A company has announced that it opened its first commercial-scale lithium-ion battery recycling operation, calling the facility the largest of its kind in North America.
Ascend Elements opened the plant in the small town of Covington, Georgia to meet the expected demand of recycling a large number of electric vehicle batteries as the federal government pushes for more EV production in the United States.
The $50 million project began partial operations last year, but expects to process around 30,000 metric tons of used lithium-ion batteries per year, which equates to about 70,000 electric vehicle batteries.
While that number is just an estimate, the White House released a proposal urging automakers to set a goal of having at least 50 percent of all new passenger vehicles and light trucks sold in the U.S. by 2030 be zero-emission vehicles.
The company said it hopes the facility will be an integral part of the U.S. EV infrastructure.
The company says it employs around 100 workers and plans to increase its headcount to 185 workers by 2024.
Ascend's CEO Mike O’Kronley, said, "As an industry, we need to continue building our closed-loop battery materials supply chain to make electric vehicle batteries cleaner and more sustainable."
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