As the number of electric vehicles (EVs) on the road increases, so does the amount of mining and raw material extraction required to support their production. This can have a significant impact on the environment. Redwood Materials, a pioneer in the battery recycling industry, aims to address these issues by creating a closed system for refining and recycling raw materials.
According to Redwood’s CEO and founder, JB Straubel, electrifying all modes of transportation is the best way to address sustainability challenges. However, this requires a significant amount of batteries, which can only be sustainably produced through recycling. Straubel notes that while battery recycling is a complex process requiring a high degree of knowledge and effort, the industry’s newness presents opportunities for innovation and optimization.
Shockingly, Straubel notes that up to 99% of the metals and raw materials in today’s batteries can be recovered and reused multiple times. However, as the industry is still in its early stages, Redwood currently supplements recycled materials with newly mined materials. The company is also exploring recycling diverging battery technologies and is not focused on a single format or chemical composition.
Redwood has raised over $1 billion and is in the process of building large recycling facilities in Nevada and South Carolina. Straubel emphasizes the need for these facilities to be large in order to effectively recycle materials, but also notes the importance of considering efficiency and environmental impact in future scaling efforts.
