Volkswagen, Audi tap Redwood Materials to recycle old EV batteries in US

Volkswagen of America and AUDI have a plan to get old battery packs back into use.

VW Group brands have contracted with a startup to recycle end-of-life EV battery packs.

The last resting place for the EV packs won't be here. More than 85% of the metals found in these batteries will be recovered and used to remanufacture components at the company's factory in Nevada, according to the company's website. The components will be sent back to the US.

Prototype batteries from Volkswagen's research facilities will be integrated into the EV battery recycling collaboration.

Securing a supply of batteries has prompted the automotive industry to partner with cell manufacturers. One of the buzziest battery recyclers is not the other way around. The battery materials production business has been expanded.

The company plans to build a $2 billion factory that will be able to produce 100 gigawatt-hour of materials a year, enough to make one million electric vehicles by the year 2025. A critical component of a battery cell, copper foil is produced from recycled materials and will soon be supplied by Panasonic.

Over the past two years, the company has forged partnerships with a number of battery suppliers. It has locked in deals with Ford, Amazon, Toyota and other companies, which will translate into 6 gigawatt-hour of batteries coming through the doors today. The company says it can build more than 60,000 EV. Another factory is planned to be added on the east coast in order to better serve Toyota and other partners.

The market share in North America has been expanded by the deal. The volume of batteries that will be sent to Redwood wasn't disclosed. Volkswagen Group of America is aiming for half of its US sales to be electric by the year 2030.

The batteries that power electric transportation and clean energy present an incredible opportunity. "As more and more batteries reach end-of-life each year, an increasing and infinitely recycled resource becomes available." Redwood and Volkswagen Group of America want to create a domestic, circular supply chain for batteries that will help improve the environmental footprint of Li-ion batteries, decrease cost and increase access and adoption of electric vehicles.