Poland’s Elemental Strategic Metals and Ascend Elements of Westborough, Massachusetts, have formed a joint venture, AE Elemental, which will own and operate an advanced Li-ion EV battery recycling facility in Zawiercie, Poland, with another planned in central Germany.
The facility will disassemble, discharge and shred EV batteries to produce black mass, which can be used to make new engineered EV battery materials, including cathode active material (CAM) and cathode precursor (pCAM). The facility is predicted to recycle up to 12,000 metric tons of batteries per year, or approximately 28,000 EV batteries annually.
The partners jointly invested in focusing on large-scale lithium extraction from black mass. Capacity of lithium extraction capabilities processing up to 20 000 metric tons of black mass per year is expected, with the plant owners starting construction this fall and commencing operations in 2026.
The AE Elemental facility in Germany will have the capacity to recycle up to 25,000 metric tons of batteries per year, or approximately 58,000 EVs annually. Recycled materials will likely prove crucial to the EV battery supply chain as demand for critical elements rises and shortfalls result.
“Expanding into Europe will allow us to better service our customers locally and help the industry comply with new EU rules requiring recycled material in new batteries,” said Mike O’Kronley, CEO of Ascend Elements.
In late 2023, Ascend Elements announced it was partnering with SK ecoplant and its e-waste recycling subsidiary, TES, to build a $65 million battery recycling facility in Kentucky. That planned 100,000-sq ft facility, once operational, could break down up to 65,000 EV batteries and produce 12,000 metric tons of black mass annually, according to the report.
Ascend will own 25% of the Kentucky plant, while SK and TES would own the remaining stake.
