Battery recycler Redwood Materials has raised $1 billion in Series D shares that it says it will use to build up its recycling capacity and to expand the battery supply chain in the United States.
The company, founded by ex-Tesla chief technology officer JB Straubel, confirmed plans to establish a $3.5 billion facility in Charleston, South Carolina late last year to recycle, refine, and manufacture anode and cathode components for automotive batteries. Earlier this year, the battery-recycling startup was awarded a $2 billion loan commitment from the Department of Energy that it will use to expand its recycling facility in Reno, Nevada.
Redwood’s latest funding round was co-led by Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Capricorn’s Technology Impact Fund, and funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates. To date, Redwood has raised nearly $2 billion of equity capital.
Read: Redwood To Build $3.5B EV Battery Plant In South Carolina
“As the electrification megatrend continues to accelerate, building a local sustainable battery materials supply chain is more important now than ever,” said Goldman Sachs Asset Management Private Equity managing director Sebastien Gagnon. “We believe the Redwood team is well-positioned to become a leader in the battery materials industry. We look forward to working with the company in the coming years and leveraging our firm’s global platform to support Redwood’s growth, which we believe will play an important role in the ongoing energy transition.”
The facility in Nevada operated by Redwood takes end-of-life batteries from EVs and automotive production scrap and processes them to produce raw materials that can be used to make new EV battery cells. While speaking with CNBC earlier this year shortly after Redwood received its $2 billion loan commitment from the Department of Energy, Straubel said the company is in competition with Asia when it comes to battery recycling.
“These are very capital-intensive projects, and we’re in a competition with Asia to ramp this up and to bring these supply chains and manufacturing operations back to the US,” he said. “The US battery demand and EV demand is growing… but we have a long way before that supply chain is predominantly moved to the US.”
