Union Power Metals Pivots to Manganese for Europe's Battery Boom

VANCOUVER, BC – May 04, 2026 – In a decisive strategic pivot, Nuclear Vision Limited has officially shed its name and former identity, re-emerging today as Union Power Metals Corporation. The rebranding, effective immediately, signals a focused charge into Europe’s rapidly expanding battery materials sector, with the company staking its future on developing manganese projects in Slovakia.

The company’s shares are expected to begin trading on the Canadian Securities Exchange under the new ticker symbol UPPR on May 6, 2026. This move is more than a simple name change; it represents a fundamental shift in corporate strategy, aligning the junior explorer with the immense geopolitical and economic currents driving the global energy transition.

“The transition to Union Power Metals represents a defining step forward for the Company,” stated Chief Executive Officer Derrick Dao in a press release. “Our new identity reflects a clear strategic focus on building a meaningful manganese platform in Slovakia at a time when Europe is actively seeking to secure domestic sources of critical minerals.”

Europe's Critical Minerals Scramble

Union Power Metals’ strategic pivot is timed to intersect with a continent-wide scramble for supply chain security. The European Union has identified manganese, particularly high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate (HPMSM), as a strategic raw material essential for its decarbonization goals. With the EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) now in effect, the bloc has set ambitious targets to source 10% of its strategic minerals from domestic extraction by 2030.

Currently, Europe is almost entirely dependent on imports for battery-grade manganese, with China dominating an estimated 96% of global HPMSM production. This stark dependency has created a significant vulnerability as Europe’s automotive industry accelerates its shift to electric vehicles (EVs). Manganese is a key component in the cathodes of dominant battery chemistries like nickel-cobalt-manganese (NMC) and is central to emerging, lower-cost technologies such as lithium-manganese-iron-phosphate (LMFP).

Industry forecasts project that demand for manganese in batteries could increase more than eight-fold this decade. Union Power Metals is betting that its Slovakian assets can help fill this looming supply gap, positioning itself as a potential domestic supplier to the continent's burgeoning network of battery gigafactories.

A Strategic Bet on Slovakian Carbonates

The cornerstone of the company's new strategy is a pair of manganese projects in Slovakia: Svabovce and Michalova. Acquired in early 2026, these projects collectively represent what could be the largest package of domestic manganese resources within the European Union. Based on historical data from the Slovak State Geological Institute, the projects hold a combined, non-compliant resource estimate of over 24 million tonnes of manganese ore.

While these historical figures require modern verification under NI 43-101 standards—a process the company plans to undertake—the geology of the deposits offers a significant potential advantage. The manganese is hosted in carbonate form, which may allow for a more direct and less carbon-intensive processing path. Unlike oxide ores that often require energy-intensive reduction roasting, carbonate ores can be suitable for direct acid leaching to produce the high-purity manganese products demanded by the battery industry.

Strategically, the projects are located in the heart of Europe's automotive and battery manufacturing hub, within 300 kilometers of major facilities, including the Gotion-InoBat gigafactory in Šurany, Slovakia, and Volvo's planned EV plant in Košice. This proximity could translate into significant logistical and cost advantages if the projects advance to production.

Union Power Metals has outlined a near-term plan to advance the assets, including resource confirmation drilling, metallurgical testing, and engineering studies aimed at producing a compliant resource estimate by early 2027.

The Competitive Landscape and Diversified Strategy

Union Power Metals is not entering an empty field. The most advanced European manganese player is Euro Manganese Inc., which is developing the Chvaletice project in the neighboring Czech Republic. Chvaletice is a unique waste-to-value project focused on reprocessing manganese from old mine tailings. It has already been designated a "Strategic Project" under the CRMA, giving it access to streamlined permitting and potential funding.

The presence of an established competitor highlights the intense interest in European manganese, but Union Power Metals' hard-rock exploration and development approach offers a different path to market. Success will depend on its ability to quickly prove up its resource and demonstrate a viable, cost-effective processing flowsheet.

Despite the sharp focus on manganese, the company is not entirely abandoning its energy roots. It will retain and continue to advance its UA92 uranium project in Botswana. This large-scale exploration venture in the Karoo Basin keeps a foothold in the nuclear energy sector, which is experiencing a renaissance driven by global decarbonization efforts and the energy demands of AI. This diversified approach provides shareholders with continued exposure to the broader energy security theme while the company's primary efforts are channeled into the European battery supply chain.

To ensure its new narrative reaches the market, the company has also launched a significant investor awareness campaign, engaging Equitrend Data Inc. for an initial three-month, US$350,000 digital marketing push. This aggressive promotional effort underscores the urgency and commitment behind its strategic transformation, as it seeks to capture the attention of investors focused on the critical minerals space.

By renaming itself Union Power Metals, the company has made its mission explicit: to power the European Union's green transition from within. The path from exploration to production is long and fraught with risk, but the company is now positioned at the epicenter of one of the most significant structural shifts in modern industry.