Ascend Elements and GEM Sign Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to Explore Battery Recycling and Material Collaboration in Europe

WESTBOROUGH, Mass. and SHENZHEN, China, Sept. 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Ascend Elements, a U.S.-based leader in engineered battery materials, and GEM Co., Ltd., a Chinese pioneer in battery materials and recycling, today announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to explore ways the companies can collaborate to advance lithium-ion battery recycling and engineered battery materials production in Europe. The international collaboration would help advance Europe's localized, sustainable battery materials ecosystem in alignment with the European Union's regulatory framework, which includes the EU Battery Regulation and the EU Battery Passport initiative. These regulations emphasize recyclability, traceability, and the use of recycled content in new lithium-ion batteries.

The MOU establishes a framework for strategic collaboration between the companies, combining GEM's technology and expertise in recycling and mass production of recycled metals and engineered battery materials with Ascend Elements' existing operational and commercial presence in Europe. Together, the companies aim to build an advanced network for lithium-ion battery recycling, critical minerals recovery, and engineered materials production in Europe – creating a localized and circular supply chain that meets both market demands and regulatory requirements. 

"This partnership with Ascend Elements is a milestone in realizing GEM's vision for a greener and more sustainable future," said Professor Xu Kaihua, Chairman of GEM. "By working together, we will drive innovation in battery recycling and engineered materials production, build a localized circular industrial ecosystem in Europe, and help meet the increasing regulatory and market requirements for recyclable and traceable batteries." 

"This collaboration allows us to de-risk our very ambitious European strategy due to GEM's mass production expertise and accelerate our ability to offer the missing capabilities in Europe," said Linh Austin, President & CEO of Ascend Elements. "We are delivering a fully integrated, localized battery industrial ecosystem that addresses both sustainability and regulatory requirements, while supporting the energy transition and driving economic value."

GEM Co., Ltd. was founded by Professor Xu Kaihua in Shenzhen, China in 2001. The company is a leading enterprise in China's circular economy, a global leader in waste recycling, and a top-tier company in the global tungsten carbide industry and the new energy industry.

Founded in 2015, Ascend Elements is a leading provider of domestic critical minerals and engineered battery materials for the lithium-ion battery industry. The company produces sustainable Li₂CO₃ and pCAM made from recycled battery materials.

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