Rivian and Redwood Materials announced today that Redwood will now recycle battery scrap from Rivian’s factory along with end-of-life packs from Rivian vehicles, expanding the partnership the two companies started back in April.
When I covered that first deal, it was about a 10 MWh energy storage system at the Normal, Illinois plant built from more than 100 second-life Rivian packs. I said then it was worth watching whether this grew beyond Normal, and today’s news grows it in a different direction by covering a Rivian battery from the factory floor to the end of its life.
For owners, the process starts at the service center. When a pack is no longer suitable for use in a vehicle, Rivian collects it through its nationwide service network and sends it to Redwood, which evaluates each one and decides whether it goes into stationary storage at Rivian’s facilities or elsewhere, or straight to recycling. Packs that finish their storage life get recycled too, and Redwood says its process recovers lithium, nickel, cobalt, and copper at rates above 95 percent.
Most of us won’t see a pack retired for a long time, but I like knowing my R1S and R2 batteries have a defined path after they leave the car, with the materials staying in a domestic supply chain.
RJ Scaringe called second-life storage a massive unlock for the energy transition, while JB Straubel pointed to rising energy demand and costs as the reason to move quickly.
I’d expect the Normal storage system to grow past its first 10 MWh as more early R1 packs come back through service, and I’ll share more with you all as soon as Rivian and Redwood put new numbers on it.
