USA – Ascend Elements, a Westborough, MA-based engineered materials and lithium-ion battery recycling company, raised $300M in equity and debt financing, including $200m in Series C equity investments.
The round was led by Fifth Wall Climate, and joined by SK ecoplant, with participation from Oman Investment Authority, Lithium Americas Corporation, GLy Capital Management New Mobility Fund, Mirae Asset Capital & LS, Shinhan GIB, Hitachi Ventures, InMotion Ventures, TDK Ventures, Orbia Ventures, At One Ventures, TRUMPF Venture, and Doral Energy-Tech Ventures. This funding is in addition to two recently awarded grants totaling $480 million from the Department of Energy.The company intends to use the funds to accelerate commercialization of its proprietary Hydro-to-Cathode direct precursor synthesis process.Led by CEO Mike O’Kronley, Ascend Elements is a provider of sustainable, closed-loop battery materials solutions. From EV battery recycling to commercial-scale production of lithium-ion battery precursor (pCAM) and cathode active materials (CAM), the company is revisiting the production of sustainable lithium-ion battery materials. Its proprietary Hydro-to-Cathode direct precursor synthesis technology produces new CAM from spent lithium-ion cells in a different way, resulting in reduced cost, improved performance, and lowered GHG emissions. The announcement follows recently disclosed plans to invest up to $1 billion to build a sustainable lithium-ion battery materials facility in Hopkinsville, Ky. The manufacturing facility, known as “Apex 1”, will produce enough lithium-ion battery pCAM and sustainable CAM to equip up to 250,000 electric vehicles per year.27/10/2022
