Battery Recycler Redwood Raises $700 Million Amid Shift to Electric Vehicles
Date: July 28, 2021
Source: Redwood Materials Inc.
Battery-recycling company Redwood Materials Inc. (Carson City, NV) has raised over $700 million in new funding to expand its footprint in its home state and establish new facilities elsewhere in North America and in Europe. The company was founded in 2017 to capitalize on the growing adoption of electric vehicles and the batteries that power them. The company recycles items ranging from discarded personal electronics to scrap produced when battery cells are manufactured, extracting material such as lithium, cobalt and nickel that are essential to the manufacture of new lithium-ion batteries. Battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids are expected to make up around 17 percent of new-car sales in 2030, up from less than 5 percent in 2020, according to the International Energy Agency. "The need for these materials will grow exponentially over time as we enter the era of decarbonization," said Joe Fath, a portfolio manager for T. Rowe Price which led the latest round of funding. Redwood Materials CEO is JB Straubel who was Tesla's chief technology officer until 2019.
PRESS RELEASE
July 28, 2021
Redwood Materials announces $700M external investment round
Today, Redwood is announcing a more than $700M external investment from a carefully selected group of strategic investors who understand the mission and value of what Redwood is working to achieve. The round was led by funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. and includes Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Baillie Gifford, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, and Fidelity. In addition, all Series B investors, Capricorn's Technology Impact Fund, Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Amazon's Climate Pledge Fund, returned for this round and Valor Equity Partners, Emerson Collective, and Franklin Templeton also participated.
At Redwood, we know that in the coming decades, all transportation will be electric and all electricity will be sustainable. The lithium ion batteries and other materials needed to power these solutions will need to be reused. Redwood is creating a closed-loop supply chain for electric vehicles and energy products, making them truly sustainable and continuing to drive down the costs for batteries.
"With this capital, Redwood will be able to accelerate our mission to make battery materials sustainable and affordable, accomplishing the change we need in the world with a circular economy," said JB Straubel, CEO, Redwood Materials. "We're grateful for these strategic investors who bring decades of experience investing in and supporting companies that build transformative technology and who understand the mission and value of what Redwood is working to achieve."
"We are excited to begin this investment in the talented and accomplished team at Redwood as they expand their pursuit of building a world-class sustainable, closed-loop battery supply chain for electric vehicles," said Joe Fath, portfolio manager of the T. Rowe Price Growth Stock Fund. "In our view, the need for these materials will grow exponentially over time as we enter the era of de-carbonization. We believe Redwood is well-positioned to be at the forefront of tackling this emerging and critically important problem."
Redwood is currently developing processes to produce battery materials to resell into the battery supply chain. We've partnered with Panasonic at the Gigafactory, Envision AESC in Tennessee, and with Amazon to recycle EV and other lithium-ion batteries and e-waste from parts of their businesses, among others.
Last month, we announced our plans to triple the size of our Carson City facilities to 550,000 sq. ft., build another site on 100 acres in the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center, and create more than 500 additional jobs in the next couple years. With this round we'll be able to significantly expand our capabilities and create new battery materials in the US for the first time.
We're grateful to our new and existing partners who have joined us in the mission to create a fully closed-loop battery materials supply chain to power our sustainable future. We look forward to being a key supplier of the critical materials that build the world's electric vehicles and clean energy products!
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