Ascend Elements (Ascend) recently claimed in a new, independently verified lifetime carbon assessment that its hydro-to-cathode recycling process is able to produce nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC, specifically NMC 622) cathode materials with a 49% lower carbon footprint than manufacturing with virgin materials. The company is now targeting a 90% reduction in carbon footprint by 2030, further beating down the unfounded accusation that batteries are too costly on the environment to become a scalable solution to climate change and the green transition. Battery recycling has a few problems that will limit its contribution to the wider battery industry, but Ascend has identified where recycling companies can truly shine. Recycling was already going to be low-carbon in the relative sense that it isn’t using…