Ascend Elements, a U.S.-based lithium-ion battery materials company, has secured $320 million, including a 1.22 billion Polish Zloty grant from Poland’s Ministry of Economic Development and Technology, to build its first European precursor cathode active material (pCAM) manufacturing facility in Poland. The facility will utilize the company’s proprietary Hydro-to-Cathode® technology, which recovers nickel, manganese, and cobalt pCAM from spent lithium-ion batteries, aiming to establish a sustainable circular battery materials supply chain in Europe. The plant will be solely owned and operated by Ascend Elements and is part of the EU’s Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework (TCTF) to support the net-zero transition. The project is one of the largest U.S. investments in Poland and is expected to boost regional development, technology advancement, and collaboration with local institutions. Additionally, Ascend Elements operates one of North America’s largest battery recycling plants in Georgia, with a new lithium recovery line targeting 3,000 metric tons of lithium carbonate annually, and is also building a large-scale Hydro-to-Cathode® pCAM plant in Kentucky, expected to be operational by late 2026.

Green Li-ion has completed the construction of a state-of-the-art battery recycling facility in Oklahoma, USA, capable of converting black matter into battery-grade precursor cathode active material (pCAM) of up to 99 per cent purity. The technology can be seamlessly integrated into existing recycling infrastructures and is expected to improve the sustainability and profitability of the battery recycling market. SMM expects...

The monthly average price of PCAM (for NMC 523) lost 6.5% MoM to 86,000 yuan/mt in April. In April, the prices of nickel and cobalt continued to decline, and the demand did not see any significant improvement. The market sold off at lower prices, driving down prices of PCAM. It is expected that the prices of nickel and cobalt will still be slightly lowered in May, and thus the prices of precursors will continue to fall slightly.

SHANGHAI, Mar 9 (SMM) - Domestic PCAM (precursor of cathode active materials) output stood at 66,056 mt in February, up 13% MoM and 11% YoY.

SHANGHAI, Mar 9 (SMM) - Driven by recovering domestic and overseas demand, the domestic PCAM output is projected to rise 10% MoM and 14% YoY to 72,832 mt in March.

Prices of PCAM (for NMC 532) averaged 89,000 yuan/mt in February.