Equity Compensation Awards

6 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2024

Share-Based Payment Arrangement [Abstract]

Equity Compensation Awards

15. Equity Compensation Awards

The Company has established the 2021 Retention Plan (“the Retention Plan”) to issue shares in the effort to retain key executives, directors, and employees. The Retention Plan allows for several different types of awards to be granted, including but not limited to, restricted share units and restricted share awards, collectively referred to as “share awards”. Share awards generally have the same expense characteristics under US GAAP and generally vest over a four-year period at a rate of 25% per annum.

Under the Retention Plan, the Company is authorized to issue shares of common stock to employees and non-employees up to ten percent (10%) of the total number of shares of common stock outstanding as of December 31, 2022, on a fully diluted basis. The Company adjusts the authorized shares under the plan each December 31, while the Retention Plan remains in effect. During the three months ended December 31, 2024, the Company granted 5.8 million share awards.

The table below reflects the share award activity for the period ended December 31, 2024:

	Units			Weighted- Average Grant Date Fair Value per Unit
Unvested share awards at June 30, 2024		3,428,604		$	5.02
Granted		185,742			1.00
Vested		(410,504	)		4.10
Forfeitures		(26,875	)	$	5.22
Unvested share awards at September 30, 2024		3,176,967		$	4.90
Granted		5,822,024			0.96
Vested		(924,430	)		2.43
Forfeitures		(21,770	)	$	6.76
Unvested awards at December 31, 2024		8,052,791		$	2.33

As awards are granted, stock-based compensation equivalent to the fair market value of the underlying common stock on the date of grant is expensed over the requisite service period, generally four years with a maximum contractual term of ten years, using the graded vesting attribution method as acceptable under ASC 718, “Compensation-Stock Compensation.” The Company accounts for forfeitures as they occur. The fair value of share awards that vested during the quarter ended December 31, 2024 totaled $1.0 million.

The Company recognized stock-based compensation expense of $9.5 million and $7.7 million for the six months ended December 2024 and 2023, respectively. As of December 31, 2024 and June 30, 2024, the equity compensation liability totaled nil and $0.4 million related to warrants and RSUs awarded to officers of the Company, respectively, where the performance target had not yet been achieved by employees and officers and therefore the number of warrants and RSUs underlying the awards was not yet fixed.

As of December 31, 2024, there were approximately $20.6 million of unamortized expenses relating to outstanding equity compensation awards to be recognized over a remaining weighted-average period of 3.2 years.

AMERICAN BATTERY TECHNOLOGY COMPANY

Notes to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements

(unaudited)

The table below presents the stock-based compensation expense per respective line item on the condensed consolidated statements of operations for the six months ended December 31:

	2024		2023
Cost of goods sold	$	267,449	$	-
General and administrative		6,836,740		4,083,070
Research and development		2,295,427		2,659,061
Exploration		102,417		949,380
Total stock-based compensation	$	9,502,030	$	7,691,511

Executive officers and selected other key employees are eligible to receive common share performance-based awards, as determined by the Board of Directors and CEO. The payouts, in the form of share awards, vary based on the degree to which corporate operating objectives are met. These performance-based awards typically include a service-based requirement, which is generally four-years.