Battery materials: South Korea’s L&F awarded US$2.9 bn deal by Tesla; Ascend Elements/Honda to collaborate on recycled Li-ion battery materials in US

South Korean battery materials supplier L&F Co has been awarded a US$2.9 billion deal to supply materials by US auto maker Tesla Inc. from next January to December 2025. The deal would further expand the US electric vehicle giant’s battery manufacturing capabilities.

The supplier will provide high-nickel cathode materials to be used in the automotive, energy generation and storage sectors under a contract, L&F said recently in a filing. Materials will be supplied to the US and other regions.

L&F also supplies battery makers including LG Energy Solution Ltd.

The deal comes amid rising demand for key ingredients in batteries such as lithium, nickel and cobalt as sales of electric cars boom. Competition among global automakers and battery producers to secure reliable partners has also been intensifying, including as a result of President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, which seeks to limit US reliance on Chinese imports.

 In other news, Ascend Elements, a US-based battery recycling and engineered materials company, has entered into an agreement with Honda Motor to collaborate on stable procurement of recycled lithium-ion battery materials for Honda electric vehicles in North America. Use of recycled battery materials in new EV batteries can dramatically reduce the carbon footprint of electric vehicles.

Ascend Elements has recycled used lithium-ion batteries for American Honda Motor Co. since 2021. The new agreement is an important step toward creating a closed-loop supply chain for recycled battery materials – including lithium, nickel, and cobalt – leveraging the efficiencies and environmental benefits of Ascend Elements’ patented Hydro-to-Cathode direct precursor synthesis process. Ascend Elements’ commercial products include recycled lithium, nickel, and cobalt, as well as sustainable cathode precursor (pCAM) and cathode active materials (CAM) – all made from used lithium-ion batteries and gigafactory manufacturing scrap.

It adds that several peer-reviewed studies have shown Ascend Elements’ recycled battery materials can perform as well as virgin sources while reducing carbon emissions associated with mining.

Based in Westborough, Mass., Ascend Elements is a provider of sustainable, closed-loop battery material solutions. From EV battery recycling to commercial-scale production of lithium-ion battery precursor (pCAM) and cathode active materials (CAM), Ascend Elements says it is revolutionising the production of sustainable lithium-ion battery materials.

Its Hydro-to-Cathode direct precursor synthesis technology produces new CAM from spent lithium-ion cells more efficiently than traditional methods, resulting in improved economics and lowered GHG emissions as well as with fewer batteries going to landfilling.

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