140-acre facility and campus will produce sustainable EV battery precursor and cathode energetic materials for 250,000 electrical autos per yr
HOPKINSVILLE, Ky., Oct. 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Ascend Elements started building of its largest electrical car battery recycling and engineered supplies manufacturing facility with a ceremonial groundbreaking in the present day. Leaders of the fast-growing startup have been joined by Gov. Andy Beshear, native business and neighborhood leaders, and EV battery trade executives throughout the noon occasion in Hopkinsville, Ky. The facility will assist meet North America’s rising demand for lithium-ion battery supplies, particularly engineered precursor (pCAM) and battery-ready cathode energetic supplies (CAM). When completed, the Apex 1 facility will produce sufficient pCAM and CAM to equip 250,000 EVs per yr.
“Today, we’ve begun building something that doesn’t exist anywhere in the United States – a domestic source of sustainable lithium-ion cathode material for EV batteries,” stated Michael O’Kronley, CEO of Ascend Elements. “We’re in the middle of a global energy transformation and it’s critical that we produce lithium-ion battery material in the United States. Our future energy independence and national security depend on it.”
“Ascend Elements’ initial announcement made history as the largest development project in Christian County, but with recent announcements the investment has grown to nearly $1 billion and will create 400 full-time jobs, making it the single largest investment in Western Kentucky,” Governor Andy Beshear stated. “Kentucky has quickly become a national leader in the electric-vehicle space and a substantial supplier network that consists of innovative companies like Ascend Elements is the reason for that success. I want to thank the leaders at the company for this commitment to the commonwealth and I can’t wait to see Ascend Elements and the Hopkinsville community grow together.”
Ascend Elements plans to take a position near $1 billion in the 140-acre campus and 500,000-square-foot manufacturing facility. The first-of-its-kind facility shall be house to the corporate’s revolutionary Hydro-to-Cathode™ direct precursor synthesis course of know-how — probably the most environment friendly and economically compelling method to return recycled battery supplies to the battery provide chain. This closed-loop system generates minimal waste and carbon emissions in comparison with conventional cathode manufacturing. With potential enlargement phases, the ability will make use of as much as 400 individuals and generate as much as $4.4 billion in financial impression to Kentucky over the development interval and first 10 years.
Based in Westborough, Mass., Ascend Elements is the main supplier of sustainable, closed-loop battery materials options. From EV battery recycling to commercial-scale manufacturing of lithium-ion battery precursor (pCAM) and cathode energetic supplies (CAM), Ascend Elements is revolutionizing the manufacturing of sustainable lithium-ion battery supplies. Its Hydro-to-Cathode™ direct precursor synthesis know-how produces new CAM from spent lithium-ion cells extra effectively than conventional strategies, ensuing in diminished price, improved efficiency, and lowered GHG emissions. With fewer batteries going to landfill and a cleaner manufacturing course of, Ascend Elements is taking the lithium-ion battery trade to the next degree of sustainability.
SOURCE Ascend Elements
