NCET Biz Tips: Sustainable batteries to fuel a clean energy future

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Sustainability. We often hear this term, although many are hazy about how it relates to a clean energy future.

The best way to understand it is in terms of the current global imperative to transition from finite fossil fuels to renewable energy sources with a much lower environmental impact.

Sustainability in the context of a clean energy future means minimizing resource depletion, reducing carbon emissions, creating a circular economy (materials are reused, repurposed, or recycled), and making renewable energy affordable and accessible.

Integral to this transition is a critical need for more batteries and the materials that comprise them. In fact, demand is projected to increase by over 500% by 2030.

How can our world meet this demanding challenge?

We have one company in our Reno area that leads the way in building a circular supply chain for electric vehicles and clean energy products, making them more sustainable and reducing the cost of batteries.

That company is Redwood Materials.

The reality today is nearly all battery materials production feeding U.S. battery cell manufacturers occurs in Asia. China dominates the current battery supply chain, controlling over 70% per Bloomberg New Energy Finance. China’s position poses enormous environmental, economic, and geopolitical risks not just to the U.S. but to other countries as well.

Redwood Materials has created a closed-loop, domestic supply chain by recycling and refining lithium-ion batteries and remanufacturing anode and cathode components to make electric vehicles and energy storage products fully sustainable and affordable. These remanufactured battery materials then go directly back into U.S. battery production.

Let’s step back and examine how Redwood Materials started and is intertwined with our clean energy future.

Redwood Materials was founded by JB Straubel, the former chief technology officer and co-founder of Tesla. At Tesla, JB built one of the best engineering teams in the world. In addition to leading cell design and supply chain management, he led the first Gigafactory concept through the production ramp of the Tesla Model 3.

During his work with Tesla, JB realized a tremendous need for reliable, domestic, and circular flow of materials to produce lithium batteries that power long-range electrical vehicles (EVs). To that end, he founded Redwood Materials to create a circular supply chain to drive down the environmental footprint and cost of lithium-ion batteries, EVs, and the energy storage systems they power.

Redwood Materials purchased and broke ground on roughly 300 acres in the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center at the end of 2021. This site is operational across recycling, refining, and battery materials production.

The company expects to invest a minimum of $2 billion in Northern Nevada over the coming decade and hire approximately 1,500 people at its Tahoe-Reno site.

Today, Redwood Materials receives more than 20 GWh of lithium-ion batteries annually, which equates to more than 250,000 cars, 1,576 billion cell phones, or 40,000 metric tons per year. Most lithium-ion batteries recycled in North America come through Redwood’s door.

Aside from being the first U.S. facility to achieve commercial-scale separation of nickel and lithium from recycled batteries, Redwood Materials recovers more than 95% of the metals, including nickel, cobalt, lithium, and copper, from these batteries and uses them to remanufacture anode and cathode components. Redwood then supplies these components to U.S. battery cell manufacturers, with the metals never leaving our country.

As Redwood Materials Reno expands its capacity to approximately 60,000 tons annually, together with its companion campus in Charleston, South Carolina, its emphasis on utilizing domestic resources (recycled content) for lithium refining places the company at the forefront of sustainable resource management.

One more important note about Redwood Materials and cathode active material. Cathode active material is a highly valued and complex manufactured battery material mainly responsible for a battery’s performance, cost, and environmental footprint.

The value of the cathode within the battery amounts to the majority of the cost of a battery cell. It’s the single most expensive component in an EV battery. Critical minerals like lithium, nickel, and cobalt are all contained inside the cathode. Redwood’s first commercial-scale line for cathode at its Tahoe-Reno campus addresses the need and lowers manufacturing costs. The U.S. now has access to recycled lithium-ion battery components 100% produced in the USA.

Compared to traditional methods of processing mined ore into battery-grade materials, Redwood’s process also uses 80% less energy, generates 70% less CO2 emissions, and requires 80% less water.

Redwood Materials has received significant interest from the public who want to recycle rechargeable devices and lithium-ion batteries. To that end, Redwood’s consumer recycling program operates in three major categories to ensure that individuals have free mechanisms to keep these batteries and devices from landfills: 1) direct mail, 2) permanent collection locations, and 3) community or partnership events. You can find more information here, including where to find them.

Finally, Redwood Materials’ partnerships are as long as both your arms and include Panasonic, Volkswagen Group of America, Toyota, Ford, Volvo, Amazon, Specialized Bikes, ERI, Rad Power Bikes, Ultium Cells LLC (GM and LG joint venture), and even Rotary Clubs of America and Rotary’s collection events.

There is so much more, and the above only scratches the surface.

Redwood Materials is building a recycling, refining, and manufacturing colossus to rival China. The company’s emphasis on utilizing domestic resources puts it at the forefront of sustainable resource management. Redwood’s strategy reflects its commitment to reducing environmental impact and fostering localized supply chains.

It’s all good for our country and the rest of the world.

NCET Tech Wednesday, October 9, is your opportunity to learn more about Redwood Materials and how recycling, refining, and remanufacturing materials can ensure a clean energy future.

Redwood Materials’ limited access presentation is already SOLD OUT, but you can register here to be placed on a WAIT LIST. Redwood Materials’ presentations will begin at 3 p.m. More information at NCET.org.

Bill Leonard is VP of Communications at NCET and a ghostwriter of thought leadership articles, white papers, and customer case studies for startup founders and business leaders who seek to boost their influence and authority. Connect with Bill at LinkedIn.com/in/billleonardusa. NCET produces education and networking events to help people explore business and technology.