Temasek-backed Ascend Elements Files for Bankruptcy (1)

Battery recycling startup Ascend Elements filed for bankruptcy on Thursday, according to the company.

Massachusetts-based Ascend, which specializes in reprocessing old batteries into cathode material at a factory in Georgia, has raised more than $1.1 billion in equity and grants since its founding in 2015. But “the financial difficulties were insurmountable,” and the company has voluntarily initiated a Chapter 11 process, Chief Executive Officer Linh Austin said in a statement.

The US is looking to break its dependency on battery materials from China. But while the need for such materials is on the rise, creating a new industry to recycle ...