Massachusetts-based Ascend Elements announced in 2022 it would invest $1 billion dollars to build an EV battery recycling plant in Hopkinsville. The company has since taken Chapter 11 bankruptcy and settled false claims allegations with the U.S. Department of Justice. Construction of the mega factory remains stalled, but with new owners who say the project will be finished.
The federal government has reached a settlement with Ascend Elements, the company once building a massive plant in Christian County.
The maker of lithium-ion battery materials was charged with making false claims for reimbursements under a U.S. Department of Energy grant.
Under an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice, Ascend Elements will pay $7.5 million to resolve civil allegations that it inflated reimbursement claims to the Department of Energy for its work on an EV battery recycling plant in Hopkinsville.
Between September 2023 and February 2025, the DOE alleges it lost $5.3 million from inflated labor hours, excessive tool purchases, unnecessary equipment rentals, and other wasteful expenses.
According to prosecutors, Ascend admitted to the conduct and received credit for its cooperation.
“This settlement reflects the Department of Justice’s commitment to ensuring that federal funds supporting critical energy and infrastructure projects are safeguarded from misuse,” Kyle Bumgarner, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky, said in a news release. “Companies that receive taxpayer dollars must be held to the highest standards, and today’s recovery demonstrates that voluntary self-disclosure and cooperation will be met with appropriate credit, while still ensuring accountability.”
The project, announced in 2022, was billed as the largest economic development project in the history of Christian County. The projected $1 billion investment was expected to create up to 400 full-time jobs and become Ascend Elements' largest U.S. operation.
Ascend filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection earlier this year and the Christian County plant was purchased at auction by Turner-Kokosing Industrial Joint Venture, the construction team building the plant.
Construction is delayed due to changing market conditions and pending litigation by contractors over unpaid work. According to Turner-Kokosing, construction is about 65% complete.
The Department of Energy has canceled all remaining funding for the project. However, its new owner says the facility will be completed, but future plans for the site remain undetermined.
"We're looking forward to working with the City of Hopkinsville, the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and the Department of Energy to bring this project to completion," a Turner spokesman said in a statement to WKU Public Radio. "This community invested in this vision. So did we. We're not walking away from it."
According to Christian County Judge-Executive Jerry Gilliam, Turner-Kokosing is in the process of selling the facility to a potential manufacturer.
Hopkinsville City Attorney Doug Willen declined to comment on the project due to ongoing legal proceedings.
