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Republic of Poland Offers Ascend Elements Up to USD $320 Million to Support Construction of Lithium-ion Battery Materials Plant in Poland

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Cash subsidy valued at up to 1.22 billion PLN is one of the largest grants ever offered by Poland’s Ministry of Economic Development and Technology

WARSAW, Poland, May 7, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — The Ministry of Economic Development and Technology in Poland today offered Ascend Elements up to USD $320 million to support construction of a sustainable precursor cathode active material (pCAM) manufacturing facility in Poland. pCAM is a high-value, precisely engineered material used in the manufacture of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and other advanced industrial applications. The cash subsidy of 1.22 billion Polish Zloty (PLN) is one of the largest grants ever offered by the Republic of Poland. As part of the E.U.’s Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework (TCTF), the grant is designed to support Europe’s transition to a net-zero economy.

One of the largest grants ever offered by Poland’s Ministry of Economic Development and Technology

“This offer of support from the Polish government marks a significant step forward in Ascend Elements’ European growth strategy,” said Linh Austin, President and CEO at Ascend Elements. “We are committed to building a sustainable battery materials supply chain on both sides of the Atlantic, and we greatly appreciate the Ministry’s offer of significant financial support.”

Ascend Elements has already identified a location in Poland for the construction of its first advanced battery materials (pCAM) manufacturing facility in Europe. CEO Linh Austin met with Poland’s Secretary of State Michał Jaros at the Polish Ministry of Economic Development and Technology in Warsaw on Wednesday to receive the grant offer.

“Battery sector projects are a key part of PAIH’s investment portfolio,” said Pawel Pudlowski, Ph.D., Vice President of the Management Board at the Polish Investment and Trade Agency (PAIH). “The Ascend Elements project is one of the largest U.S. investments in recent years, strengthening Poland’s role in the battery supply chain and supporting regional development, including technology development and cooperation with local educational institutions.”

Ascend Elements plans to commercialize its innovative technology for the manufacture of sustainable nickel, manganese, and cobalt (NMC) pCAM made from recycled lithium-ion battery materials at the new facility in Poland.

“We are deeply grateful for the support of the Polish government and thrilled to expand our presence in Europe,” said Tomasz Poznar, Ph.D., Senior Vice President of Commercial at Ascend Elements. “This project is more than a strategic investment in cutting-edge battery materials production — it marks a critical step in transforming Europe’s battery materials landscape. By bringing our advanced Hydro-to-Cathode® technology to Poland, we aim to help bridge the growing gap in cathode precursor supply and contribute to the EU’s strategic net-zero goals by building a sustainable circular battery materials supply chain in the region.”

The company’s Hydro-to-Cathode® direct pCAM synthesis technology produces new NMC pCAM material from spent lithium-ion cells more efficiently than traditional methods, resulting in improved economics and lowered carbon emissions. A recently published life cycle assessment found the Hydro-to-Cathode® process is significantly cleaner than traditional battery recycling methods – producing 49% lower carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions and 26% lower particulate matter 2.5 (PM 2.5) emissions. By 2030, Ascend Elements aims to achieve 86% lower CO2e emissions and 94% lower PM 2.5 emissions through additional decarbonization efforts.

In 2024, Ascend Elements and Elemental Strategic Metals established a joint venture to own and operate the AE Elemental JV battery recycling facility in Zawiercie, Poland. The new pCAM facility in Poland will be solely owned and operated by Ascend Elements.

In the United States, Ascend Elements owns and operates one of North America’s largest battery recycling facilities in Covington, Georgia. A new lithium recovery line at the Georgia plant is expected to produce up to 3,000 metric tons of Lithium Carbonate (Li₂CO₃) annually, making Ascend Elements the first U.S. company to produce Li₂CO₃ from recycled content. In Hopkinsville, Kentucky, the company is building an advanced Hydro-to-Cathode® pCAM manufacturing facility to produce engineered battery materials for up to 750,000 electric vehicle batteries annually. When operational in late 2026, the facility is expected to be North America’s largest NMC pCAM manufacturer.

