Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) announced today its partnership with battery recycling startup Redwood Materials to integrate a battery recycling scheme into the automaker’s electric vehicle battery manufacturing strategy. The partnership is also set to build this into an electric vehicle battery supply chain in the US.
“Our partnership with Redwood Materials will be critical to our plan to build electric vehicles at scale in America, at the lowest possible cost and with a zero-waste approach,” said Ford President and CEO Jim Farley in a statement.
The startup’s recycling technology claims to recover more than 95% of the metallic elements in a battery like nickel, cobalt, lithium, and copper. The partnership posits to reuse these materials in a closed-loop process with “Redwood moving to produce anode copper foil and cathode active materials for future battery production”. The American manufacturer identified the use of locally produced, recycled battery materials as a factor in driving down the costs.
The Nevada-based battery manufacturer also previously shared its plans to utilize this circular battery recycling method to transform the current lithium-ion battery supply chain. The startup aims to offer “large-scale sources of these domestic materials”.
“Redwood and Ford share an understanding that to truly make electric vehicles sustainable and affordable, we need to localize the existing complex and expensive supply chain network, create pathways for end-of-life vehicles, ramp lithium-ion recycling and increase battery production, all here in America,” commented Redwood CEO JB Straubel, who previously served as chief technology officer of Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA).
Out of the earmarked US$30 billion the automaker plans to invest in electrification through 2025, it has invested US$50 million in the startup manufacturer to help expand its manufacturing footprint.
Ford Motor Company last traded US$12.77 on the NYSE.
Information for this briefing was found via Ford. The author has no securities or affiliations related to this organization. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
