American Battery Technology Co.

06/03/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 06/03/2026 15:01

Management Change/Compensation (Form 8-K)

Item 5.02 Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.

On May 29, 2026, the Board of Directors (the "Board") of American Battery Technology Company (the "Company") approved a Special Performance-Based Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreement (the "Award Agreement") with Ryan Melsert, the Company's Chief Executive Officer, Chief Technology Officer, and a member of the Board. Pursuant to the Award Agreement, the Company granted Mr. Melsert 2,200,000 restricted stock units (the "Units"), with each Unit representing the right to earn, on a one-for-one basis, shares of the Company's common stock ("Common Stock"), pursuant to the American Battery Metals Corporation 2021 Equity Incentive Plan (the "Plan"). Any defined terms used but not defined herein shall have the respective meanings ascribed to such terms in the Award Agreement and Plan.

The Units are subject to performance-based conditions over a four-year performance period (the "Performance Period") beginning on May 29, 2026 (the "Grant Date") and ending on the fourth anniversary of the Grant Date. The Units will be earned, if at all, upon the Company's achievement of the following performance milestones, with each performance milestone entitling Mr. Melsert to earn 440,000 Units:

Achievement of an average Common Stock closing price of at least $10 over any consecutive 60-day trading period;
Revenue from operations and government contract reimbursements over any consecutive four quarters of at least $100 million;
Issuance of a positive Record of Decision from the NEPA Environmental Impact Statement review process for the Tonopah Flats Lithium Project;
The issuance of a positive Financial Investment Decision, or Notice to Proceed, by the Company to proceed with the execution of the Tonopah Flats Lithium Project; and
Execution of a long-term offtake agreement with a partner for the sale of products or providing of services with a total agreement value of at least $50 million.

If all five performance milestones are achieved prior to the third anniversary of the Grant Date, Mr. Melsert will earn an additional 50% of the originally granted number of Units, or an additional 1,100,000 Units (the "Bonus Units").

Upon the date a performance milestone is achieved, a prorated portion of the earned Units, including any Bonus Units, will immediately vest based on the number of completed quarters during the four-year Performance Period, with the remainder of unvested earned Units and Bonus Units continuing to vest in equal quarterly installments during the remainder of the Performance Period.

All earned Units will automatically vest upon the termination of Mr. Melsert's employment by the Company without Cause, due to Mr. Melsert's death or Disability, or upon the voluntary termination of employment with Good Reason. In addition, upon termination of employment without Cause within 12 months of a Change in Control, or the voluntary termination of employment with Good Reason within 12 months of a Change in Control, all outstanding Units shall be deemed earned and will vest in full. For the avoidance of doubt, any Units deemed earned in connection with a Change in Control will not include any Bonus Units.

Any Units that are not earned during the Performance Period will be cancelled and forfeited to the Company on the earliest to occur of (i) the fourth anniversary of the Grant Date or (ii) termination of Mr. Melsert's employment for any reason not in connection with a Change in Control. If Mr. Melsert's employment terminates prior to the fourth anniversary of the Grant Date for any reason other than termination without Cause, death, Disability, or voluntary termination with Good Reason, Mr. Melsert will forfeit all right, title and interest in the earned Units.

If dividends or other distributions are paid with respect to the Common Stock while the Units are outstanding, the dollar amount or fair market value of such dividends or distributions will be converted into additional Units, subject to the same vesting and transfer restrictions as the underlying Units.

The Units are non-transferable and may not be pledged, hypothecated, or otherwise encumbered, except by will or the laws of descent and distribution.

The foregoing description of the Award Agreement does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of the Award Agreement, a copy of which is filed as Exhibit 10.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and incorporated herein by reference.

American Battery Technology Co. published this content on June 03, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via EDGAR on June 03, 2026 at 21:01 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]