JB Straubel sits down with CNBC’s Phil LeBeau at Redwood Supplies.
Redwood Supplies, the battery and e-waste recycling startup based by former Tesla CTO JB Straubel, announced Tuesday that it has closed a $1 billion funding spherical to develop operations within the U.S.
The corporate takes spent electrical car batteries, breaks them down, and makes use of the metals from them —together with nickel, copper, cobalt, and lithium — to supply new elements that may go into electrical car batteries.
Certainly one of Redwood’s main targets is to supply battery elements domestically to scale back a few of the world commerce and geopolitical dangers across the electrical car trade. Redwood additionally goals to make use of as a lot recycled materials as potential to scale back the environmental impression the auto trade transitions from inside combustion automobiles to battery electrics and hybrids.
Whereas Redwood initially centered on recycling, it additionally engages in refining and remanufacturing, and provides what it calls sustainably mined supplies into its merchandise as wanted, Straubel advised CNBC earlier this yr.
As CNBC beforehand reported, earlier this yr Redwood locked in a $2 billion loan commitment from the Division of Power. It plans to make use of its funding to develop operations within the U.S. together with in and past its base in Carson Metropolis, Nevada, and has introduced plans to construct a Battery Supplies Campus exterior of Charleston, South Carolina.
U.S. Secretary of Power Jennifer M. Granholm has recognized home manufacturing of batteries and elements as one solution to meet rising demand for EVs, generate jobs and speed up a transition from fossil fuels to renewable and clear power.
Fossil fuels are the dominant type of power utilized on the earth at present, and account for a majority of synthetic CO2 emissions and different poisonous air and particle pollution which are driving local weather change and its results, together with extra frequent, extra excessive climate occasions.
In response to the Power Data Administration, regardless of the rising share of electrical automobiles on the highway, gasoline (excluding gas ethanol) nonetheless accounted for 52% of whole power consumption by the U.S. transportation sector in 2022.Â
North America’s battery manufacturing capability is predicted to develop to almost 1,000 Gigawatt-hours per yr (or GWh/yr) by 2030 in line with analysis from Argonne National Laboratory.
For its new development funding spherical, Goldman Sachs Asset Administration, Capricorn’s Know-how Impression Fund, and different un-named funds suggested by T. Rowe Worth Associates led the deal, in line with an organization assertion. The sequence D spherical of fairness funding brings Redwood’s whole capital raised to almost $2 billion. OMERS, heavy tools makers Caterpillar Inc., Microsoft’s Local weather Innovation Fund and Deepwater Asset Administration additionally invested within the spherical.