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SOURCE Ascend Elements

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BlueNexus Technologies Unveils AquaX Hub at SIWW 2026 — AI Autonomous Operations Extended to Legacy Water Assets

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SINGAPORE, June 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — At Singapore International Water Week (SIWW) 2026, BlueNexus Technologies unveiled the global debut of AquaX Hub™ — a compact plug-and-play edge device that brings full AI-powered autonomous operation to standalone water equipment and legacy treatment plants. The launch drew sustained engagement from utilities, industrial operators and engineering firms.

The water sector confronts converging pressures: aging infrastructure, a critical shortage of skilled technicians, and relentless operational cost escalation. AquaX Hub™ answers these directly — extending the AI autonomous operation already proven plant-wide by AquaX Robot™ to a single asset, and delivering comparable monitoring and operational management without a control-system overhaul.

“The industry cannot hire its way out of this problem,” said Jack Zhang, CEO of BlueNexus Technologies. “AI autonomous operation is no longer a future concept — the barrier to entry is gone.”

The AquaX Ecosystem

BlueNexus has built the industry’s first fully integrated AI autonomous water operation platform, spanning three complementary pillars:

AquaX Robot™ is the flagship plant-wide AI agent, built on large language models with proprietary vision, acoustic and infrared multimodal sensing. It optimizes treatment processes 24/7 and predicts equipment failures. Live deployments show up to 90% reduction in on-site staffing, a 50% drop in equipment breakdowns, and approximately 35% lower O&M costs.

AquaX Hub™, making its global debut at SIWW 2026, is a lightweight edge terminal extending that capability to any water system. With an independent local processing module, it monitors and inspects equipment through multimodal sensing and runs a self-contained processing loop. The device integrates seamlessly with existing SCADA, cloud and enterprise platforms via standardized APIs.

i-WaterHub™, the company’s standardized modular treatment plant, operated autonomously by AquaX Robot, delivers 2,500 to 40,000 m³/day for municipal and industrial applications.

Market Momentum

SIWW 2026 convened nearly 500 exhibitors from over 65 countries. BlueNexus has identified priority markets for AquaX Hub™ in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa. “The conversations this week have already translated into concrete business opportunities and we expect rapid deployment in the coming months.” Zhang confirmed.

About BlueNexus Technologies

BlueNexus Technologies is a Singapore-based water-technology company building intelligent, AI-operated systems for the world’s most water-intensive industries. We design and deliver modular water treatment infrastructure that is smarter to run, faster to deploy, and built to operate autonomously.

Web: www.bluenexus.tech

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SOURCE BlueNexus Technologies

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VIVATECH 2026 CELEBRATES ITS 10TH ANNIVERSARY WITH A RECORD EDITION SURPASSING 200,000 VISITORS

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With the presence of Emmanuel Macron and Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India

PARIS, June 20, 2026 /CNW/ — From June 17 to 20, 2026 at Paris Porte de Versailles, VivaTech celebrated its 10th edition, surpassing the exceptional milestone of 200,000 visitors from 165 nationalities, with more than 15,000 startups present, 1,155 speakers and over 5 billion cumulative impressions on social media. Europe’s largest tech and innovation event has reached a new dimension, consolidating its status as an unmissable global gathering.

Exceptional speakers

VivaTech welcomed the greatest figures in global tech: Jeff Bezos (Amazon & Blue Origin), Dave Limp (Blue Origin), Bernard Arnault (LVMH), Henna Virkkunen (European Commission), Ekaterina Zaharieva (European Commission). Germany, Country of the Year 2026, was represented by a ministerial delegation, while India, AI Country Partner 2026, was led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as a continuation of the AI Summit in New Delhi.

Innovation and business at the heart of the event

More than 4,500 exhibitors, 61% of whom were international, showcased their latest innovations. Among the standout innovations: the smart contact lens by XPANCEO, the thought-controlled humanoid robot by Unitree x HABS, and the 3D-printed resorbable implants by Lattice Medical. New formats such as the Business Plaza and Investors Office Hours further accelerated business connections.

