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Hydro-to-CathodeAscend Elements—
Hydro-to-Cathode
Courtesy of Ascend Elements · Press kit, editorial use (opens ascendelements.com)

Hydro-to-Cathode

by Ascend ElementsUS

DeployStage 4 of 5

Commercial recycling operations; Apex 2 project in Europe in development.

Updated 27 Mar 2026Checked 25 Sep0 updates this week

Milestones

Next · Scale cathode production
  1. Apex 2 in Poland wins national investment award27 Mar 2026Complete.
  2. Scale cathode productionNowCurrent milestone.

Most important updates

  • 27 Mar 2026

Current obstacles

  • Chemistry mismatchOld batteries' chemistry lags what sells now (e.g. more LFP), so recycled output must match what cell makers want.

Physics limits

  • Impurities ride alongWithout full metal separation, traces of iron, aluminium and copper can carry into the product, while cathodes tolerate only parts-per-million levels.
  • Lithium comes out last and leastLithium stays dissolved after the other metals precipitate and must be recovered from dilute solution, where losses are hardest to avoid.

How it works

3 parts
Cathode material recovered from used batteries in an Oak Ridge lab: Ascend's process likewise turns shredded cells into powder for new cathodes
Cathode material recovered from used batteries in an Oak Ridge lab: Ascend's process likewise turns shredded cells into powder for new cathodesPhoto: Oak Ridge National Laboratory · CC BY 2.0 (opens flickr.com)
Leach

Dissolve the black mass

Shredded battery powder is dissolved in acid, putting lithium, nickel, manganese and cobalt into solution.

Adjust

Tune the recipe, skip separation

Instead of isolating each metal, the process measures the solution and tops up nickel, manganese or cobalt to hit the ratio a cathode needs.

Precipitate

Straight to new precursor

The metals are precipitated together as cathode precursor, then mixed with lithium and fired into new cathode material.

Update log

1 update

Fri 27 Mar

  • Minor: PressOther

About Ascend Elements

The team behind Hydro-to-Cathode

Ascend Elements

Hydro-to-Cathode battery recycling

Ascend Elements (Massachusetts) recycles lithium-ion batteries with its Hydro-to-Cathode process, which turns shredded batteries (black mass) straight into new cathode material, skipping separate refining of each metal.

  • Hydro-to-Cathode turns recovered metals into new cathode material in fewer steps.
  • Its Apex 2 project in Poland was named Manufacturing Investment of the Year by Poland's investment agency (March 2026).
  • US recycling has been hurt by low metal prices and slower EV growth.

ascendelements.com (opens ascendelements.com)Company profile →

Founded
201511 yrs
Headquarters
United States
Status
Private
Valuation
private
Works in
MaterialsBattery recycling
Coverage
1 program · 1 updatelatest 27 Mar 2026checked 25 Sep
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