Electric cars can be seen as a double-edged sword by many. While they are the most efficient machines out there, radical environmentalists still criticize them because they are cars and preach that we should move around this magnificent country on foot, ride bikes, or just travel on public transport. More rational people concerned with the environment are worried about batteries with this next generation of private transport. They require mining and are not seen as a totally recyclable item. The good news is we now see a few industry startups finding solutions to stop this criticism once and for all.
Redwood is one of these companies that is well underway in launching the most comprehensive electric vehicle battery recycling program, beginning in California, to establish efficient, safe, and effective recovery pathways for end-of-life hybrid and electric vehicle battery packs. Ford Motor Company 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 automakers to the program and join in this effort!
To truly make electric vehicles sustainable and affordable, are creating pathways for end-of-life battery packs to be collected, recycled, and remanufactured into new battery materials. Scaling production of EVs, increasingly from recycled materials, domestically, is the only way we can create a circular and, therefore, sustainable and secure supply chain to meet the US’ electrification plans. While the first major wave of end-of-life electric vehicles is still a few years away, Redwood and their initial partners at Ford and Volvo are committed to creating these pathways now.
Annually, 6 GWh of lithium-ion batteries, or the equivalent of 60,000 EVs, come through Redwood’s doors - most of the recycled lithium-ion batteries in North America today. The company has been ramping our processes in preparation for the first wave of these vehicles to come off roads and we’re ready to support the battery market in identifying and creating pathways to collect battery packs.
California has always been a leader in the transition to electric transportation and, as a result, is the oldest and one of the largest electric vehicle markets on earth. When the first major wave of EVs begins to retire from roads, it will happen in California.
When Redwood first announced a partnership with Ford last year, they shared that our initial workstream was to collaborate to determine how we can create pathways together for Ford and Lincoln electrified vehicles to come off the road at the end of their lives and be recycled and manufactured into battery materials to make more, locally manufactured, electric vehicles. Volvo, while a new relationship, is similarly focused on ensuring responsible and secure pathways for end-of-life batteries.
Redwood will work directly with dealers and dismantlers in California to identify and recover end-of-life packs. Redwood will then safely package, transport, and recycle these batteries at their facilities in neighboring Northern Nevada, and then return high quality, recycled materials back into domestic cell production. Overtime, as EOL packs scale, Redwood expects these batteries to become valuable assets that will help make EVs more sustainable and affordable.
Redwood's goal is to learn and share those learnings with the industry. They will demonstrate the value of end-of-life packs today and how we can steadily improve those economics as volumes scale up. Ultimately, their aim is to create the most effective and sustainable closed-loop system that physics, and chemistry will allow for end-of-life battery packs to re-enter the domestic supply chain. Redwood say, they look forward to working with dismantlers, dealers, and other automakers and hope to be a resource, sharing their results and learnings as they go.
For more detail on Redwood's electric vehicle battery recycling program, listen to JB Straubel in the video below.
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