News & Media

Ascend Elements “Decarbonization Path” Targets 90% Reduction in EV Battery Material Carbon Footprint By 2030

Ascend Elements can today manufacture new EV battery material at a 49% reduction in carbon emissions compared to traditional cathode manufacturing processes that rely on primary materials from mining. By 2030, the company aims to achieve a 90% reduction in carbon footprint.

Using AI in Construction Sites, Deepomatic and Unifiber Collaboration

New collaboration between Deepomatic and Unifiber showcases how AI can be used in construction sites. This new collaboration is taking shape on the field. Watch the video on LinkedIn to see how it is done.

SeeTree secures $17.5 million Series C for its Tree Intelligence Platform

SeeTree has announced that it raised $17.5 million in Series C funding, co-led by HSBC Asset Management and EBRD (European Bank for Reconstruction and Development). The round also included new investors OurCrowd, and SmartAgro, and continued support from Hanaco Ventures (after leading the A round of the company), Mindest Ventures, Uri Levine’s TFK, Orbia Ventures, and SeeTree customer Citrosuco.

Labor pains push robotic pickers

Tortuga was featured in the December issue of Direct Driller Magazine, a magazine focused on regenerative farming and soil health. Robots are not just labor replacements, they are a critical part of making farm operations more predictable and profitable.

Navigating Concerns and Progress in Electric Vehicle Battery Recycling

Despite growing worries, Ascend Elements highlights the misconceptions surrounding EV battery recyclability, emphasizing progress made since 2022 and the industry's strides in efficient lithium-ion battery recycling.

Advanced Graphite Recycling Technology Provides an Alternative to Virgin Graphite from China

A new graphite recycling technology, the Hydro-to-Anode® process developed by Ascend Elements and Koura, promises an alternative source of battery-grade anode material to counter China's dominance in graphite production. With China limiting graphite exports, this technology aims to provide the West, particularly the U.S. electric vehicle industry, with an alternative supply. Ascend Elements' recycled graphite, achieving 99.9% purity, matches the performance of virgin material in independent tests, potentially reducing the industry's reliance on mining and meeting the requirements for tax credits in electric vehicles. The technology's commercialization signifies a crucial step in improving the environmental impact of battery production while providing a sustainable supply chain for the U.S. graphite market.

Unifiber x Deepomatic: Artificial Intelligence empowering fiber deployment in Wallonia

Deepomatic and Unifiber have joined forces to utilize AI for real-time quality control of optical fiber installation in Wallonia, Belgium, streamlining the process and aiming to connect 600,000 households with high-speed internet by 2028, thus marking a pioneering achievement in the Belgian telecom sector.

Osmoses Secures $11M to Decarbonize Projected $35B Industrial Gas Separation Market with Novel Membrane Technology

Osmoses has secured an $11 million seed funding round led by Energy Capital Ventures, with participation from various investors. Osmoses specializes in a novel membrane technology that significantly reduces energy consumption and costs in gas separation processes, offering a potential solution to decarbonize gas production and distribution while positively impacting the environment and achieving net-zero goals.

Chloris Geospatial and Trove Research announce partnership to bring unprecedented transparency to forest carbon projects at a global scale

Will Reed awards Tortuga #22 spot on the Top 100 List of companies with human-first cultures of purpose!

Will Reed announced its Top 100 Class of 2023 highlighting the 100 companies who are championing human-first cultures of purpose, growth, and community in early-stage tech. Tortuga was thrilled to be awarded #22 as they make sure it is a company and employer that inspires culture of growth and collaboration.

Orbia Ventures team is attending the Climate Week Summit!

The annual Climate Week Summit will take place September 17-24, 2023 in New York City. Climate Week NYC is the largest annual climate event of its kind and will bring together the most senior international figures from business, government, civil society and the climate sector. To arrange a meeting with the Orbia Ventures team during the summit, please email innovation@orbia.com.

Orbia’s Koura and Ascend Elements to Explore Joint Commercialization of Advanced Graphite Recycling Technology in the United States

Ascend Elements and Orbia's Fluorinated Solutions business, Koura, are partnering to explore commercializing the Hydro-to-Anode® graphite recycling technology. This patented method can produce 99.9% pure graphite from used lithium-ion batteries, offering a valuable source of battery-grade anode materials for the electric vehicle industry and complying with tax credit requirements.

