Ascend Elements to Increase U.S. Production of Lithium Carbonate By 60% With Start of New Lithium Recovery Line in 2025
New Lithium Recovery Line at Covington, Ga. Battery Recycling Facility to Produce Up to 3,000 Metric Tons of Lithium Carbonate (Li2CO3) Annually COVINGTON, Ga., (December 10, 2024) — Ascend Elements, a vertically integrated battery materials company, will begin producing >99% pure, sustainable lithium carbonate (Li2CO3) recovered from used lithium-ion batteries at its facility in Covington, […]
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.
Ascend Elements Commits to Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) Net-Zero Standard for GHG Emissions Reductions
The Science Based Target Initiative (SBTi) has recognized Ascend Elements’ commitment to set near-term and net-zero company-wide emissions reductions in line with climate science. This is the first step in the company’s decarbonization journey with SBTi.
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
Ascend Elements EV Battery Recycling Facility Certified to ISO 9001: 2015 Quality Management Standard by DQS Inc.
DQS Inc., an independent certification body, recently certified Ascend Elements’ electric vehicle (EV) battery recycling facility in Covington, Ga. to the ISO 9001:2015 standard for Quality Management Systems.
2024 Recycler of the Year: Ascend Elements Receives Top Honor at Fastmarkets Voltas Awards
Ascend Elements won the “Recycler of the Year” award at the inaugural Fastmarkets Voltas Awards on June 25 in Las Vegas. The Voltas Awards recognize and celebrate pioneering companies, leaders and innovators who have demonstrated excellence
In-depth Interview with Ascend Elements CEO Mike O’Kronley
Recycling Today Editorial Director DeAnne Toto interviews Ascend Elements CEO Mike O’Kronley on June 18, 2024 during the Battery and Critical Metals Conference in Atlanta.
Ascend Elements Pioneers U.S. Battery Materials Industry with Sustainable Cathode Materials for a Commercial Li-ion Battery Application
In a milestone for the U.S. battery materials industry, Ascend Elements recently shipped decarbonized cathode materials to Freudenberg e-Power Systems, one of the world’s leading suppliers of emissions-neutral energy solutions for heavy-duty applications.
Gov. Maura Healey Visits Ascend Elements R&D Center to Tout New Climate Tech Initiative in Massachusetts
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey and Secretary of Economic Development Yvonne Hao visited the Ascend Elements R&D Center in Westborough, Mass. on April 16.
Ascend Elements and Elemental Strategic Metals Establish AE Elemental, an Electric Vehicle Battery Recycling JV in Poland
New joint venture will own and operate an advanced Li-ion EV battery recycling facility in Zawiercie, Poland, with another planned in central Germany.
Ascend Elements Named to Fast Company’s Annual List of the World’s Most Innovative Companies of 2024
For the second year in a row, Ascend Elements has been named to Fast Company’s prestigious list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies.
Ascend Elements Raises Additional $162 Million to Build Sustainable Lithium-Ion Battery Materials in United States
Ascend Elements today announced it has raised $162 million in new equity investments. Latest funding adds to the company’s recent $542 million equity round for a 12-month funding total of $704 million
Ascend Elements “Decarbonization Path” Targets 90% Reduction in EV Battery Material Carbon Footprint By 2030
Ascend Elements can today manufacture new EV battery material at a 49% reduction in carbon emissions compared to traditional cathode manufacturing processes that rely on primary materials from mining. By 2030, the company aims to achieve a 90% reduction in carbon footprint.
New Survey: Americans are Increasingly Concerned about Electric Vehicle Battery Disposal, Despite Growth of EV Battery Recycling Industry
As the electric vehicle (EV) market continues to grow in the United States, Americans are increasingly concerned about what will happen to all those lithium-ion EV batteries when they reach end of life – even though the EV battery recycling industry is booming.
Advanced Graphite Recycling Technology Provides an Alternative to Virgin Graphite from China
China is a graphite powerhouse, but a new graphite recycling technology promises to give the West an alternate source of battery-grade anode material – one that performs just as well as virgin graphite.
