News: NMT UPDATE 1-Australia's Neometals inks vanadium supply deal with Glencore

(Adds details of supply deal in paragraphs 2-3, MD comment in paragraph 4, vanadium usage in paragraph 5)

July 12 (Reuters) - Australia's Neometals (NMT) said on Wednesday one of its indirectly-owned entity signed an agreement with Glencore GLEN.L to supply all saleable vanadium bearing products from its project in Finland for an initial period of five years.

The deal includes sale and delivery of all saleable vanadium bearing products to the Swiss commodity trader produced by Novana Oy - a unit of Recycling Industries Scandinavia AB - in which Neometals holds 72.5% stake, while Critical Metals holds the rest.

The Perth-based battery materials producer said delivery period for the five-year deal will start on Jan. 1, 2026 and will extend in two-year increments, unless parties do not renew the agreement.

"The offtake agreement further emphasises the anticipated future need for high purity material in the market," Neometals Managing Director Chris Reed said in a statement.

Vanadium, traditionally used to strengthen steel, is now employed as a component in batteries to store large amounts of power from renewable energy sources and is widely viewed as an up-and-coming industrial solution for renewable energy providers looking to scale up.