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Redwood Materials is a US company based in Carson City, Nevada, founded in 2017 by JB Straubel, the former CTO of Tesla. The company's goal is to create a fully closed-loop, circular supply chain for lithium-ion batteries in order to significantly reduce the environmental impact and costs of batteries for electric mobility and sustainable energy storage systems. Redwood Materials focuses on recycling, refining and manufacturing battery materials on a large scale in the USA - a first on the North American market[2][3][5].
The company operates several production sites, including a large recycling and production facility in Northern Nevada and another battery material center under construction near Charleston, South Carolina. These sites specialize in recovering over 95% of critical raw materials from used batteries, including lithium, nickel, cobalt and copper, to produce high-quality battery material for the production of new lithium-ion batteries. Redwood plans to increase annual production capacity to 100 GWh by 2025 - enough for about one million electric vehicles - and expand this to 500 GWh by 2030[1][3][5].
The mission of Redwood Materials is to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and sustainably promote the transition to a sustainable energy future through a circular economy. The company ensures that the entire value chain for battery materials is designed in an environmentally conscious manner: The new factory in South Carolina, for example, is fully electric and completely dispenses with fossil fuels in production, which is a milestone in terms of sustainability[3][5].
In addition, Redwood is actively involved in partnerships with global players such as Ford, Panasonic, Amazon and Isuzu to expand the battery cycle. For example, used batteries from e-bikes, electric scooters and commercial vehicle fleets are collected and professionally recycled. With the opening of a research and development center in San Francisco, Redwood is also strengthening its innovative strength in order to master the technical challenges of the energy transition and develop pioneering recycling and production processes[1][2].
Redwood Materials is one of the leading companies in the field of sustainable battery materials and was listed by Time as one of the 100 most influential companies in 2024. With a steadily growing team of around 1,600 employees (as of 2024) and strong investors such as Goldman Sachs, Baillie Gifford, Fidelity, Ford and Amazon's Climate Pledge Fund, Redwood is setting new standards in the decarbonization of the mobility and energy sectors through innovative circular solutions[3][5].
In summary, Redwood Materials is a pioneer in the development of a domestic, sustainable battery supply chain that enables the electromobility and clean energy storage of the future through recycling, refining and new production of battery materials - resource-saving, cost-efficient and climate-friendly.
