Sept 22 (Reuters) – Ford Motor Co (F.N) and startup Redwood Materials said on Wednesday they are partnering to form a “closed loop” or circular supply chain for electric vehicle batteries, from raw materials to recycling.
The aim is to lower the cost of EVs by reducing the dependence on imported materials, while also narrowing the environmental impact from mining and refining of battery materials.
Ford and Redwood will work closely with Korean battery maker SK Innovation (096770.KS), which has a joint venture with Ford called BlueOvalSK to make EV battery cells in the United States, Ford executive Lisa Drake said at a media briefing.
The issue
In mid-September, the company said it would expand its business to include refining those materials into battery components, including cathodes and anodes, with the aim of supplying enough of those components to equip a million electric vehicles after 2025. read more
In July, Redwood raised $700 million from investors, including Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O), Fidelity, T. Rowe Price and Baillie Gifford. On Wednesday, Straubel said Ford had invested $50 million. Redwood currently is valued at $3.7 billion by investor website PitchBook. read more
Redwood has partnerships with battery makers Panasonic in Nevada and Envision AESC in Tennessee, as well as Amazon.
General Motors Co (GM.N) President Mark Reuss, at a conference on Tuesday, said recycling and reuse of EV battery materials is a crucial issue for the auto industry as it ramps up production of electric vehicles. read more
“There’s a lot of material in a battery cell that can be reused,” he said. “We’re spending time on that.”
GM and battery partner LG Energy Solution (051910.KS) in May announced a partnership with startup Li-Cycle (LICY.N) to recycle battery scrap material from Ultium Cells, the GM-LGES joint venture that is building battery plants in Ohio and Tennessee.
