Ascend Elements raises another $543M to build precursor and cathode plant in Kentucky

Ascend Elements which operate a pre-processing line for lithium-ion batteries in Georgia, USA has raised $533M to build a previously announced plant in Hopkinsville in Kentucky which will produce precursors and cathode mateiral from black mass based on the company's own technology.

The capital raise was a combination of a Series D investment and additional investments earlier this year. The Series D round was lead by Decarbonization Partners, Temasek, and Qatar Investment Authority. The company recently was also awarded two grants totalling $480M from the US Department of Energy (DOE).

Ascend Elements announced in June that it had signed a multi-year contract to supply approximately $1 billion worth of precursor for use in a major US company’s battery manufacturing process, beginning in Q4 2024. Under the terms of the agreement, the customer has the option to expand the contract to a larger quantity with a value of up to $5 billion. Ascend Elements has so far not announced how much recycled material the company is producing. The company has close connection to battery maker SK On which operates two plants in Georgia, close to Ascend Elements' first site, through its prevously largest investor SK Ecoplan which also owns e-waste and battery recycler TES.