Ascend Elements Raises $542 Million to Accelerate Production of U.S.-engineered Lithium-Ion Battery Materials

Spray less, grow more: Precision spraying leads the fight against resistance.

As herbicide-resistant weeds continue to thrive, Greeneye Technology spotlights the farmers and retailers who are adopting new tech to fight back.

Call2Recycle and Ascend Elements Partner to Advance EV Battery Management

Verdagy secures Series B funding led by Temasek and Shell Ventures

Looking for the next California tech boom? You’ll find it in farmlands.

Technology advancements, among them robotic harvesters, reduce the number of people needed to produce food and improve yields.

Ascend Elements to Supply Sustainable Cathode Precursor (pCAM) Made from Recycled Battery Materials to Major U.S. Customer.

Osmoses receives a $100,000 grant from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Economic Development (EOED).

Ascend Elements opened its new electric vehicle (EV) battery recycling plant in Covington, Georgia. The plant is the largest EV  battery recycling facility in North America.

Orbia Ventures invested in Type One Energy, a world leader in stellarator R&D, with the mission to provide clean, affordable fusion power to every city across the globe.

Ascend Elements Named to Fast Company's Annual List of the World's Most Innovative Companies for 2023.

Orbia Ventures’ Climatech Strategy Continues with Investment in Chloris Geospatial!

Greeneye is proud to feature in this excellent BBC News article showcasing the companies and technologies that are leading the charge to unlock the cost and efficacy benefits of precision spraying for farmers.

Hort Innovation has announced an $8.7M investment to trial tree immunizations that protect Australia’s horticulture industries against the deadly Xylella and Huanglongbing (HLB) diseases. The trial will employ a method developed by Silvec Biologics to immunize trees, vines, and bushes against diseases.

Osmoses was awarded a $74,000 grant through the Scale for Climatech Manufacturing & Expertise-in-Residence (MEIR) program. This program helps Climatech startups advance their technology from the prototype stage to manufacturing levels in volume.

Greeneye Technology Precision Spraying System and Farmers Business Network (FBN) Announce Strategic Collaboration: FBN to Invest in Greeneye and Partner as a Sales Channel to Fuel U.S. Growth.

President Joe Biden kicked off 2023 with a celebration of several Bipartisan Infrastructure Law-funded projects, including Ascend Elements’ one-of-a-kind Apex 1 facility in Hopkinsville, Kentucky.

Shai Albaranes, Orbia's VP of innovation & ventures, participated in the development of AgThink's report: Tech in India- Investment Landscape 2022.

“India’s agricultural ecosystem (large by every metric) with its growing portfolio of Ag-Tech start-ups, presents an attractive proposition for us as a global venture capital investor”, says Shai.

Deepomatic wants to build an AI-based computer vision companion for field workers.

ARPA-E awards Osmoses with the $500,000 SEED program, aimed to support small businesses developing disruptive energy technologies.

The Transit Tech Lab, an initiative focused on transit and sustainability, has selected StormSensor among six technology companies to conduct yearlong pilots across New York City.

Battery-recycling startup Ascend Elements just pulled in $800 million in funding. Here’s why investors are betting on it.

Verdagy Gets Closer to Green Hydrogen Target

Osmoses is listed among the "50 Cleantech Startups to Watch in 2022 Globally"

Ascend Elements, Orbia Venture’s portfolio company has successfully completed the first closing for its C round of financing, including a $50 Million investment by SK ecoplant.

Osmoses has been selected to receive a grant by the 2022 seed program of the ARPA-E and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

This program aims to support emerging companies developing disruptive energy technologies and Osmoses will focus on helium recovery. While Helium is a critical asset for the economy and particularly the High Tech industry and chip manufacturing, supplies are gradually diminishing and global demand keeps rising.

This Technology Makes Any Sprayer Smarter

Greeneye's achievements receive great recognition from the AgWeb Farm Journal.

Verdagy and Ascend Elements recognized as "One of the most promising sustainability startups in transportation according to top VCs."

