Distributions
On October 25, 2023, the Board of Directors of ARLP’s general partner (the "Board") approved a cash distribution to unitholders for the 2023 Quarter of $0.70 per unit (an annualized rate of $2.80 per unit), payable on November 14, 2023, to all unitholders of record as of the close of trading on November 7, 2023. The announced distribution represents a 40.0% increase over the cash distribution of $0.50 per unit for the 2022 Quarter and is consistent with the Sequential Quarter cash distribution.
Strategic Investments
During the 2023 Quarter, ARLP invested approximately $50 million in two companies that align with the Partnership’s strategy to allocate a portion of excess cash flows into high-growth businesses where ARLP can leverage its core competencies to generate meaningful, risk-adjusted returns.
Ascend Elements, Inc. ("Ascend Elements")
As previously announced, on September 6, 2023, ARLP invested $25 million in Ascend Elements, a U.S.-based manufacturer and recycler of sustainable, engineered battery materials for electric vehicles, as part of its $460 million Series D funding round. This capital, combined with $480 million in total grants awarded by the Department of Energy, will advance construction of North America’s first commercial-scale manufacturing facility, located near Hopkinsville, Kentucky, producing cathode materials for electric vehicle batteries.
In close proximity to ARLP’s western Kentucky mining operations, when complete, the 1-million-square-foot manufacturing facility will produce enough cathode materials for 750,000 electric vehicles per year. ARLP intends to explore other strategic opportunities with Ascend Elements to expand investment in the battery recycling industry and leverage our unique operational expertise, geographic footprint, and strategic relationships in Kentucky and the surrounding battery-belt states to drive value creation for both companies.
Infinitum
During the 2023 Quarter, ARLP invested an additional $24.6 million in Infinitum, a Texas-based developer and manufacturer of high-efficiency electric motors, as part of their ongoing Series E equity raise. The incremental amount brings ARLP’s total investment in the company to approximately $67 million. Infinitum believes that its patented air core motors offer superior performance in half the weight and size, at a fraction of the carbon footprint of traditional motors, making them pound for pound the most efficient in the world.
In addition to the investment, ARLP’s wholly-owned subsidiary Matrix Design Group LLC ("Matrix") and Infinitum are actively evaluating opportunities to combine Matrix’s underground mining expertise with Infinitum’s technology to deliver much needed innovation to the growing global mining industry by improving the safety, efficiency, and performance of certain mining machinery.