Ascend Elements raises $542 million in funding for a battery recycling operation in Kentucky

The battery-recycling sector is also receiving backing from the Energy Department.

US start-up Ascend Elements has raised $542 million in series D funding from investors led by BlackRock-linked Decarbonization Partners. The firm recycles lithium from spent batteries and produces cathode active materials (CAM) and precursor cathode active materials, or PCAM, as well as refining the resulting black mass into sustainable, battery-ready materials. The recent fundraising will help it set up a manufacturing facility in Kentucky, which aims to produce up to 20 kilotons of PCAM per year by the end of 2024.

This year has seen a boom in funding for US battery recycling start-ups, including Redwood Materials, which raised $1 billion in its D round, as well as $50 million for Nth Cycle and $20.5 million for Green Li-ion. The battery-recycling sector is also receiving backing from the Energy Department. It has pledged $192 million to support battery recycling technology in the US to limit the country's dependence on imports from China. Earlier this month, the US and India agreed to increase cooperation on critical minerals, including the recycling of rare, high-tech metals from spent batteries.