Ascend Elements Recognized for Reducing Carbon Emissions in the 2024 Automotive D.R.I.V.E Honours

Company recognized by Reuters Events alongside SK On and Polestar for “driving sustainability, zero emissions and net-zero goals.” Ascend Elements was recognized in the Reducing Emissions category of the 2024 Automotive D.R.I.V.E. Honours in Detroit on October 21, 2024. The awards competition is produced by Reuters Events to recognize companies driving sustainability, zero emission and […]

Advanced Graphite Recycling: Ascend Elements and Orbia Selected for $125 Million Cost-Sharing Grant from U.S. Department of Energy

Federal funds to support construction of U.S. infrastructure for the recovery and purification of graphite from used lithium-ion batteries. Ascend Elements and Koura Global, an Orbia company, were selected Friday to receive a $125 million cost-sharing grant from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains. The grant is part of […]

AE Elemental Opens Advanced Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling Facility in Poland

EV battery industry leaders and local officials joined Elemental Strategic Metals and Ascend Elements in Zawiercie, Poland to celebrate the grand opening of Europe’s newest lithium-ion battery recycling facility. WESTBOROUGH, Mass., USA and ZAWIERCIE, Poland (19 September, 2024) — AE Elemental, a joint venture of U.S.-based Ascend Elements and Poland-based Elemental Strategic Metals, today celebrated […]

New Visions of Our Apex 1 Campus

As construction of America’s first commercial-scale pCAM manufacturing plant continues, our engineers and artists are re-imagining the future state of the 150-acre campus.

Battery Recycling ≠ Circularity

The terms “circularity” and “closed loop” are often used to describe battery recycling processes like pyrometallurgy and hydrometallurgy, but these traditional recycling processes are just the first steps in any round-trip journey of battery materials. Ascend Elements CEO Mike O’Kronley discusses EV battery circularity

The Boston Globe Names Ascend Elements Co-Founders to Tech Power Players 50

Ascend Elements co-founders Eric Gratz, Ph.D. and Yan Wang, Ph.D. have been named to the third annual Tech Power Players 50, a list of the most influential – and interesting – people in the New England technology scene, as ranked by The Boston Globe’s business journalists and an
external advisory.

2023 Rewind: Looking Back on a Transformational Year

2023 has been a transformational year at Ascend Elements — from the grand opening of North America’s largest EV battery recycling facility to a $1B contracted sale of sustainable pCAM for use in American-made electric vehicles.

Orbia’s Koura and Ascend Elements to Explore Joint Commercialization of Advanced Graphite Recycling Technology in the United States

A photo of a man loading a used EV battery onto a conveyor belt.

Patented Hydro-to-Anode® Graphite Recycling Technology Produces 99.9% Pure Graphite from Used Lithium-ion Batteries WESTBOROUGH, Mass., (October 17, 2023) — Ascend Elements, a U.S.-based manufacturer of sustainable battery materials, and Orbia’s Fluorinated Solutions business, Koura, one of the world’s largest producers of fluoroproducts and technologies, today agreed to explore joint commercialization of the patented Hydro-to-Anode® graphite […]

Ascend Elements Wins Silver at 2023 Edison Awards

Company recognized in the Clean Energy category at prestigious celebration of innovation. Congratulations to our co-founder Eric Gratz, Ph.D. and his sustainable cathode engineering team for taking home the Silver Award for Clean Energy at the 2023 Edison Awards. Amazing innovations by Infinitum (Gold prize) and Qnergy (Bronze) were also recognized in the Clean Energy category. Notable winners from other categories included American Honda Motor Company, […]

Ascend Elements Named to Fast Company’s Annual List of the World’s Most Innovative Companies for 2023

Ascend Elements has been named to Fast Company’s prestigious annual list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies for 2023. The company is ranked No. 3 in the Energy and Sustainability category.

2022: A Year of Growth and Innovation

The people of Ascend Elements accomplished great things in 2022. We started the year as Battery Resourcers with about 60 employees and we are ending the year as Ascend Elements with more than 170 team members! Take a look back at the past 12 months.

Ascend Elements Secures $300 Million in Funding

Ascend Elements, a U.S.-based engineered materials and lithium-ion battery recycling company, today announced it has secured $300 million in equity and debt financing, including $200 million in Series C equity investments from an international group of strategic and financial investors.

Ascend Elements Begins Construction of Apex 1 in Southwestern Kentucky

Ascend Elements began construction of its largest electric vehicle battery recycling and engineered materials manufacturing facility with a ceremonial groundbreaking today. Leaders of the fast-growing startup were joined by Gov. Andy Beshear, local business and community leaders, and EV battery industry executives during the midday

SK ecoplant Invests $50 Million in Ascend Elements

SK ecoplant’s $50 million investment will help accelerate the commercialization of Ascend Elements’ innovative Hydro-to-Cathode™ direct precursor synthesis technology, which quickly and efficiently transforms recycled lithium-ion batteries and manufacturing scrap into high-performance, customized EV battery cathode precursor and cathode active materials.

