A Volkswagen worker charges an ID.4 electric hatchback at the VW factory in Zwickau, Germany. Batteries from the car may be recycled by Redwood Materials one day.Redwood Materials, Tesla cofounder JB Straubel’s battery recycling company, is adding more big names to its growing roster of partners.
The global surge in demand for lithium-ion batteries to power electric cars and trucks is stressing the supply chain for internationally sourced commodity minerals like lithium, nickel and cobalt, all of which are trading at or near record-high levels. Currently, lithium costs nearly $75,000 a ton, according to
Backed by the likes of Ford and Amazon, Redwood has raised more than $800 million in the last two years, boosting its valuation to $3.8 billion, according to Pitchbook. The company is expanding its Nevada facilities to process an estimated 6 gigawatt-hours of batteries this year, enough to supply packs for more than 60,000 electric vehicles.