Ace Green Recycling, Inc., a leading provider of sustainable battery recycling technology solutions, and Athena Technology Acquisition Corp. II (“ATAC II”), a special purpose acquisition company, today announced that they have entered into a definitive business combination agreement. Pursuant to it, 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 (“LFP”) and Nickel Manganese Cobalt (“NMC”) batteries. In addition to recovering Lithium, the Company’s LithiumFirstTM 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.
