Ford, Redwood Materials Partner on Battery Recycling Plan
Photo: Ford
With the acceleration of battery electric vehicle production comes the question of what happens to spent battery packs. Ford Motor Company turns to Redwood Materials for the answer to that question, with the two teaming up to establish battery recycling protocols for the company moving forward.
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Ford, Redwood Materials targeting closed-loop supply chain
The two companies aim to simplify the battery supply chain and put a plan in place for responsible recycling practices. The end objective is to create a closed-loop lifecycle for batteries that will increase sustainability, cut costs, and make future EVs more affordable.
“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 CEO Jim Farley.
Photo: Ford
Redwood Materials CEO JB Straubel says that domestic recycling programs are a “key enabler” for driving down the cost of lithium-ion battery-powered EVs. Straubel says that recycling will help to increase battery production as well — not to mention decrease the impact on the environment.
“Our work with Redwood will, by design, help ensure the infrastructure is in place to cost-effectively recycle end-of-life Ford batteries to create a robust domestic materials stream and drive down the cost of electric vehicles,” said Ford North America COO Lisa Drake.
The partnership between Ford and Redwood Materials will see the two developing best practices for battery collection and disassembly at the end of their lifespans. This will allow the two companies to develop a circular supply chain model as Ford moves toward developing a fully electric lineup.
As part of the collaboration, Ford is investing $50 million into the company, which is based out of northern Nevada.
Ford is in the midst of a full-scale lineup transformation that should ultimately see it move to an all-electric model. Ford’s new Mustang Mach-E has proven quite a popular choice with drivers and critics alike, and its upcoming F-150 Lightning is already surpassing expectations with reservations exceeding 150,000.
Kyle S. Johnson lives in Cincinnati, a city known by many as “the Cincinnati of Southwest Ohio.” He enjoys professional wrestling, Halloween, and also other things. He has been writing for a while, and he plans to continue to write well into the future. See more articles by Kyle.