Massachusetts Startup Giving Used EV Batteries New Life
Electric vehicles (“EVs”) are undoubtedly the next stage of vehicular transport. After decades of owning the world’s roads, internal combustion engine (“ICE”) vehicles are nearing the end of their century-long reign. In a bid to cut greenhouse gas emissions and halt the runaway climate change that presents an almost existential risk to humanity, several territories around the world plan on replacing ICE cars with zero-emission EVs. By using rechargeable lithium-ion battery packs rather than combustion engines, EVs do not rely on fossil fuels and produce no emissions at the tailpipe.
However, as groundbreaking as they are, EV batteries can end up as toxic waste at the end of their lifetimes because there is no comprehensive framework or structure to facilitate mass EV battery recycling. With the International Energy Agency predicting that there will be a whopping 230 million EVs on the road by the end of the decade, we are looking at a potentially catastrophic environmental crisis. As a result, several companies have been working to develop technologies that can prevent pollution from EV batteries once they can no longer power electric vehicles.
A startup based in Massachusetts has now come up with a revolutionary method of recycling worn-out EV battery cells that could create new batteries that are superior to their original iterations. Massachusetts-based Ascend Elements says that it can turn spent lithium-ion cells into new cells that can last longer and charge faster with less impact on the environment. In addition to lithium, EV batteries also contain graphite, manganese, nickel and cobalt. All of these metals are quite rare and tend to be sourced from mines with poor human rights records.
Furthermore, most of the world’s battery metals go to China for processing before being distributed to various parts of the world. The new recycling method by Ascend Elements would give America some control in its EV battery supply chain and help reduce its reliance on outside players. It is based on a process called Hydro-to-Cathode that was developed and patented by Professor Yan Wang and postdoc student Eric Gatz at Worcester Polytechnic. Institute Ascend Elements shreds thousands of pounds of li-ion batteries from EVs, laptops, cellphones and power tools before taking the shredded material through a series of sieves to remove the impurities.
The final result is a dark, fine powder called “black mass.” According to Ascend vice president of global marketing and government relations Roger Lin, this black mass contains all the valuable minerals. The purification process takes around a week, recovers nearly 100% of the precious battery metals and produces zero toxic waste. The startup calls this process upcycling rather than recycling because it adds value to the spent battery and creates a superior product. The upcycled batteries can charge faster and more frequently and last around 30% longer than the original batteries.
Ascend Elements has partnered with Honda to supply the automaker with cathodes made from spent lithium-ion batteries. The startup has also raised a whopping $90 million from investors and is poised to build a massive battery recycling plant in Georgia.
It is good for the future of the electric vehicle sector when the efforts of manufacturers such as Mullen Automotive Inc. (NASDAQ: MULN) are complemented by other innovative companies such as Ascend Elements in a bid to help curb climate change while reducing the need for mining additional battery minerals.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Mullen Automotive Inc. (NASDAQ: MULN) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/MULN
Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the Green Car Stocks website applicable to all content provided by GCS, wherever published or re-published: https://www.GreenCarStocks.com/Disclaimer
Electric vehicles (“EVs”) are undoubtedly the next stage of vehicular transport. After decades of owning the world’s roads, internal combustion engine (“ICE”) vehicles are nearing the end of their century-long reign. In a bid to cut greenhouse gas emissions and halt the runaway climate change that presents an almost existential risk to humanity, several territories around the world plan on replacing ICE cars with zero-emission EVs. By using rechargeable lithium-ion battery packs rather than combustion engines, EVs do not rely on fossil fuels and produce no emissions at the tailpipe.
However, as groundbreaking as they are, EV batteries can end up as toxic waste at the end of their lifetimes because there is no comprehensive framework or structure to facilitate mass EV battery recycling. With the International Energy Agency predicting that there will be a whopping 230 million EVs on the road by the end of the decade, we are looking at a potentially catastrophic environmental crisis. As a result, several companies have been working to develop technologies that can prevent pollution from EV batteries once they can no longer power electric vehicles.
A startup based in Massachusetts has now come up with a revolutionary method of recycling worn-out EV battery cells that could create new batteries that are superior to their original iterations. Massachusetts-based Ascend Elements says that it can turn spent lithium-ion cells into new cells that can last longer and charge faster with less impact on the environment. In addition to lithium, EV batteries also contain graphite, manganese, nickel and cobalt. All of these metals are quite rare and tend to be sourced from mines with poor human rights records.
Furthermore, most of the world’s battery metals go to China for processing before being distributed to various parts of the world. The new recycling method by Ascend Elements would give America some control in its EV battery supply chain and help reduce its reliance on outside players. It is based on a process called Hydro-to-Cathode that was developed and patented by Professor Yan Wang and postdoc student Eric Gatz at Worcester Polytechnic. Institute Ascend Elements shreds thousands of pounds of li-ion batteries from EVs, laptops, cellphones and power tools before taking the shredded material through a series of sieves to remove the impurities.
The final result is a dark, fine powder called “black mass.” According to Ascend vice president of global marketing and government relations Roger Lin, this black mass contains all the valuable minerals. The purification process takes around a week, recovers nearly 100% of the precious battery metals and produces zero toxic waste. The startup calls this process upcycling rather than recycling because it adds value to the spent battery and creates a superior product. The upcycled batteries can charge faster and more frequently and last around 30% longer than the original batteries.
Ascend Elements has partnered with Honda to supply the automaker with cathodes made from spent lithium-ion batteries. The startup has also raised a whopping $90 million from investors and is poised to build a massive battery recycling plant in Georgia.
It is good for the future of the electric vehicle sector when the efforts of manufacturers such as Mullen Automotive Inc. (NASDAQ: MULN) are complemented by other innovative companies such as Ascend Elements in a bid to help curb climate change while reducing the need for mining additional battery minerals.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Mullen Automotive Inc. (NASDAQ: MULN) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/MULN
Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the Green Car Stocks website applicable to all content provided by GCS, wherever published or re-published: https://www.GreenCarStocks.com/Disclaimer
