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Recycling and materials campus
Courtesy of Redwood Materials · Press kit, editorial use (opens redwoodmaterials.com)

Recycling and materials campus

by Redwood MaterialsUS

ScalingStage 5 of 5

Recycling at scale in Nevada; cathode output scaled back as storage takes priority.

Updated 9 Jun 2026Checked 25 Sep0 updates this week

Milestones

Next · Scale second-life storage deployments
  1. Redwood Energy launchedJun 2025Complete.
  2. Scale second-life storage deploymentsNowCurrent milestone.
  3. 20 GWh of grid storage deployed (target)Target 2028Not yet reached.

Most important updates

  • 9 Jun 2026
  • 16 Dec 2025
  • 6 Nov 2025
  • 23 Nov 2023
  • 15 Nov 2022

Upcoming

  1. 202820 GWh of grid storage deployed (target) (next)

Current obstacles

  • Feedstock timingMost EV batteries won't retire for years, so today's supply is mostly factory scrap and old electronics.

Physics limits

  • Similar metals are hard to separateNickel, cobalt and manganese behave almost identically in solution, so separating them takes many solvent-extraction stages, acid and energy.
  • Graphite and electrolyte are hard to reuseAnode graphite comes out contaminated, and the electrolyte salt breaks down into hydrofluoric acid, so both are usually lost or downcycled.

How it works

3 parts
Metals and salts Redwood recovers from old batteries, such as copper, nickel and cobalt compounds and lithium, ready to make new cells
Metals and salts Redwood recovers from old batteries, such as copper, nickel and cobalt compounds and lithium, ready to make new cellsCourtesy of Redwood Materials · Press kit, editorial use (opens redwoodmaterials.com)
Collect

Scrap and dead batteries in

Factory scrap and used batteries, from phones to EV packs, arrive in Nevada, where they are discharged and broken down.

Recover

Shred, heat and leach

Cells are shredded; heat and chemical leaching separate lithium, nickel, cobalt and copper. Redwood says it recovers over 95% of these metals.

Refine

Back into battery materials

Recovered metals are refined into battery-grade chemicals and copper foil, closing the loop with less new mining.

Spec sheet

SpecRecycling and materials campus
Battery intake20+ GWh/yrR (reported)
Share of NA Li-ion recycling~90% (company claim)R (reported)

R reported by the company

Update log

6 updates

Tue 9 Jun

  • Major: PressPartnership

Tue 16 Dec 2025

  • Minor: PressHardware

Thu 6 Nov 2025

  • Major: PressManufacturing

Mon 18 Aug 2025

  • Minor: PressPartnership

Thu 23 Nov 2023

  • Major: PressCommercial

Tue 15 Nov 2022

  • Major: PressCommercial

About Redwood Materials

The team behind Recycling and materials campus

Redwood Materials

Battery recycling, battery materials, second-life storage

Redwood Materials (founded 2017 by ex-Tesla CTO JB Straubel) recycles old batteries and factory scrap into battery materials in Nevada. Since 2025, its Redwood Energy unit reuses old EV packs as grid storage.

  • Takes in 20+ GWh of used batteries a year, which it says is about 90% of North American lithium-ion recycling.
  • Redwood Energy (June 2025) reuses still-good EV packs as storage; first system: a 12 MW / 63 MWh microgrid for Crusoe's AI data centre.
  • Series E closed at $425M in January 2026, valuing it above $6B (Eclipse led, Google joined); ~5% of staff cut in late 2025.

redwoodmaterials.com (opens redwoodmaterials.com)Company profile →

Founded
20179 yrs
Headquarters
United States
Status
Private
Valuation
$6BprivateJan 2026
Raised
$1.4B3 rounds
Last round
Series E final close · $75MJan 2026$6B post
Works in
MaterialsBattery recyclingEnergy
Coverage
2 programs · 15 updateslatest 9 Jun 2026checked 25 Sep
Lead investors
EclipseGoldman Sachs Asset Management
Customers
CrusoePanasonic Energy (opens redwoodmaterials.com)
Investors
Eclipse (opens redwoodmaterials.com)Google (opens redwoodmaterials.com)
People
JB Straubel (opens en.wikipedia.org)Founder & CEO
Primer