Ford And Volvo Collaborate With Redwood To Recycle EV Batteries

Ford Illustration (Pixabay)

JAKARTA - Ford Motor and Geely Automobile Volvo Cars will join battery recycling startup Redwood Materials in an effort to recycle electric vehicle batteries in California.

They will collect end-of-life batteries from electric and hybrid vehicles and recover them for use in new batteries, the company said.

Redwood Materials, co-founded by former Tesla executive JB Straubel, formed a previous partnership last fall with Ford to develop a "closed loop" or circular supply chain for electric vehicle (EV) batteries, from raw materials to recycling.

On Thursday, Redwood Materials said it would work directly with dealers and demolitions in California to identify and recover depleted battery packs.

The material in the packaging will be picked up and recycled at the Redwood Materials facility in northern Nevada.

US automakers Ford and General Motors Co (GM) said battery recycling is critical to developing domestic supply chains to meet growing EV demand.

GM and battery partner LG Energy Solution last year announced a partnership with startup Li-Cycle to recycle used battery material from Ultium Cells, the GM-LG joint venture that builds battery factories 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 co-investors in Redwood Materials.