Ascend Elements Co-Founders and Worcester Polytechnic Institute Win AUTM Better World Award

WPI's Yan Wang

Congratulations to Worcester Polytechnic Institute’s Todd Keiller and Ascend Elements co-founders Prof. Yan Wang and Eric Gratz for winning AUTM’s Better World Project award for 2022! This award program highlights the global impact of research commercialization and the vital role that technology transfer plays in that process. With a record-breaking 1,000 votes, Drs. Wang and Gratz won for their lithium-ion battery recycling process […]

Ascend Elements to Produce Premium Cathode Active Materials for Navitas Systems

Photo of Reclaimed Battery Metals and Cathode Material

WESTBOROUGH, Mass. (January 31, 2022) — Ascend Elements, the vertically integrated lithium-ion battery recycling and engineered-materials company previously known as Battery Resourcers, today announced it has entered into a contract with Navitas Systems, a U.S. leader in comprehensive energy storage solutions and a U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) contractor. According to the contract, U.S.-based Ascend […]

Ascend Elements Featured on Automotive News TV

Mike O'Kronley

An Automotive News TV segment featured Ascend Elements on January 25, 2022. First Shift host, Tom Worobec, explained automakers plan to spend $515 billion over the next 5 to10 years to build battery powered vehicles. This leads to the question of what will happen to used batteries and waste from the battery production process.   In […]

NPR Member Station WBUR Boston Visits Ascend Elements

WBUR Boston

WBUR Boston’s Bruce Gellerman visited Ascend Elements in Westborough, Mass. recently for an in-depth segment on lithium-ion battery recycling.  The segment begins by identifying the important elements needed in electric vehicles, as well as the supply chain challenges that go along with them.   Ascend Elements co-founders Yan Wang and Eric Gratz were featured in the […]

The Spirit and Meaning of Ascend Elements

Jars Li carbonate-Ni sulfate-Co sulfate-Cathode_small

It’s not easy changing a company name. Between branding, signage, trademarks, banking, legal and IT system updates, there’s a lot of time and effort involved in it. So, you can bet we had some very good reasons to change our name to Ascend Elements. While the name Battery Resourcers served us well for several years, […]

Battery Resourcers Changes Company Name to Ascend Elements with Comprehensive Rebrand

WESTBOROUGH, Mass. (January 19, 2022) —Battery Resourcers, a vertically integrated lithium-ion battery recycling and engineered materials company, today changed its name to Ascend Elements as part of a comprehensive brand refresh and website redesign. The new name is inspired by the company’s innovative technology, which reclaims critical battery elements in discarded batteries and scrap and […]

Battery Resourcers Earns a Place on the ‘2022 Global Cleantech 100 List’

Battery Resourcers, a vertically integrated lithium-ion battery recycling and engineered-materials company, was recently named to the annual Global Cleantech 100 list. The Cleantech Group considers the 100 companies on the list to be the top innovators in the climate tech space, “with the technologies and determination to take us from commitments to actions in the […]

Battery Resourcers to Open North America’s Largest Lithium-ion Battery Recycling Facility by August

COVINGTON, Ga. (January 5, 2022) — Battery Resourcers, a vertically integrated lithium-ion battery recycling and engineeredmaterials company, today announced plans to open a commercial-scale, lithium-ion battery recycling facility in Covington, Ga. When the 154,000-square-foot facility is fully operational in August 2022, it will be North America’s largest battery recycling facility with capacity to process 30,000 […]

Battery Resourcers Named ‘2021 Rocket Ship Climate Tech Company of the Year’

Battery Resourcers, a startup developing a closed-loop process for recycling and manufacturing lithium-ion battery materials, was named the 2021 Rocket Ship Climate Tech Company of the Year by the New England Venture Capital Association on Thursday, Dec. 2. [Note: On January 19, 2022, Battery Resourcers changed its name to Ascend Elements.] Presented at the 9th […]

Battery Resourcers raises $70M to grow closed-loop battery supply chain

Battery Resourcers, a startup that’s developing a closed-loop approach to lithium-ion battery materials, has raised $70 million in mid-round funding to scale its commercial operations across two continents. [Note: On January 19, 2022, Battery Resourcers changed its name to Ascend Elements.] The company, which is based in Worcester, Massachusetts, doesn’t just recycle batteries. It has […]

Battery Resourcers announces new site expansions

With a strategic facility conversion, paired with multiple expansions, the battery material and manufacturing company has increased its processing capacity for battery production. [Note: On January 19, 2022, Battery Resourcers changed its name to Ascend Elements.] WORCESTER, Mass., Aug. 24, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Battery Resourcers, a vertically integrated lithium-ion battery recycling and manufacturing company, today […]

Kelly Kay Joins Board of Directors

Worcester, Mass. (July 22, 2021) Battery Resourcers, a vertically integrated lithium-ion battery recycling and manufacturing company, today announced the appointment of Kelly Kay to its board of directors. Ms. Kay currently serves as executive vice president, chief financial officer and chief diversity & inclusion officer at the Toyota Research Institute (TRI) in Los Altos, Calif. […]

Prologue, Honda’s first electric SUV, is coming to market in 2024

Aria Alamalhodaei June 28, 2021 Honda said Monday it will sell its first electric SUV in North America in early 2024, part of the automaker’s push to shift away from gas-powered vehicles before the middle of the decade. The new car’s name, Prologue, is meant to signify the beginning of what the company called its […]

Battery Resourcers Raises $20 Million From Global Industry Leaders

Battery Resourcers, a vertically integrated lithium-ion battery recycling and manufacturing company, recently completed a $20 million Series B equity round with financing led by Orbia Ventures, the venture capital arm of the multinational Orbia, and participation from other investors including At One Ventures, TDK Ventures, TRUMPF Venture, Doral Energy-Tech Ventures and Jaguar Land Rover’s InMotion […]

Battery Resourcers Signs Agreement with Honda to Recycle Lithium-ion Batteries

WORCESTER, Mass., June 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Battery Resourcers, a vertically integrated lithium-ion battery recycling and manufacturing company, today announced an agreement with American Honda Motor Co. to recycle Honda & Acura Electric Vehicles (EV) batteries. [Note: On January 19, 2022, Battery Resourcers changed its name to Ascend Elements.] The safe and affordable recycling of […]

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