Ford, Volvo join Redwood in EV battery recycling push in California

Ford Motor and Geely Automobile’s Volvo Cars will join battery recycling startup Redwood Materials in developing processes, starting in California, to collect end-of-life batteries from electric and hybrid vehicles and recover the materials for use in new batteries, the companies said Thursday.

Redwood Materials, founded by former Tesla executive JB Straubel, formed an earlier partnership last fall with Ford to develop a “closed loop” or circular supply chain for EV batteries, from raw materials to recycling.

On Thursday, Redwood Materials said it would work directly with dealers and dismantlers in California to identify and recover end-of-life battery packs. The materials in those packs will be recovered and recycled at Redwood Materials facilities in northern Nevada.

U.S. automakers Ford and General Motors have said the battery recycling effort is crucial in efforts to develop a domestic supply chain to meet increasing EV demand.

GM and battery partner LG Energy Solution last year announced a partnership with startup Li-Cycle to recycle battery scrap material from Ultium Cells, the GM-LG joint venture that is building battery plants in Ohio, Tennessee and Michigan.

Redwood Materials has similar partnerships with battery makers Panasonic in Nevada and Envision AESC in Tennessee, as well as with Amazon. Ford and Amazon are among the investors in Redwood Materials.