Aqua Metals reported a net loss of $4.5 million for the second quarter ended June 30, 2026, compared to a $6.8 million loss in the prior year period. The company advanced its phased commercialization plan for Headwaters ARC, moving into final site-specific diligence and negotiations for a Midwest facility near six major LFP gigafactories. Aqua Metals continues to validate its technology with over 5,000 cumulative operating hours at its demonstration plant and maintains active partnerships including agreements with 6K Energy and Westwin Elements. The company remains debt-free as it prepares for Phase 1 execution, which focuses on recovering copper, aluminum, and black mass from LFP battery materials using commercially proven preprocessing equipment before integrating AquaRefining™ technology in Phase 2 to produce battery-grade lithium carbonate and iron phosphate. Aqua Metals operates in the critical minerals processing industry, commercializing technologies to recover and refine metals from spent batteries.