="">https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/42a740fd-7057-45f8-a33e-e3320da62ea0</a> <img alt="" src='https://ml.globenewswire.com/media/OGZlODFjZDYtOTkyZi00MTE0LTg2YTMtOTk4MmM4NDUwNTRlLTEyMDY5ODMtMjAyNi0wOC0xOS1lbg==/tiny/Forge-Nano.png' referrerpolicy='no-referrer-when-downgrade' />

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Forge Nano Breaks Ground on “America’s Battery Gigafactory” to Strengthen U.S. Defense Supply Chains

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