Ascend Elements announced Wednesday that it has raised $542 million in new equity investments that will advance the construction of its Apex 1 facility in Hopkinsville.
The funding includes $460 million in Series D investments and $82 million of additional investments from earlier this year.
The $542 million equity financing is one of the largest cleantech equity private placements in the United States this year.
Once built, Ascend will be North America’s first sustainable cathode precursor and cathode active material manufacturing facility.
Ascend Elements began construction of its one-of-a-kind Apex 1 facility on a 140-acre site in Commerce Park II last October. When complete, the 1-million-square-foot facility will produce enough sustainable batteries for 750,000 electric vehicles per year.
Earlier this year, Ascend Elements announced they had signed a multi-year contract to supply nearly $1 billion in high-nickel, NMC cathode precursor — or pCAM — for use in the battery manufacturing process, beginning in the fourth quarter of 2024.
