Ascend Elements lands $1 billion battery material deal with U.S. carmaker

Industry

Published: 15 Jun. 2023, 17:09 Updated: 15 Jun. 2023, 17:51

Ascend Elements lands $1 billion battery material deal with U.S. carmaker

Michael O'Kronley, left, Ascend Elements CEO, and Park Kyung-il, SK ecoplant CEO, pose for a photo during a signing ceremony for a sales-purchase agreement held at SK ecoplant's U.S. office in New Jersey in August 2022. [SK ECOPLANT]

Ascend Elements, a U.S. battery recycling start-up, landed a $1 billion battery material deal with an unnamed U.S. carmaker, its largest shareholder SK ecoplant said Thursday.

Ascend Elements will supply precursor cathode active materials to the carmaker, which was not specified citing a non-disclosure agreement, starting in the fourth quarter of 2024.

The deal is worth at least $1 billion and may reach up to $5 billion in the future, according to SK ecoplant.

SK ecoplant acquired a $50-million stake in Ascend Elements last year to become the largest shareholder of the Westborough, Massachusetts-based company, but it did not disclose its shareholding.

Founded in 2015, Ascend Elements specializes in battery recycling by extracting materials, such as nickel and cobalt, from discarded lithium-ion batteries. The reclaimed elements are recycled into precursors for cathode materials.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]