Ascend Elements opens North America's largest electric vehicle battery recycling facility in Georgia

US-based company Ascend Elements has opened North America's largest electric vehicle battery recycling facility in the state of Georgia. The company invested $50 million in the site, which can process up to 30,000 tonnes of used batteries and manufacturing scrap per year. The site began partial operation in August 2022 and has now reached full capacity.

According to Ascend Elements, the company can recover up to 98 per cent of critical metals used in lithium-ion batteries. This is achieved through the use of its innovative 'Hydro-to-Cathode' process, which engineers the composition and microstructure of lithium-ion cathode particles during the direct precursor synthesis phase.

The process is said to be more efficient and environmentally friendly than others, recovering 98% of critical battery metals and producing new cathode material at half the cost and 90 per cent lower greenhouse gas emissions than similar cathode made with newly mined and refined metals.

Ascend Elements is also planning to produce sustainable battery materials for electric vehicles in Kentucky, with enough sustainable cathode material and precursors to manufacture up to 250,000 electric vehicle batteries per year. This facility is expected to be completed towards the end of the year.

Source: Ascend Elements via PRnewswire