Ascend Elements to Build Lithium-Ion Recycling Plant

US-based Ascend Elements is partnering with South Korea-based SK ecoplant and its e-waste recycling subsidiary TES to build a $65 million lithium-ion battery recycling facility in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. The 100,000 square metre EV battery recycling facility is designed to process approximately 24,000 metric tonnes of used EV batteries and gigafactory scrap annually, and to disassemble and separate approximately 56,000 EV batteries. Construction is scheduled to begin in November 2023 and be completed in January 2025. SK ecoplant will hold the majority stake at 64% in the new joint venture, while Ascend Elements and TES will hold 25% and 11% respectively. SK ecoplant has invested more than $60 million in Ascend Elements since 2022. Ascend Elements Chief Executive Officer Mike O'Kronley stated, "We are honored to deepen our relationship with SK ecoplant in this new, state-of-the-art electric vehicle battery recycling facility. This marks the beginning of an entirely new industry sector in the United States. For every new electric vehicle battery gigafactory that is built, we will need to build a new battery recycling facility to process manufacturing scrap and end-of-life batteries. As with such a capital-intensive project, joint ventures between strategically aligned partners are an ideal way to finance new infrastructure projects." The newly established facility will create approximately 60 jobs and produce roughly 12,000 metric tonnes of black mass annually. Black mass is a fine powder containing valuable cathode and anode materials inside electric vehicle batteries. The black mass produced at the new SK ecoplant/Ascend Elements facility will help supply Ascend Elements' Apex 1 engineered battery materials facility, whose construction is ongoing in Hopkinsville. When the $1 billion Apex 1 project becomes operational in 2024, it is expected to be North America's first sustainable precursor cathode active material (pCAM) and cathode active material (CAM) production facility. Operating at full capacity, the massive Apex 1 project will produce sufficient pCAM annually to supply approximately 750,000 new electric vehicles. CAM and pCAM are engineered materials manufactured to precise microstructural specifications for use in electric vehicle batteries. While most of the world's pCAM and CAM are produced in China from primary metals, US-based Ascend Elements is commercializing an ultra-efficient method to produce sustainable pCAM and CAM from black mass. The proprietary Hydro-to-Cathode® direct precursor synthesis process eliminates many intermediate steps in traditional cathode production and delivers significant economic and carbon reduction benefits. Multiple peer-reviewed studies have shown that Ascend Elements' recycled battery materials perform as well as similar materials made from virgin (or mined) sources and reduce carbon emissions by up to 93%. Source