Fresh off reaching “unicorn” status, the clean energy company Ascend Elements is
making a big move in Greater Boston.
Ascend has agreed to lease a new 101,000-square-foot building in Devens to serve as its
headquarters, following months of negotiations with developer King Street Properties.
The company is now based in Westborough. The Devens site will offer office, research
and manufacturing space.
A provider of technology for recycling electric-vehicle batteries, Ascend is valued at
roughly $1.5 billion following recent fundraises, including a $460 million Series D round
that closed last month. The company’s systems convert used lithium-ion batteries into
cathode materials.
Ascend is headed to 39 Jackson Road at Pathway Devens, a new development from
Boston-based King Street that was built with biomanufacturing in mind but has attracted
more clean energy startups. Flush with cash thanks to federal clean-energy legislation,
companies in the sector are hungry for space in the Boston area.
“Green hydrogen” company Electric Hydrogen leased another building at Pathway
Devens earlier this year, and renewable energy provider Commonwealth Fusion Systems
is on a nearby King Street property in Devens. Life sciences cleanroom provider Azzur
Group has the other building in the development to be completed so far.
“This addition further solidifies Devens as the top destination in Greater Boston for
innovators engaged in advanced manufacturing,” King Street managing director Tyson
Reynoso said in a statement.
King Street plans to build two more large manufacturing facilities as part of the Pathway
development. It will soon wrap up construction on a site on the campus with a fitness
center, space for a brewery, and other tenant perks.
From Greg Ryan at Boston Business Journal: