Redwood Materials, a Nevada-based company on a mission to develop new processes to recycle materials and EV batteries, has begun collecting and recycling EV battery packs from Volvo and Ford in California.
The company, which was launched by Tesla co-founder JB Straubel, began its crusade into the realm of EV materials by recycling battery scraps from Panasonic’s production at the Tesla Gigafactory in Nevada. Now, Redwood Materials has also announced that it is “getting into cathode and anode production with a 100 GHw battery material factory in the US.” With this new venture, Redwood Materials aims to create a full closed-loop supply chain for EV battery production and recycling in North America, for which there is an undeniable industry demand.
Redwood Materials has also announced deals with both Ford and Volvo in California to help the automakers establish sustainable recycling programs for their batteries, which will allow them to reuse the materials for new production.
“Redwood is launching the most comprehensive electric vehicle battery recycling program, be-ginning in California, to establish efficient, safe and effective recovery pathways for end-of-life hybrid and electric vehicle battery packs,” Redwood Materials announced. “Ford Motor Compa-ny and Volvo Cars are the first automakers to directly support the program, but we will accept all lithium-ion (Li-ion) and nickel metal hydride (NiMH) batteries in the state and welcome other au-tomakers to join us in this effort!”
According to the announcement, Redwood Materials will work with the Ford and Volvo dealers in California to secure the end-of-life battery packs and transport them to its facility in Nevada. The company also confirmed that it currently has the capacity to handle 6 GWh of batteries per year, or enough for roughly 60,000 EV batteries.
