Ascend Elements announced it has raised $162 million in new equity investments. The company’s major investors include Just Climate, Clearvision Ventures, and IRONGREY. The new equity financing brings the company’s 12-month funding total to $704 million, including the $542 million funding round led by Decarbonization Partners, Temasek, and Qatar Investment Authority in September 2023.
This new funding will advance construction of Ascend Elements’ Apex 1 facility in Hopkinsville, Kentucky – North America’s first sustainable cathode precursor (pCAM) manufacturing facility open in early 2025. And when complete, the 1-million-square-foot facility will produce sustainable pCAM and CAM (cathode active materials) for up to 750,000 electric vehicles per year. The project is partly supported by the U.S. Department of Energy and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).
pCAM and CAM are engineered materials made to precise microstructure specifications for use in EV batteries. And while most of the world’s pCAM and CAM are made in China from primary (mined) metals, U.S.-based Ascend Elements is commercializing an ultra-efficient method to make sustainable pCAM and CAM from black mass, the traditional output of lithium-ion battery recycling facilities. The patented Hydro-to-Cathode direct precursor synthesis process eliminates several intermediary steps in the traditional cathode manufacturing process and offers significant economic and carbon-reduction benefits.
Several peer-reviewed studies have shown Ascend Elements’ recycled battery materials perform as well as similar materials made from primary (mined) sources.
Goldman Sachs acted as sole placement agent for the Series D funding round.
KEY QUOTES:
“I’d like to thank our new and existing partners for investing in North America’s critical EV battery infrastructure. This diverse group of leading climate investors and industry partners underscores the confidence that the market has placed in our business. By recycling lithium-ion batteries and making new, engineered battery materials with lower carbon emissions, Ascend Elements is accelerating the global transition to zero carbon emissions.”
- CEO Mike O’Kronley of Ascend Elements
“We are backing a technology that transforms spent lithium-ion batteries into critical materials used in the creation of new batteries. With its first pCAM facility in construction in the United States, Ascend Elements has the potential to unlock the supply of critical battery materials to accelerate the roll out of electric vehicles. Ascend Elements’ Hydro-to-Cathode technology provides a sustainable option for production of critical battery materials, championing circularity in an industry that is poised to scale significantly. We’re looking forward to supporting Ascend Elements in its growth journey.”
- Aruna Ramsamy, a Managing Director at Just Climate
