HOPKINSVILLE, KY – Ascend Elements has agreed to pay just under $7.5 million to resolve a civil allegation that the company submitted inflated reimbursement claims to the U.S. Department of Energy for their work on the Apex 1 plant in Hopkinsville.
The announcement was made on June 30 by U.S. Attorney Kyle G. Bumgarner of the Western District of Kentucky. According to a news release, the settlement resolves the United States’ contention that, between September 18, 2023 and February 18, 2025, Ascend sought and received DOE reimbursement for goods and services that included inflated labor hours, excessive tool purchases, unnecessary equipment rentals, and other wasteful or unnecessary expenses related to its industrial-scale battery precursor production project.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Kentucky says Ascend voluntarily divulged the issues to the government and received credit for its cooperation, which included a timely self-disclosure, an internal investigation, and assisting the United States in understanding the full scope of the conduct.
Assistant United States Attorney Jessica R. C. Malloy handled this matter for the United States, with support from the U.S. Department of Energy. It was iterated that the claims resolved by this settlement are still only allegations, and there has been no determination of liability, according to the attorney’s office.
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History of Ascend in Hopkinsville, unfinished facility up for sale
The one million square foot battery plant facility broke ground in 2022 and originally planned to be operational by 2025 with a total investment reaching upward of $1 billion. At the time, Gov. Andy Beshear said it would make history as the largest development project in Christian County and the largest investment in Western Kentucky. The chemical plant was intended to create the chemical compound that is inside batteries (pCAM) by transforming black matter.
Financial trouble plagued the project, with the U.S. Department of Energy discontinuing a $316 million grant, causing a loss of around $100 million as a result.
This past spring Ascend announced that the company voluntarily initiated a Chapter 11 process, initially stating that their Apex 1 facility in Hopkinsville would not be impacted. Over the summer, Turner-Kokosing Joint Venture purchased the facility in a bid process.
The purchasing company is comprised of contractors which were both building the plant and were involved in a lawsuit with Ascend that previously halted construction. The new facility owners are currently looking for buyers who will move into the unfinished plant.
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