Ford partners with Redwood Materials to recycle EVs, and provide battery materials
Ford’s EV architecture will soon use recycled battery components in a deal with Redwood materials. Image: Ford
Ford is partnering up with Redwood Materials with a plan to create a closed loop supply chain system for its future range of electric vehicles. Redwood Materials is the brainchild of former Tesla CTO JB Straubel, and the company wants to address the problems of growing e-waste by developing an end-of-life supply chain to provide materials to battery manufacturers and automakers.
According to a Redwood Materials media statement, “we [Redwood Materials] need to start planning now for the end-of-life of batteries as we ramp up to build millions of EVs that can’t be disposed of safely without a robust recycling solution. The exciting side of this problem is that the critical materials inside of a battery are essentially infinitely recyclable. Unlike gasoline, the materials are not consumed or lost in their lifetime of usage in the vehicle.”
Ford has already seen success with its Mustang Mach-E, and as the electrified F-150 Lightning enters pre-production, the automaker is sure to see battery cell and component demand soar over the short-to-medium term.
Battery modules used in Ford’s Mustang Mach-E, manufactured by SK Innovation. Image: SK Innovation
Redwood Materials currently partners with battery manufacturers such as Panasonic/Tesla in Nevada, and Envision in Tennessee. The company received a healthy $700 million capital injection in late July, through a successful fundraising round from the likes of Baillie Gifford, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Amazon and more.
Redwood plans to soon supply anode and cathode materials back to the American supply chain, and the company states that the deal with ford will span a vehicle battery’s entire lifecycle. To further advance these business opportunities between the companies, Ford has invested $50 million in Redwood to help them expand their manufacturing footprint.
It’s positive to see Ford thinking ahead like this; while many automakers like Volkswagen and Stellantis are simply scrambling to build up battery capacity to meet growing demand, Ford’s long-term strategic partnership should provide the company with an opportunity to not only secure enough materials to meet production demand, but reduce costs of production, and the associated environmental footprint.