Closing the battery circle in Nevada

A big part of clean energy means that waste is not generated that can harm the environment, and a side benefit of not being wasteful is reducing costs. With the adoption of battery-powered vehicles and the resulting increase in battery production, there are indeed an increased amount of minerals being mined and processed to power our green energy future.

So how do we close the circle and minimize waste? Recycling the materials so that once mined, they can be used and reused to make batteries repeatedly!

Redwood Materials has been refining its battery recycling systems for the past several years to capture materials from spent batteries and from scrap in manufacturing to refine into new components for battery manufacturers. Not only does this close the circle to reduce waste, but it also localizes the production of these components, which previously needed to be shipped in from other places around the world.

This Associated Press article details a $2 Billion Energy loan:

A Nevada company that recycles batteries for electric vehicles has won a $2 billion green energy loan from the Biden administration.

Redwood Materials, a recycling venture founded by the former chief technology officer at Tesla Inc., secured the conditional loan from the Energy Department’s Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing program, which helped Tesla more than a decade ago.

This is great news as it also helps to ease concerns that the materials needed to support Battery electric vehicles offset any environmental benefits they may otherwise have. The article also details that:

*The company says it can recover more than 95% of the elements in a spent battery, including lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese, and copper. The metals are then used to make anode and cathode components for new battery cells. *

This would suggest that you can make, use, and re-make batteries twenty times from the same mined materials when recycling in this manner! Finding ways to become more efficient with our natural resources is the key to a sustainable world that provides for future generations.

Great Job, Redwood Materials, and THANK YOU to the Energy Department for helping accelerate the industry!

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