Redwood Materials races to put recycled materials into EV batteries

Redwood recognized early on that battery recycling is only one part of a fully renewable battery production loop, while other parts of the process bring climate-damaging downsides.

Battery recycling produces materials that are typically shipped to Asia for further refinement before they can be put into a battery. Nearly all anode and cathode production for U.S. battery makers is done in Asia, the Department of Energy said. The refined material is then shipped back to the U.S. for battery cell assembly, producing an abundance of carbon emissions.

“At a systems level, we weren’t actually solving the problem,” Switzer said. “The United States is going to need a lot of batteries, and to build those batteries, you’re going to need a lot of battery materials. That’s what we’re trying to really help impact.”

Recycling batteries from everything from Bluetooth speakers and electric toothbrushes to power tools and EVs remains Redwood’s core business, Switzer said. It will be the backbone to the company’s production of cathode active material and anode copper foil — the most crucial components in EV batteries.

Redwood plans to produce 100 gigawatt-hours of cathode active material and anode copper foil, which could power 750,000 to 1 million EVs within the next five years. In a decade or so, the company is looking to scale to roughly 500 gigawatt-hours, Switzer said.

The Department of Energy in February said it would offer Redwood a $2 billion loan to support the expansion of its McCarran, Nev., campus. The company also has a plant in Carson City, Nev.

The Energy Department said Redwood’s McCarran plant will be the first domestic facility to support production of anode copper foil and cathode active material in a closed-loop lithium ion battery manufacturing process by recycling end-of-life battery and production scrap.

“Onshoring the production of these components is critical to America’s energy independence while ensuring the long-term success and sustainability of an advanced battery manufacturing industry here at home,” the department said in a February statement.

Redwood will use the loan to build out the 100 gigawatt-hours of battery materials, along with the recycling and refining infrastructure powering that production, Switzer said.

The company plans to have its anode copper foil material in EVs by next year and its cathode active material in EVs in 2025.

Extending beyond recycling will be a cost saver, said Conrad Layson, senior alternative propulsion analyst at AutoForecast Solutions.

“Cathode powder is coming out in the recycling process anyway,” he said. “It just makes a lot of sense in this arena.”