Altech Batteries has officially ended its CERENERGY battery project and terminated its strategic partner search, responding to ASX queries about the timing of its disclosures following an unauthorized announcement by a related entity.
- Board resolved to discontinue CERENERGY project on 31 July 2026
- Strategic partner search ended after talks with European conglomerate ceased
- Unauthorized announcement by Altech Advanced Materials AG preceded official disclosure
- Trading halt requested after market open due to after-hours information receipt
- ATC commits to improved disclosure procedures and confirms compliance with Listing Rules
Board Decision to End CERENERGY Project
Altech Batteries Ltd (ASX:ATC) has confirmed that its Board formally resolved to terminate the strategic partner search program and discontinue the CERENERGY® battery project on 31 July 2026 at 11:35 am AEST. This decision followed the cessation of discussions with a European industrial conglomerate on 27 July, which had been the primary focus of the partner search.
The discontinuation reflects the Board’s assessment that the likelihood of successfully funding and operating the project had become too low to justify further costs. The project entity, Altech Batteries GmbH, is jointly owned by ATC (75%) and Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft (25%), with ongoing discussions regarding its liquidation still unresolved at the time of the announcement.
Premature Announcement by Related Entity
Complicating the disclosure timeline, Altech Advanced Materials AG (AAM), a separate entity holding approximately 25% of ATC’s issued capital, published an announcement about the project’s discontinuation on the Deutsche Börse Group’s website at 10:40 pm AWST on 30 July 2026 without ATC’s authorisation. ATC stated it did not provide or approve this release, which was understood to be AAM fulfilling its own disclosure obligations as a Frankfurt Stock Exchange-listed issuer.
Mr Hansjoerg Plaggemars, a non-executive director of ATC and managing director of the project entity, sent draft announcements from his AAM email address to both companies late on 30 July, anticipating that ATC would formalise the announcement or request a trading halt before ASX market open. However, the ATC Board had not yet met or resolved on the matter at that time.
Trading Halt Delay and Disclosure Compliance
ATC requested a trading halt at 11:27 am AEST on 31 July 2026, shortly after its Company Secretary reviewed the late-night email upon arriving at work. The company acknowledged this was after market open and attributed the delay to the absence of a procedure for handling after-hours communications. The Board convened and resolved to discontinue the project shortly after the trading halt request, with the official announcement released at 12:17 pm AEST the same day.
ATC accepted that the trading halt should have been requested before market open on 31 July but confirmed it did not seek to withhold information and that all involved parties believed the matter was being properly managed. The Quarterly Report released earlier on 31 July did not include the discontinuation decision as it was lodged prior to the Board resolution and could not be withdrawn in time.
Commitments to Enhanced Disclosure Procedures
In response to ASX’s inquiry, ATC confirmed compliance with Listing Rule 3.1, subject to the timing issues disclosed. To prevent recurrence, the company will implement a dedicated procedure assigning responsibility for reviewing and escalating disclosure-related communications received outside business hours. It will also monitor overseas platforms for information releases concerning ATC and require positive confirmation of any scheduled announcement before release.
The Board has authorised and approved these responses in line with ATC’s continuous disclosure policy. The episode highlights the challenges of coordinating disclosure obligations across related entities and different time zones, especially when market-sensitive information is involved.
Bottom Line?
ATC’s project discontinuation and disclosure timing issues underscore the need for tighter controls on information flow, especially involving related entities in multiple jurisdictions.
Questions in the middle?
- How will the discontinuation of the CERENERGY project impact ATC’s financial position and future strategy?
- What role did Altech Advanced Materials AG’s unauthorized announcement play in market volatility and share price decline?
- Will ATC’s new disclosure procedures effectively prevent delayed trading halt requests in the future?