Aqua Metals Elects Susanne Meline as an Independent Director

Aqua Metals, Inc. (NASDAQ: AQMS), (“Aqua Metals” or the “Company”), which is commercializing its proprietary AquaRefining™ electrochemical lead recycling technology, today announced that Susanne Meline was appointed to the Company’s Board of Directors, increasing the number of directors to seven, as well as to the Board’s Audit Committee.

S. Shariq Yosufzai, Chairman, commented, “We are pleased to welcome Susanne to our Board.  Her experience in advising small companies regarding investment banking, legal, corporate governance, regulatory disclosure and accounting issues will be a valuable addition to our organization.”

Meline brings to Aqua Metals more than 20 years of experience advising corporate clients and their boards as well as working in the investment community.  She is a co-founder of Francis Capital Management, a value-based investment advisor focusing on small cap stocks, where she has worked since 2003.  She was previously employed as an investment banker with Houlihan Lokey, a global investment bank serving corporations, institutions, and governments worldwide.  She also practiced law in the corporate group of Jones Day, an international law firm that provides legal advisory services across multiple disciplines and jurisdictions. 

Meline is a Certified Director through the UCLA Anderson School of Management, a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) and holds a CERT Certificate in CyberSecurity Oversight for corporate directors from the NACD and Carnegie Mellon University Software Engineering Institute.  She is Audit Chair and Lead Independent Director of the clean technology company ClearSign Combustion Corporation (NASDAQ:  CLIR) and a board member of Finomial Corporation, a private financial technology company.  Ms. Meline received a B.A. in political science from UCLA, and a J.D. from the UC Hastings College of the Law.  She is an endowment committee member for the Blue Ribbon philanthropy group of the Los Angeles Music Center and former Trustee of the Contemporary Craft Museum in Los Angeles.

“I look forward to joining the Aqua Metals Board of Directors as the company continues to make progress commercializing its AquaRefining technology,” said Meline. “I am excited to bring my experience working alongside small cap companies to support Aqua Metals as it looks to grow beyond its facility in Nevada and create a world class organization.”

Steve Cotton, President and Chief Executive Officer, added, “I’m committed to partnering with Susanne and leveraging her expertise as we work towards the global expansion of AquaRefining to meet a growing demand for recycled lead.”

About Aqua Metals Aqua Metals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AQMS) is reinventing lead recycling with its patented AquaRefining™ technology. Unlike smelting, AquaRefining is a room temperature, water-based process that emits less pollution. The modular systems are intended to allow the Company to vastly reduce environmental impact and scale lead acid recycling production capacity by licensing the AquaRefining technology to partners. This would meet growing demand for lead to power new applications including stop/start automobile batteries which complement the vehicle’s main battery, Internet data centers, alternative energy applications including solar, wind, and grid scale storage. Aqua Metals is based in McCarran, NV, and has built its first recycling facility in Nevada’s Tahoe-Reno Industrial Complex. To learn more, please visit www.aquametals.com.

Contact: Alison Ziegler, Darrow Associates (201) [e-mail]