Redwood Supplies is a battery recycling startup based by former Tesla co-founder JB Straubel that can recycle battery manufacturing waste utilized in Normal Motors’ electrical autos.
The corporate introduced Thursday that it’s working with Ultium Cells, a joint battery manufacturing enterprise between Normal Motors and LG Vitality Answer, to recycle cathodes, anodes and battery scrap from its vegetation in Warren, Ohio, and Spring Hill, Tennessee.
Battery recycling is a scorching business as automakers and battery producers search to manage their provide of battery supplies moderately than counting on China, the worldwide chief within the subject. There are rising incentives in areas reminiscent of the US and Europe to recycle and domestically produce key battery supplies reminiscent of lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese and graphite.
The Inflation Discount Act, signed by President Biden in August 2022, supplies tax credit for battery manufacturing and important mineral processing. Redwood immediately benefited from the passage of the invoice in February 2023, when the Division of Vitality offered the startup with a $2 billion mortgage to construct a battery recycling facility in Nevada. The U.S. Division of Vitality additionally offered a $2.5 billion mortgage to Ultium Cells to develop its battery manufacturing services in the US
The street to true recycling of EV batteries is lengthy, as most batteries are produced right now and will not attain the tip of their helpful life for a few years. That is why recycling scrap offers like Ultium’s are so necessary. Redwood, which additionally has offers with Toyota and Panasonic (which makes batteries for Tesla), has change into a family title in EV battery recycling, however any new startup on this area might want to develop a near-term technique to remain on the long-term path . revenue.
Scrap manufacturing isn’t any straightforward process. A Redwood spokesperson informed TechCrunch that battery factories generate a median of 5% to 10% waste, which implies Redwood manages about 10,000 tons of fabric per yr, equal to a day by day truck load of scrap.
Redwood will recycle Ultium’s scrap and course of it into high-quality battery supplies earlier than returning it to battery producers as home anode and cathode elements, the corporate mentioned.
Because the value of supplies fluctuates commonly, processing the supplies (moderately than simply recycling them) can be a part of Redwood’s long-term technique. Large cash will come from processing supplies, that are at the moment usually despatched to Asia for processing after which shipped again to the U.S.
In August 2023, Redwood raised $1 billion to broaden its battery recycling facility, partly to extend its manufacturing capability of anode copper foil and cathode lively supplies. The corporate mentioned on the time that it anticipated annual manufacturing capability of cathode lively supplies and anode foils to succeed in about 100 gigawatt hours by 2025, which may energy 1 million electrical autos. Watt-hour, it could actually energy 5 million electrical autos. The corporate has not confirmed whether or not that timeline remains to be correct.
The 2 services from which Ultium Cells will provide scrap to Redwood every occupy 2.8 million sq. ft and are anticipated to provide greater than 80 GWh of mixed cells yearly, with Redwood saying it is going to obtain the vast majority of the scrap. In 2021, Ultium additionally partnered with Canadian battery recycling firm Li-Cycle to recycle scrap, however GM has not confirmed whether or not the deal remains to be within the works. Ultium can be constructing a 3rd plant in Michigan. Redwood didn’t say whether or not scrap materials would even be obtained from the manufacturing unit.