The VivaTech x Bloomberg Awards

For the first time, VivaTech presented the VivaTech x Bloomberg Awards, recognising the most influential figures in global tech, including Sir Tim Berners-Lee (Visionary Award), Joe Tsai (Leadership Award) and Yann LeCun (Momentum Award).

Innovation open to all

VivaTech also took over the Champs-Élysées on June 14th for an open-air technology showcase, before opening its doors to the general public on June 20th with astronaut Thomas Pesquet as guest star.

“This 10th edition was not a celebration of the 9 previous years, but the opening of a new decade full of promise.” — Maurice Lévy, Michèle Benbunan & François Bitouzet, VivaTech

See you from June 16 to 19, 2027 at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles for VivaTech 2027!

About VivaTech

VivaTech accelerates innovation by connecting startups, tech leaders, major companies, and investors responding to our world’s biggest challenges.  

Each year, over four exciting days in Paris, VivaTech creates Europe’s biggest startup and tech event, exploring the most disruptive topics in tech with world-premiere demos, launches, and conferences in a collaborative ecosystem. This is where business meets innovation. Join us for the eleventh edition of VivaTech 16-19 June 2027.

For more information go to our website at https://vivatech.com/media or follow us on social media @VivaTech.

Contact
press@vivatechnology.com 

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SOURCE VivaTech

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Pope Leo XIV embraces paediatric patients at CNAO in Pavia

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PAVIA, Italy, June 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The National Center for Oncological Hadrontherapy (CNAO) served as the first stop today during Pope Leo XIV’s pastoral visit to the city of Pavia. His choice to begin his journey at this center reflects a profound commitment to fostering meaningful dialogue between advanced scientific progress and the alleviation of human suffering.

CNAO President Gianluca Vago and General Manager Sandro Rossi received His Holiness, illustrating the center’s distinctive capabilities. CNAO stands out as a unique reality in Italy, remaining one of the very few facilities worldwide capable of delivering hadrontherapy using both protons and carbon ions. The technological core of the facility is its synchrotron, a subatomic particle accelerator that generates ultra-high-precision beams to treat complex, inoperable and radioresistant tumours. This cutting-edge technology allows for the targeted eradication of diseased cells while meticulously preserving surrounding healthy tissues, drastically improving patients’ survival and quality of life.

Furthermore, CNAO is expanding its capabilities as a premier multi-center utilizing new ion species, like Helium, later Oxygen and Neon. Soon, treatments will incorporate the Leo Cancer Care upright positioning and imaging system. The immediate future also includes beginning therapies with a Hitachi dedicated proton accelerator and gantry and a BNCT system for metastatic diseases, equipped with an electrostatic accelerator produced by TAE Life Science. With these new technologies, CNAO will become one of the most technologically advanced center in the world.

To date, over six thousand individuals, including approximately three hundred children and adolescents, have benefited from these life-saving treatments.

During his visit, the Pope engaged with CNAO’s Board of Directors, a collaborative body uniting national universities, clinical institutions, and research centers. He also extended his heartfelt greetings to the two hundred employees of the center. These doctors, physicists, engineers, and researchers tirelessly operate the advanced technologies in the service of oncology patients.

The emotional pinnacle of the day was the Holy Father’s private gathering with a delegation of young children who underwent treatment. The paediatric patients and their families shared a deeply touching moment of closeness, receiving the Pope’s comforting embrace.

“The visit of Pope Leo XIV honours us and represents a moment of extraordinary human value”, stated CNAO President Gianluca Vago. “In his encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, the Holy Father emphasizes the necessity of a science that constantly safeguards the centrality of the person and directs technology toward the common good. In a time marked by global tensions, CNAO testifies daily how the incredible power of the atom can be used not to destroy, but to heal. The particle beams we utilize against disease are, symbolically, Rays of Hope, sharing and supporting the IAEA project bearing this name. The embrace the Holy Father reserved for our children reminds us that scientific research finds its most authentic purpose when it encounters listening, compassion, and hope”.

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