Ace Green Recycling, a Global Leader in Battery Recycling Technology, to Become a Public Company

SEATTLE (Waste Advantage): Ace Green Recycling, Inc., a leading provider of sustainable battery recycling technology solutions, and Athena Technology Acquisition Corp. II, a special purpose acquisition company, announced that they have entered into a definitive business combination agreement, pursuant to which a wholly-owned subsidiary of ATAC II will merge with and into Ace, with Ace becoming a wholly-owned subsidiary of ATAC II and Ace’s operations becoming the operating business of the combined entity.

Ace’s revolutionary battery recycling technology focuses on recovering critical battery materials from both lead and lithium-ion batteries. The Company’s innovative and modular technologies are fully electrified, producing zero Scope 1 emissions, zero toxic water and zero solid waste. These capabilities position Ace as a provider of hydrometallurgical recycling solutions without any smelting or thermal processes for both lead and lithium batteries. Ace currently operates commercial facilities in India (lithium-ion; since 2023) that it owns and has licensed its technology to ACME Metal in Taiwan (lead; since 2024), with advanced plans to deploy its technology by building its own plant in the United States. The Company has proven its technology’s commercial credentials by enabling processing of more than three million pounds of lead and lithium batteries in India and Taiwan.

The Company’s LithiumFirst™ technology is capable of commercially recovering up to 75% of lithium with a purity exceeding 99% from lithium iron phosphate and Nickel Manganese Cobalt batteries. In addition to recovering Lithium, the Company’s LithiumFirst^TM technology also recovers NMC salts, graphite, iron phosphate and other materials such as plastics, steel, aluminum and copper by utilizing a closed-loop hydrometallurgical process that avoids pyrometallurgical operations and produces no liquid waste or Scope 1 carbon emissions.

Ace’s GREENLEAD® Recovery Technology is a fully electric process that produces zero Scope 1 emissions and is capable of recovering up to 99% of battery-grade lead with more than 99.98% purity. Ace’s process is designed to replace legacy smelting operations, which are detrimental to the environment, as well as human health due to potential lead poisoning, and is expected to facilitate a more streamlined permitting process.

Ace’s expansion strategy centers on the development of battery recycling plants in the U.S., creating centralized hubs for the sustainable recovery of valuable materials from end-of-life batteries. These plants are expected:

•          Drive domestic job creation: Generate high-quality manufacturing jobs in the U.S., stimulating local economies and strengthening America’s workforce.
•          Enhance critical battery material security: Reduce reliance on foreign sources of critical minerals such as lithium, cobalt, nickel and lead, bolstering domestic supply chains and supporting the growth of the U.S. electric vehicle and renewable energy sectors.
•          Promote renewable energy partnerships: Develop partnerships for renewable captive power with distributed power generators, further minimizing the environmental impact of operations.

“Ace is advancing electrification by building a global recycling technology to create sustainable supply chain solutions for critical metals that will enable next-generation technologies,” said Nishchay Chadha, CEO of Ace. “Compared to other recyclers, we employ a modular, fully electrified, low CapEx strategy, addressing two distinct and sizeable markets in lead and lithium-ion batteries. We believe that this approach will allow us to rapidly achieve commercial scale while diversifying both our feedstock and end-markets. Our planned focus on the U.S. market makes listing on a U.S. exchange a strategic move that better aligns our goals with our core stakeholders.”

Courtesy: www.wasteadvantagemag.com