Mass Leads Act proposes a new 10-year, $1 billion strategy to advance climate tech in state
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey and Secretary of Economic Development Yvonne Hao visited the Ascend Elements R&D Center in Westborough, Mass. on April 16. The visit was part of her Mass Leads Road Show to promote key climate tech investments in Massachusetts. Read more from the Governor’s press release.
“Ascend Elements is a great Massachusetts story – their research was developed at WPI, they started and scaled here in Massachusetts, they’re creating good jobs for Massachusetts residents, and they’re producing technology that the world desperately needs,” said Governor Healey. “Our administration wants even more stories like this, and we want to continue to help our existing climatetech companies like Ascend grow and thrive here in Massachusetts. That’s why we’re proposing a first-of-its-kind investment in climatetech in our Mass Leads Act.”
The Governor spent time with Ascend Elements engineers and technicians – the women and men who are building America’s EV battery materials infrastructure. She also met with company leaders to discuss the company’s patented Hydro-to-Cathode® direct precursor synthesis technology, which makes sustainable, low-carbon EV battery cathode materials from used lithium-ion batteries and scrap.
“This amazing technology is going to help us decarbonize the planet. It’s going to be transformational and address the existential crisis of our time, which is climate change,” Gov. Healey remarked.
Local elected officials Sen. Michael Moore and Rep. Kate Donaghue also attended the event.
“We are honored to have Governor Healey and her team with us today. While Ascend Elements has operations in other parts of the country and in Europe, our home is in Massachusetts. Our foundational technology was developed at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and some of our earliest funding came from MassCEC,” said CEO Mike O’Kronley of Ascend Elements. “Innovation and technology are essential in addressing climate change, and with its amazing talent pool, world-class higher education system and visionary leadership, Massachusetts is on its way to becoming a global leader in climate tech.”