Redwood Materials, the electric vehicle (EV) battery recycling corporation founded by Tesla co-founder JB Straubel, has been making serious moves as it bolsters its foothold in the zero-emission car business. It recently struck a deal with General Motors (GM) to recycle production scrap and component material for GM’s Ultium cells. The announcement came on May 23, and Redwood will collect materials from GM’s Warren, Ohio, and Spring Hill, Tennessee, facilities.
The facilities can produce around 80 gigawatt hours (GWh) of Ultium battery cells annually. The production process leaves behind valuable scrap that can be repurposed for other cells.
Redwood’s mission is to create a circular battery economy that reduces EV battery waste from reaching landfills and gives batteries a second life. Battery recycling also reduces the reliance on foreign mineral suppliers, keeping a domestic supply of lithium, cobalt, and nickel.
The startup has deals with the United States Department of Energy (DOE) for a $2 billion loan to build a battery recycling facility in Nevada. The DOE also cut Ultium Cells a $2.5 billion loan to develop cell manufacturing facilities.
The new facility is expected to create more than 11,000 jobs in construction and operations across three different factories. Over 700 of these jobs will be United Auto Workers (UAW) union positions, discussed in the GM-UAW collective bargaining agreement struck earlier this year.
Photo Courtesy Elishia Jayye
Redwood has inked other battery recycling deals with Tesla, Ford, Toyota, and Nissan. The company also manufactures anodes and cathodes at a South Carolina facility.
The company says Stanford University research suggests that Redwood’s process reduces emissions by 40% compared to other recyclers. The facilities can process more than 40,000 metric tons of battery scrap annually, and the firm expects that number to rise in the future.
“Our collective goals are paramount in building America’s battery supply chain and supporting a swift, sustainable transition to electric vehicles and a clean energy economy,” the company press release said.
“As automakers and cell manufacturers continue to ramp up domestic battery production, Redwood stands ready to support this growth with our highly sustainable and scalable battery materials process.”
Photo Courtesy Kumpan Electric
Many batteries from the first generation of EVs are reaching the end of their lifespan. Those batteries are still useful, providing key minerals, and can also be repurposed into energy storage devices for solar or wind power.
TechCrunch reported that in August 2023, Redwood hoped its production output would scale to 500 GWh a year by 2030. It said the company expected to produce 100 GWh of cathode capacity by 2025 — confirmation is needed if that timeline is still accurate.
“The U.S. battery demand and EV demand is growing … but we have a long way before that supply chain is predominantly moved to the U.S.,” Straubel told CNBC.
The Inflation Reduction Act has spurred this investment into battery recycling. The tax credits for North American-made batteries, including the need for critical mineral requirements, give Redwood the leg-up. The company is part of the new green economy, helping to create over 100,000 green jobs, according to a report by Climate Power. More DOE loans are going out to clean energy providers, EV specialist companies, and other eco-tech firms.
