Ford and Volvo are launching a battery recycling program in California for end-of-life electric and hybrid vehicles.
The two automakers are partnering with Redwood Materials, a startup founded by former Tesla CTO JB Straudel, to source expired batteries and return the raw materials to the manufacturing loop.
Redwood will work directly with dealers and dismantlers in California to identify and recover end-of-life battery packs. The company will then package, transport, and recycle the batteries at its facility in Northern Nevada, before returning the recycled materials back into cosmetic cell production.
“Over time, as EOL packs scale, we expect these batteries to become valuable assets that will help make EVs more sustainable and affordable,” said the company in a statement.
Redwood says that while Ford and Volvo are the first automakers to directly support the program, it will accept lithium-ion and nickel metal hydride batteries from all manufacturers across California.
According to Redwood, 6 GWh of lithium-ion batteries – equivalent to 60,000 EVs – come through its doors, making up the bulk of recycled lithium-ion in the US.
The company also says that it is planning to use the partnership to demonstrate the value of end-of-life battery packs and how it can improve their value as the volume scales up.
“Ultimately, our aim is to create the most effective and sustainable closed-loop system that physics, and chemistry will allow for end-of-life battery packs to re-enter the domestic supply chain. We look forward to working with the State of California, dismantlers, dealers, and other automakers and hope to be a resource, sharing our results and learnings as we go,” said a company statement.
“Scaling production of EVs, increasingly from recycled materials, domestically, is the only way we can create a circular and, therefore, sustainable and secure supply chain to meet the US’ electrification plans.”
The new partnerships between Ford, Volvo, and Redwood are certainly encouraging – especially as the first major wave of retiring EVs has yet to happen.
Keyword: Ford and Volvo Partner with Redwood Materials to Recycle Battery Packs