Worcester Pilot

Ascend Elements (formerly Battery Resourcers) · Worcester, USA · Cathode material

Battery recycling plant operated by Ascend Elements (formerly Battery Resourcers) in Worcester, USA. Status: operational.

Worcester Pilot: recycling plant illustration with pack, shredder, black mass, leach tanks and salt bags; Cathode material, status operational, USA Cathode material Operational USA
Capacity
1,000 t/yr
Process
Direct recycling
Output
Cathode material
Hub
Supply Chain

Status

Operational: status carried from the legacy record

Process: direct recycling. Capacity: 1,000 t/yr (Legacy figure; not re-verified).

Direct recycling pioneer; recovers intact CAM crystals and relithiates - preserves crystal structure without smelting or hydro dissolution; highest value recovery if scalable; DOE funded.

Customers and offtakers: Multiple OEMs evaluating.

Plant record

Plant record

Worcester Pilot (Ascend Elements (formerly Battery Resourcers))
CompanyAscend Elements (formerly Battery Resourcers)
PlantWorcester Pilot
CityWorcester
State or provinceMassachusetts
CountryUSA
TypeRecycler
Processdirect recycling
Output stagecathode material
Input chemistriesNMC
Output productsRelithiated CAM (direct)
Capacity (t/yr input)1000
Capacity basisLegacy figure; not re-verified
Statusoperational
Status noteStatus carried from the legacy record; not re-verified
Scalepilot
Start year2022
Investment (US$ billion)0.1
Customers and offtakersMultiple OEMs evaluating
Under EU Battery RegulationNo
Geopolitical exposureLOW
Record updated2026-10

Official site: ascendelements.com

In context

Where it fits

Listed in EV Battery Recycling Facilities. Recyclers are compared on where they stop: shredding to black mass, smelting to alloy, or refining to battery-grade salts that go back into cathode plants; only refining keeps the metal in the region. See Battery Recycling for the process and the market.

Other plants of Ascend Elements (formerly Battery Resourcers) and other plants in USA
PlantCountryStatus
Fernley Nevada Plant (ABTC)USAoperational
Covington Georgia Spoke (Ascend Elements)USAoperational
Lancaster California (B2U Storage Solutions)USAoperational
Lancaster and US Plants (Cirba Solutions)USAoperational
Bend Oregon Direct+Second Life (OnTo Technology)USAoperational
NJ Direct Recycling Pilot (Princeton NuEnergy)USAoperational
McCarran Nevada Campus (Redwood Materials)USAoperational
South Carolina Campus (Redwood Materials)USAoperational
OKC Refurbishment Campus (Spiers New Technologies)USAoperational
Yellowstone Second Life (Toyota)USAoperational

Sources

Sources and scope

Scope
Worcester Pilot (Ascend Elements (formerly Battery Resourcers))
Sources
ElectronsX recycling dataset; company disclosures
Updated
2026-10