Orbia’s Koura and Ascend Elements to Explore Joint Commercialization of Advanced Graphite Recycling Technology in the United States
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 Raises $542 Million to Accelerate Production of U.S.-engineered Lithium-Ion Battery Materials
Latest funding round is one of the largest U.S. cleantech equity private placements of 2023 to date.
Ascend Elements to Supply Sustainable Cathode Precursor (pCAM) Made from Recycled Battery Materials to Major U.S. Customer
Up to $5 billion deal signals a shift in worldwide battery material supply chains as Ascend Elements builds one of North America’s first commercial-scale NMC pCAM manufacturing facilities in southwest Kentucky.
Ascend Elements and Honda Reach Basic Agreement to Collaborate on Procurement of Recycled Lithium-ion Battery Materials in North America
Ascend Elements today announced a basic agreement with Honda Motor Co., Ltd. to collaborate on stable procurement of recycled lithium-ion battery materials for Honda electric vehicles in North America.
Ascend Elements Wins Gold in 2023 Automotive & Transportation Merit Awards
Ascend Elements wins Gold for Battery Logistics and Silver for Electric Vehicle category of the 2023 Automotive & Transportation Merit Awards.
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.
New Research: Americans Warming Up to Electric Vehicles, but Many Misconceptions Remain
Electric vehicle battery recycling is a booming industry – and the key to lowering the carbon footprint of EVs – but nearly half of Americans mistakenly believe lithium-ion EV batteries are destined for landfills.
Ascend Elements and EcoPro Group Collaborate to Supply Recycled Battery Materials to North American EV Industry
Ascend Elements and EcoPro Group today announced a memorandum of understanding (MOU) agreement to cooperate in the development, qualification, and integration of recycled battery materials into EcoPro’s cathode products. The agreement paves way for a sustainable, closed-loop supply of domestic lithium-ion battery materials in the United States.
Introducing Base 1: Ascend Elements’ First Commercial-scale EV Battery Recycling Facility
Take a look inside Base 1, Ascend Elements’ first commercial-scale EV battery recycling facility in Covington, Georgia. When fully operational in Q4 2022, the facility will recycle 30,000 metric tons of lithium-ion batteries and manufacturing scrap a year. That’s about 70,000 electric vehicle batteries per year
The Wall Street Journal: Ascend Elements raises more than $300 million, as cash pours into battery recycling companies
Jaguar Land Rover and South Korean conglomerate SK Group are among the investors putting more than $300 million into Ascend Elements, a startup that aims to serve an emerging center of battery production in the Southeastern U.S.
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.
Made (and recycled) in America; How the lithium-ion battery manufacturing and recycling industry advances U.S. national interests
Building a domestic EV battery manufacturing and recycling infrastructure in the United States is essential to America’s long-term energy independence.
Q&A with CEO Mike O’Kronley
Ascend Elements CEO Mike O’Kronley answers questions on a wide variety of EV battery recycling topics
New Details of Hydro-to-Cathode™ EV Battery Recycling and Engineered Materials Technology
Beyond recovering 98% of critical elements in used lithium-ion batteries, Ascend Elements uses microstructure engineering techniques to adjust the elemental crystal structure of new cathode material to precise customer specifications
CEO Mike O’Kronley and Ascend Elements Featured on CNBC’s “Clean Start” Series
Massachusetts-based Ascend Elements, has developed a process to capture battery metals and formulate them into new battery materials, rather than just recycle whole components as competitors do. Ascend can then sell those materials directly to manufacturers.
Ascend Elements to Recycle Lithium-ion Battery Manufacturing Scrap for SK Battery America
Ascend Elements’ Covington, Georgia facility will recover 98% of battery materials and return critical elements to the battery supply chain.
Ascend Elements Co-Founders and Worcester Polytechnic Institute Win AUTM Better World Award
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
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
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’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 […]