Business Insider asked top VCs and investors to pick the most promising startups racing to make transportation more sustainable. Both Verdagy and Ascend Elements were on the list!

Orbia Ventures team is attending the Energy Tech Summit!

The annual Energy Tech Summit will take place April 26-28, 2022 in Warsaw, Poland. The summit will host top global energy and mobility investors, entrepreneurs and government leaders discussing the latest developments in the field.

World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit

This month, Eitan Dekel, Managing Director of Orbia Ventures, will visit the World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit, an annual meeting for the global ag-tech ecosystem in San Francisco from March 22-23. Growers, agribusiness leaders, entrepreneurs and investors come together to exchange insights, be inspired and identify future partners. At Orbia Ventures, we are always on the lookout for new opportunities in this ever-evolving ecosystem. We look forward to seeing you there!

A study concludes recycled materials from end-of-life lithium-ion batteries outperform new material.

Recycled materials recovered from end-of-life lithium-ion batteries can outperform new commercial materials, according to recent research results. The research was led by Yan Wang, chief scientist and a co-founder of Battery Resourcers and published in energy research journal, Joule.

Ascend Elements and Koura Unveil Innovative Technology Yielding 99.9% Pure Graphite from Used Lithium-ion Batteries

Ascend Elements, a vertically integrated lithium-ion battery recycling and engineered materials company and Koura, an Orbia business and one of the world’s largest producers of fluoroproducts and technologies, today announced the launch of a proprietary process technology yielding battery-grade graphite material from spent lithium-ion batteries. Orbia is serving as a development partner to Ascend Elements to scale the company’s technology for commercial production. Orbia has also backed the company through several investment rounds.

BASF Venture Capital and Orbia Ventures Invest in Israeli Biotech Company FortePhest

FortePhest is leading in nature-inspired development of novel substances. New herbicides inhibit the growth of herbicide-resistant weeds and invasive plants.

Orbia Ventures joins $25M investment syndicate in funding Verdagy, a green hydrogen technology innovator

Orbia joins TDK Ventures, BHP Ventures, Doral Energy Tech Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Shell Ventures and Temasek in scaling electrolysis technology for sustainable industrial applications.

Ascend Elements, (formerly Battery Resourcers) is a key player in the emerging battery recycling market.

The battery industry for EV and battery storage is booming and the battery recycling market is expanding. Following the market demands, Battery Resourcers is building a new plant that will be capable of recycling 30,000 metric tons of lithium-ion batteries per year.

Wavin, Orbia’s Building & Infrastructure Business, Joins Forces with Vectus to Provide the Indian Market with Access to Water and Sanitation Solutions

Wavin B.V., a global solutions leader for the Building & Infrastructure industry and an Orbia business, announced today that it will acquire a majority stake in Vectus Industries Limited (“Vectus”), a privately-held manufacturer of plumbing and drainage pipes and the market leader in water storage tanks in India.

Orbia Ventures, Koura Lead $70M Mid-Round Funding Investment in Battery Resourcers and Engage in New Battery Circularity Initiatives

The Wall Street Journal reports that Orbia leads again with an additional $70 million in funding to support Battery Resourcers in expanding its global operations in commercial lithium-ion battery recycling.

“Innovation in a startup is completely different than innovation in a large multinational."

Shai Albaranes talks to Michael Matias, 20 Minute Leaders, about Orbia and how he oversees a variety of programs that inspire new ideas.

Orbia Invests In Battery-Recycling Startup

Orbia announced its fourth venture capital investment through Orbia Ventures. Orbia led a $20 million investor syndicate in backing Battery Resourcers (BR), a vertically integrated lithium-ion battery recycling and manufacturing company. 

Battery Resourcers raises $20M to commercialize its recycling-plus-manufacturing operations

As a greater share of the transportation market becomes electrified, companies have started to grapple with how to dispose of the thousands of tons of used electric vehicle batteries that are expected to come off the roads by the end of the decade. Written by Aria Alamalhodaei from TechCrunch.

Orbia Ventures Invests In Battery Resourcers to Advance Battery Circularity

Investment is uniquely designed to accelerate the shift to a circular, clean energy-driven future.