Ascend Elements announces major battery material order
The US company Ascend Elements, which specialises in sustainable battery materials, reports a major order worth up to $5 billion. The order is worth around $1 billion and will deliveries are expected to start at the end of the next year.
It is a multi-year contract to supply cathode precursor materials (high nickel NMC) for battery production to an unnamed major US company, initially worth around US$1 billion, starting in the fourth quarter of 2024. Under the terms of the agreement, the customer has the option to extend the contract to a larger quantity worth up to US$5 billion.
Ascend Elements is building a factory in Kentucky to produce sustainable battery materials. According to the current plan, this should be able to produce enough cathode material and precursors for up to 250,000 electric vehicle batteries per year after the planned completion at the end of 2023.
In the meantime, however, Ascend Elements cites an output three times as high for up to 750,000 electric vehicle batteries. In October 2022, the US Department of Energy awarded Ascend Elements two grants totalling $480 million to accelerate the construction of the Kentucky plant. In March 2023, Ascend Elements also opened its first commercial-scale lithium-ion battery recycling plant in the state of Georgia.
“Nearly 100% of the world’s pCAM is produced in Asia,” said Mike O’Kronley, CEO of Ascend Elements. “There is no reason we can’t manufacture critical battery materials like this in the United States. In fact, we need to manufacture our own battery materials to secure the supply chain in North America, reduce carbon emissions and ensure our energy independence.”
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