🪫New Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Filing - Ascend Elements Inc.🪫
Battery-material recycler needs a recharge, seeks buyer in chapter 11 bankruptcy.
On April 9, 2026, Massachusetts-based Ascend Elements Inc. and Ascend Elements US LLC (together, the “debtors” and along with a number of mostly-foreign affiliates, the “company”) descended (😉) into chapter 11 bankruptcy cases in the Southern District of Texas (Judge Perez). Here’s what the company does:
We suspect you can forgive us for not trying to describe it ourselves because, candidly, we don’t know what any of that even means. Or this, for that matter:
But it sounds impressive. And, like, environmental…? Ah f*ck it, we’ll give it a shot: these guys take useless batteries, filter out useful minerals from them, create something ominously called “Black Mass,” refine it, and then produce other materials from it that can be deployed in new batteries. We guess, 🤷♀️. Operations take place in the state of Georgia and the country of Poland. R&D is up in Massachusetts. And the company has two additional plants that are mid-construction: one in Kentucky, the other in Poland. More impressive than their physical footprint is their IP footprint: the debtors hold 154 patents worldwide, including the company’s Hydro-to-Cathode technology, which enables recycling that’s 90% cleaner than traditional processes. Riveting sh*t, guys!
And timely/critical…? Per CEO Linh Austin:
“Ascend Elements and its affiliates sit in a strategically advantageous position amid a fundamental shift in global energy production and storage. The market for battery materials is strong, and is expected to continue growing. Global demand for lithium batteries and the underlying materials required to manufacture them is projected to grow nearly four-fold over the next decade, driven by burgeoning demand for stationary energy storage and reliability/backup power needs, including from data centers and broader grid resilience initiatives, and electric vehicles both in the U.S. and internationally.”
That paragraph was all we needed to know that this was a sale case; it hits all the high notes, including AI and EVs. Good stuff, Linh. But let’s do it one better by tossing in some good ol’ fashioned patriotism:
“At the same time, the Company’s strategy addresses a major imbalance in the global battery materials market. China’s dominance in refining and battery materials – backed by industrial supply and scale – has created dependence risks for U.S. and European manufacturers. The Company offers a closed loop, low-carbon, North American and European alternative source of battery materials, aligned with U.S. policy priorities concerning critical minerals, national security, and supply chain resilience, including incentives to localize the production of refined battery materials and reduce reliance on foreign-controlled processing capacity. The Company’s materials and technologies also serve important defense technology applications, making its domestic production capacity critical to national security. Advanced battery materials are essential inputs for defense systems, autonomous platforms, and next-generation military technologies that the U.S. government has prioritized securing through domestic supply chains. Reflecting this positioning, in recent years the Company has secured hundreds of millions of dollars in grants from the U.S. Department of Energy (“DOE”) and the Republic of Poland, hundreds of millions of dollars in financing commitments from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and nearly a billion dollars in investor funding.”
We can sense the Pete Hegseth fist pumping from miles away.
Anyway, did you catch that last bit about hundreds of millions of dollars in grants and nearly a billion dollars in investor funding? Yeah, we did too. Here’s that cash:
Construction, construction, construction. Or lack thereof. Delays. Cost overruns. Production constraints. Poor prior management. It’s all so droll. The upshot is that this battery b*tch is a broke.
Enter Jefferies LLC. The debtors have tasked the investment bank with effectuating a marketing process for their assets and for DIP financing and both processes will continue post-petition (don’t see that everyday). In the meantime, the debtors seek to fund their cases via the use of cash collateral consented to by their noteholders — noteholders, that are behind the debtors’ pre-petition capital structure:
Ok, not too bad. And noteholders must’ve felt pretty darn good about their credit enhanced position sitting atop — it’s worth repeating for the third time — hundreds of millions of dollars in grants and nearly a billion dollars in investor funding. Behind them there’s $36-$40mm of unsecured debt.*
Supported by, in addition to Jefferies, Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP (Ryan Manns, Maria Mokrzycka, Jason Blanchard, Michael Berthiaume, John Conover) as legal counsel and Alvarez & Marsal LLC (Adam Titus) as financial advisor and CRO, the debtors hope to get an orderly, value-maximizing sale process rolling asap. A sale motion is already on the docket with an emergency hearing — dictated by the cash collateral budget — on the calendar for April 16, 2026 at 11am CT. Speed appears to be the name of the game here, the motion reflects a desired sale hearing on May 17, 2026. An April 10, 2026 first day hearing was about as droll as the reasons the company ended up in bankruptcy in the first place. Fifth Wall Early Stage Climate Technology Fund, L.P., Fifth Wall Accelerate (Late Stage), L.P., and Fifth Wall Ventures SPV XXXIX, L.P. — the investors represented in that there Joker gif 👆— are represented by Goodwin Procter LLP (Robert Lemons, Debora Hoehne, Artem Skorostensky) and Gray Reed (Jason Brookner, Lydia Webb). SKS Private Equity Co., Ltd., represented by Baker & McKenzie LLP (Blaire Cahn, Mark Bloom, Courtney Giles), is another large stakeholder in the company.
*Mr. Austin’s declaration cited the upper bound while the debtors’ in-court demonstrative indicated the lower figure.
Company Professionals:
Legal: Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP (Ryan Manns, Maria Mokrzycka, Jason Blanchard, Michael Berthiaume, John Conover)
Financial Advisor/CRO: Alvarez & Marsal LLC (Adam Titus)
Investment Banker: Jefferies Financial Group Inc.
Claims Agent: Verita (Click here for free docket access)
Other Parties in Interest:
Collateral Agent: Alter Domus US LLC
Certain Holders of Senior Secured Convertible Notes
Legal: Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP (Sunny Singh, Stephanie Morrison, Emma Wheeler)
Fifth Wall Early Stage Climate Technology Fund, L.P., Fifth Wall Accelerate (Late Stage), L.P., and Fifth Wall Ventures SPV XXXIX, L.P.
Legal: Goodwin Procter LLP (Robert Lemons, Debora Hoehne, Artem Skorostensky) and Gray Reed (Jason Brookner, Lydia Webb)
SKS Private Equity Co., Ltd.
Legal: Baker & McKenzie LLP (Blaire Cahn, Mark Bloom, Courtney Giles)