Ascend Elements, a lithium-ion battery recycling and engineered materials company announced it has raised $162 million in new equity investments. 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.
The new funding will advance the construction of Ascend Elements’ Apex 1 facility in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, which will produce sustainable cathode precursor (pCAM) and is expected to open in early 2025.
When complete, the 1-million-square-foot facility is expected to produce sustainable pCAM and CAM (cathode active materials) for up to 750,000 electric vehicles per year. The project is supported in part by the U.S. Department of Energy and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
“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,” said Aruna Ramsamy, a Managing Director at Just Climate. “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.”
According to Mercom’s Annual and Q4 2023 Funding and M&A Report for Storage & Smart Grid, Venture capital (VC/PE) funding in Energy Storage in 2023 was the highest ever recorded, increasing 59% year-over-year (YoY), with $9.2 billion in 86 deals compared to the $5.8 billion raised in 96 deals in 2022.
Last year, Mecaware, a battery recycling company, secured €40 million (~$42 million) in funding for the recycling of battery production scrap (Gigafactories Scrap – ScrapCO2MET project). The project is expected to be operational in 2025. The project is expected to produce 50 tons of recycled metal per year, including lithium, nickel, cobalt, and manganese.
