US battery materials manufacturer Ascend Elements and the U.S. Department of Energy have agreed to cancel a 164-million-dollar grant for the production of cathode active material (CAM) at its Hopkinsville, Kentucky site. According to the company, the decision is due to changing market conditions that do not currently justify sufficient demand for CAM.
pCAM Production Plans Remain
However, the separate 316-million-dollar financing for the production of cathode precursor (pCAM) remains unchanged. The company plans to produce lithium carbonate at the site in addition to pCAM. The plant is scheduled to be commissioned in the third quarter of 2026. When announced in 2022, the Apex 1 project was initially estimated to involve a total investment of 310 million US dollars and around 250 jobs. Later, there was talk of a possible expansion to up to one billion dollars and more than 400 jobs. It is not yet known to what extent the discontinuation of CAM production will affect these projections.
