EV Battery Materials Manufacturing Facility

Ascend Elements

Highlights
  • Greenfield mega-site
  • Site evaluation
  • First-of-its-kind facility in the U.S.
  • FEL
  • Grant support
  • Fast-track schedule with a continually changing scope
  • Troubleshooting supply chain issues
  • Multi-national venture
  • pCAM and CAM production
  • Winner of Autodesk's Design & Make AEC Best Construction Project Award in 2023

Hopkinsville, Kentucky

500,000+ SF / 140+ acres

Having started our relationship with Ascend Elements by providing site and facility evaluations (followed up by full architecture, EPC, and commissioning) for their brownfield lithium-ion battery recycling facility, SSOE continues to be a trusted project delivery partner.

While working on their first production facility together, Ascend Elements engaged SSOE to support the evaluation of two potential sites for their new greenfield megasite. SSOE performed research and provided site layout plans for each potential location.

SSOE is now working closely with Ascend Elements in the front-end loading (FEL) phase to develop a site layout to include process, packaging, warehousing, and office buildings, as well as the preliminary project schedule and execution plan. Our comprehensive multi-disciplinary A/E team for this planning and design phase includes architectural, civil, structural, process, mechanical (HVAC / plumbing), piping, electrical, instrumentation and controls, and estimating.

During this phase, we also coordinated with Ascend Elements and their process technology provider, to develop an efficient overall process design while also evaluating opportunities for engineering alternatives to drive value into their project. Working with a foreign OEM / technology provider, it was integral for SSOE to carefully evaluate the equipment and equipment design specifications to ensure compliance with all U.S. codes and standards. This entailed establishing standing coordination meetings, as well as around-the-clock BIM / CAD coordination.

SSOE was able to provide creative solutions in response to global supply chain shortages, which could ultimately impact the fast-track schedule. One solution was to utilize refurbished equipment to start up one production line while the remainder of the facility was under construction.

Positioned on 140+ acres, their multi-building campus will produce precursor (pCAM) and sustainable cathode active materials (CAM) to equip up to 250,000 EVs a year. A fairly young company, it’s important to Ascend Elements to work with a firm that has the resources to deliver a project of this magnitude and the agility to pivot project execution throughout a fast-track schedule as the company dynamic continues to develop and change. According to the client, SSOE has done well adapting to many fast-moving changes while driving the project schedule.

SSOE received Autodesk’s Design & Make AEC Best Construction Project Award for our design of Ascend Elements’ EV battery materials manufacturing facility in 2023 based on our approach to construction and the dramatic, positive results that were applied.

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