JB Straubel talks with CNBC’s Phil LeBeau on Redwood Materials.
Redwood Materials, a battery and e-waste recycling startup founded by former tesla Chief Technology Officer JB Straubel, announced on tuesday The company has closed a $1 billion funding round to expand its presence in the U.S.
The company collects used electric vehicle batteries, breaks them down and uses the metals in them, including nickel, copper, cobalt and lithium, to produce new components that can be used in electric vehicle batteries.
One of Redwood’s main goals is to domestically produce battery components to reduce some of the global trade and geopolitical risks in the electric vehicle industry. Redwood is also committed to using as much recycled material as possible to reduce the environmental impact of the automotive industry’s transition from internal combustion engine vehicles to battery electric and hybrid vehicles.
Straubel told CNBC earlier this year that while Redwood initially focused on recycling, it also engages in refining and remanufacturing, adding so-called sustainably mined materials to its products as needed.
Earlier this year, Redwood locked in a $2 billion loan commitment from the Department of Energy, as CNBC previously reported. The company plans to use the funds to expand operations in the U.S., both inside and outside its base in Carson City, Nevada, and announced plans to build a battery materials campus outside Charleston, South Carolina.
U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm sees domestic production of batteries and components as key to meeting growing demand for electric vehicles, creating jobs and accelerating transition from fossil fuels to renewable and clean energy a method.
Fossil fuels, the dominant form of energy used in the world today, are a major source of anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions and other toxic air and particulate pollutants that are driving climate change and its impacts, including more frequent and extreme weather events.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, gasoline (excluding fuel ethanol) will account for 52% of total U.S. transportation sector energy consumption in 2022, despite the increasing share of electric vehicles on the road.
North America’s battery manufacturing capacity is expected to grow to nearly 1,000 gigawatt hours per year (or GWh/year) by 2030, according to the study Argonne National Laboratory.
In the new growth round, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, the Capricorn Technology Impact Fund and other unnamed funds advised by T. Rowe Price Associates led the deal, according to a company statement. The Series D equity round brings Redwood’s total funding to nearly $2 billion. OMERS, heavy equipment maker Caterpillar Inc., Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund and Deepwater Asset Management also participated in the round.
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