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Ascend Elements celebrates a significant milestone with the shipment of sustainable cathode materials for commercial lithium-ion battery applications. This marks a major advancement for the U.S. battery materials industry as they deliver engineered cathode materials to Freudenberg e-Power Systems. These materials, made from recycled battery metals, could help EV battery manufacturers qualify for U.S. tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
Key Highlights
- First North American shipment of engineered cathode materials: Ascend Elements shipped decarbonized cathode materials to Freudenberg e-Power Systems for heavy-duty applications.
- Environmental impact: The Hydro-to-Cathode® process reduces carbon emissions by 49% compared to traditional methods, with a goal of achieving a 90% reduction by 2030.
- Innovative manufacturing process: Utilizing recycled EV batteries and production scrap, the process eliminates up to 15 intermediary steps, providing significant economic and environmental benefits.
- Strategic partnership: Freudenberg e-Power Systems collaborates with Ascend Elements to meet high-performance requirements for their batteries, which power buses and trucks across the country.
- Future plans: Ascend Elements is constructing a $1 billion advanced manufacturing campus in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, slated to begin operations in early 2025.
“Battery manufacturers in the United States are starting to use engineered battery materials that are made in America from recycled metals,” said Eric Gratz, Ph.D., CTO and Co-founder of Ascend Elements. “Engineered cathode material is normally made in Asia using material from mined sources. Now we’re making it domestically from recycled EV batteries and production scrap while generating just half the carbon footprint.”
Ascend Elements uses a patented process known as Hydro-to-Cathode® direct precursor synthesis to manufacture NMC pCAM and CAM from used lithium-ion batteries and battery manufacturing scrap. The closed-loop process eliminates up to 15 intermediary steps in the traditional cathode manufacturing process and provides significant economic and carbon-reduction benefits. A recent life cycle assessment conducted by an independent third-party found Ascend Elements’ Hydro-to-Cathode® process produces EV battery cathode material at a 49% reduction in carbon emissions compared to traditional cathode manufacturing processes. By 2030, the company aims to achieve a 90% reduction in carbon footprint for its decarbonized cathode products.
Since cathode material is the single largest contributor to a lithium-ion battery cell’s carbon footprint, Ascend Elements’ low-carbon cathode material will have a dramatic impact on Freudenberg e-Power Systems’ batteries.
The shipment of pCAM material was engineered and manufactured at the Ascend Elements pilot facility in Westborough, Mass. The materials will be sintered and finished as CAM at the Ascend Elements location in Novi, Mich. before shipment to Freudenberg e-Power Systems at the XALT Energy plant in Midland, Mich.
“This is a relatively small shipment in relation to the intended full-scale commercial program, but it’s an important milestone for Ascend Elements and the U.S. battery materials industry,” Gratz said.
Freudenberg e-Power Systems is proving to be a pioneer in the lithium-ion battery industry. Ascend Elements’ engineers worked closely with Freudenberg e-Power Systems for over a year to engineer and manufacture the low-carbon cathode material to particularly high-performance requirements for lifetime, charge time, and safety.
“We’re very proud to be one of the first to use recycled sources for our cathode material that powers buses and trucks across the country. The partnership with Ascend Elements underscores our ambitions not only to lower the carbon footprint for our customers but also in our own supply chain and materials,” said Lisa McKenzie, President and General Manager of Battery Systems at Freudenberg e-Power Systems.
Several peer-reviewed studies have shown Ascend Elements’ recycled battery materials perform as well as similar materials made from virgin (or mined) sources. In fact, Freudenberg tested Ascend Elements’ customized cathode product extensively and found it to have truly exceptional cycle-life results while achieving best-in-class safety.
While this shipment of material was made in Massachusetts and finished in Michigan, Ascend Elements continues building a $1 billion advanced manufacturing campus in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. Scheduled to begin operations in early 2025, the 1-million-square-foot Apex 1 facility will eventually produce enough pCAM and CAM for 750,000 EVs per year.
In addition to the CAM deal with Freudenberg, Ascend Elements landed a $1 billion contract to manufacture sustainable pCAM for a major U.S.-based company in June 2023. Commercial-scale shipments of material to the undisclosed customer will begin in Q1 2025.
Based in Westborough, Massachusetts, Ascend Elements is a leading provider of sustainable, closed-loop battery material solutions. From EV battery recycling to commercial-scale production of lithium carbonate and NMC precursor (pCAM) and cathode active materials (CAM), Ascend Elements is revolutionizing the production of sustainable lithium-ion battery materials.
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