Page 170 - CW E-Magazine (19-9-2023)

News from Abroad

EQUITY FINANCING
Ascend Elements raises over $500-mn to accelerate

production of lithium-ion battery materials in US

Ascend Elements, a US-based peer-reviewed studies have shown
manufacturer of battery materials for Ascend Elements’ recycled battery mate-
electric vehicles, has raised $542-mn rials perform as well as similar materials
in new equity investments, including made from virgin (or mined) sources while
$460-mn in Series D investments and reducing carbon emissions by up to 93%,”
$82-mn of additional investments from the company informed.
earlier this year.
Over the last 12 months, Ascend
The Series D round was led by Elements has achieved several signifi-
Singapore-based investment firm Te- cant milestones, including signing its
masek, Decarbonization Partners (a will be North America’s first sustain- first commercial scale pCAM contract,
joint venture between Temasek and able cathode precursor (pCAM) and starting construction of its Apex 1 faci-
BlackRock), and Qatar Investment cathode active material (CAM) manu- lity, and securing two US Department
Authority (QIA). Other investors include facturing facility. CAM and pCAM are of Energy (DoE) grants. In June 2023,
Tenaska, Alliance Resource Partners, engineered materials made to precise Ascend Elements signed a $1-bn con-
PULSE – CMA CGM Energy Fund, microstructure specifications for use in tract to supply sustainable pCAM
BHP Ventures, Fifth Wall, Hitachi Ven- electric vehicle batteries. While most of starting in Q4 2024 with options to ex-
tures, Mirae Asset, At One Ventures, the world’s pCAM and CAM are made pand the multi-year contract to a larger
Agave Partners, Alumni Ventures and in China from primary (mined) metals, quantity with a value of up to $5-bn.
other leading global investors. Ascend Elements is commercialising a In October 2022, Ascend Elements
method to make sustainable pCAM and began construction of its one-of-a-kind
According to Ascend Elements, the CAM from black mass, the traditional Apex 1 facility on a 140-acre site in
$542-mn equity financing is one of the output of lithium-ion battery recycling southwest Kentucky. When complete,
largest cleantech equity private place- facilities. the 1-million-square-foot facility will
ments in the US of 2023 to date, and produce enough sustainable pCAM
one of the top 10 equity private place- “The patented ‘Hydro-to-Cathode’ for 750,000 electric vehicles per year.
ments in the US this year. direct precursor synthesis process elimi- Ascend Elements was also awarded two
nates several intermediary steps in the U.S. Department of Energy grants to
The funding will advance construc- traditional cathode manufacturing pro- talling $480-mn, part of the Bipartisan
tion of Ascend Elements’ Apex 1 faci- cess and provides significant economic Infrastructure Law (BIL) in October
lity in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, which and carbon-reduction benefits. Several 2022.

BREAKTHROUGH
AGC develops new technology for making sulphide

electrolytes for solid-state batteries

AGC, Japanese manufacturer of solid electrolytes for commercialisa- challenging because the sulphides are
glass, chemicals, and high-tech materi- tion. Sulphide electrolytes are consi- chemically unstable and require care-
als, has announced that it has succeeded dered promising materials for all-solid- ful handling, which has been a major
in developing a new production techno- state batteries due to their high ionic obstacle to the implementation of
logy for sulphide electrolytes used in conductivity, which enables electric all-solid-state batteries.
all-solid-state batteries. AGC will con- vehicles to extend their driving range
tinue to improve the process for future and reduce charging time. However, AGC has recently established a pro-
mass production and the quality of the their mass production has been highly prietary production method that com-

170 Chemical Weekly September 19, 2023

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