VW And Audi To Recycle EV Batteries Through Tesla Cofounder’s Company

More big names are joining the growing roster of partners. The company said Tuesday that Volkswagen and Audi have agreed to join its electric vehicle battery recycling program.

To collect and ship used EV batteries to its facilities for recycling, the company will work with more than 1,000 VW and AUDI dealerships in the U.S. Over 85% of the high- value metals can be recovered in those packs. U.S.-based battery manufacturers will be able to use those materials for new batteries.

The global surge in demand for lithium-ion batteries to power electric cars and trucks is stressing the supply chain for internationallysourced commodity minerals, all of which are trading at or near record high levels. According to Trading Economics, nickel costs about $22,000 per ton, while a ton of lithium costs over $80,000. Large-scale battery recycling infrastructure is the best way to deal with tight supplies, according to Redwood.

As more and more batteries reach end-of-life, an increasing and infinitely recyclable resource becomes available, according to the CEO of the company.

According to Pitchbook, the company has raised more than $800 million in the last two years and is now valued at $3.8 billion. More than 60,000 electric vehicles will be supplied with packs of batteries this year, thanks to the expansion of the company's Nevada facilities. A $1 billion plant will be built to make a material for electric car batteries.

A company spokeswoman told Forbes that the companies are already sending battery packs to the startup. She wouldn't say how much revenue the business relationship brought in.

According to the Volkswagen Group of America, more than half of its US sales will be electric by the year 2030. Scott Keogh, president and CEO of the regional auto unit, said that the collaboration allowed them to move closer to their goal of closing the loop for a circular EV economy.

It has been a great year for partnerships. The company announced partnerships with Toyota, Ford, Volvo Cars, electric truck and busmaker Proterra, and bicycle maker Specialized. It also signed agreements with the state of California, Amazon, Panasonic, and ERI, which are said to be the largest electronics consolidator in the world.

Ford, Fidelity, Bill Gates, and Amazon all invested in the funding round.

According to Forbes, Redwood has a proprietary recycling technology that allows it to recover and resell commodity metals at a "cost-competitive" price level.

See the article "Tesla Tech Whiz Is Mining Riches from Your Old Batteries" for more on the topic.