"Can somebody explain to me in simple terms why ESS are not...

"Can somebody explain to me in simple terms why ESS are not signing up to get customers in to get the $$$$ in the bank to stop any hostile takeover or do they want the T/O to come?"... Firstly, an offtake agreement is not money in the bank, it's an agreement to sell future production at some specified price (probably related to a reference price). If offtake rights are the raison d'être, which they are, then signing off up offtake customers is equivalent to a poison pill against any takeover right. Who wants to remove any TO premium from their share price?

Nobody, so string out any 'binding' offtake as long as possible in the hope a TO offer drops and holders get paid a TO premium instead of a dilutionary CR go-it-alone pineapple. Unless you think go it alone development, inclusive of dilution, is a better outcome because lithium prices are going through the roof. Or there is a better third alternative of offtakers buying equity at a premium and/or providing credit in advance for the offtake rights. There are various possible outcomes, just the market usually, rightly, prices in a high chance of the worst... welcome to the Lassonde developer's curse.