Redwood Materials launches energy storage business and its first target is AI data centers

Toss between two huge buildings in the Nevada desert hills, 805 ev batteries are retired in an elegant composition, each of which is wrapped in non -descriptive white hemp – and is hidden in sight.

A passer -by may not realize that this modest score is the largest Microgrid in North America, and that it operates 2000 from the GPU data center for the CRUSOE infrastructure company, or it represents the next great action of JB Straubel, co -founder and CEO of Redwood materials.

Redwood Materials was announced on Thursday during an event in the spark, the Nevada facility was that it was launching a power storage company that would benefit from thousands of EV batteries that it collected as part of the batteries recycling to provide energy to companies. They start with artificial intelligence data centers.

The new company, called Redwood Energy, is launched with Crusoe partner, a start -up company that invests Straubel in the old 2021. The system, which generates 12 megawatts energy and has 63 megawatts of capacity, sends the power to a standard data center designed by Crusoe, a company famous for the large-scale data center in Abeleen, Texas-Texas-the first location of the Stargate project.

Amazing Redwood battery collection size – and an opportunity. Redwood said it recovers more than 70 % of all the batteries used or neglected in North America. Today, more than 20 GB batteries are treated annually – equivalent to 250,000 EVS.

It seems that the batteries that are not ready to recycle are stored, with more than one hour of gigs in their stock already. In the coming months, you expect another 4 gigawatts.

By 2028, the company said it plans to spread a storage capacity of 20 GB networks, which places it on the right track to become the largest recycling of the EV battery packages used.

Straubil’s confidence in the endeavor was clear with all the details of the launch event. To clarify the commitment of Redwood-thus, Straubel-everything in the event of music and dropping on the large screen to the laser light that included the Giant Pac-Man Ghosts that moves in the ranks of EV batteries was played by MicroGRID.

“We wanted to enter everything,” said Straubel. The great effects of this event aside, the preparation of MicroGrid with Crusoe is not a demonstration project. This is a process of generating revenue, which was built in four months, and it is a profitable operation. He added that more of these will be published with other customers this year.

“I think this has the ability to grow faster than the basic recycling,” he said.

Redwood material has been rupture in recent years. The company, which raised two billion dollars of private funds, was established in 2017 by Straubel, former Tesla Cto and the current board member, to create a circular supply chain.

The company started recycling scrap from the production of battery cells as well as consumer electronics such as cell phone batteries and laptops. After treating these neglected goods and extracting materials such as cobalt, nickel and lithium that are usually mined, Redwood provides these to Panasonic and other customers. Over time, the company expanded beyond recycling and cathode production. Redwood achieved $ 200 million revenue in 2024, many of which come from selling battery materials such as cathode.

The company’s fingerprint has also grown and exceeds its headquarters in Carson, in Nevada. I stopped the deals with Toyota, Panasonic, and Justar Motors, began construction at the South Carolina factory, and a acquisition in Europe.

Redwood Energy is the next step-a step that is not associated with creating its systems to be outside the network. Retired EV batteries can be turned on wind and solar energy, or can be connected to the network. In the case of Crusoe project, the system is operated by solar energy.

“There is no green intention required here,” said CTO Colin Campbell on a MicroGRID tour. “It is a good economic option that also happens to be carbon -free.”

The business model addresses a long challenge in the energy storage sector. For more than a decade, the companies had promised to build a network scale storage from the EV batteries used, but they were only achieved in small quantities. Redwood, which has started to start battery materials and a recycling company, creates a new line that connects Gigawatts from the energy storage that is needed in just a few years.

“This really shows the extent of the hierarchical sequence of the goal,” said Jessica Dan, a battery expert in the Union of Scientists concerned. She added that the large recycling, such as Redwood, realized the capabilities of profit in the restarting EV batteries “where this end of life will go.”

The reshaping of the batteries is a clear job opportunity for Redwood, but they may also be a need to work. Redwood was established to create a supply chain that can handle the expected wave of the UV batteries that will reach the market. But that wave was not achieved at the same speed as some foretold.

She said: “If Redwood does not enter the replacement market, they will not get a quota of re -operated battery. They will have to wait for a period of five, 10 or 15 years until they retire.” Meanwhile, other companies will be able to sell batteries to store the network, cutting Redwood from years of revenue.

Straubil admitted this, noting in an interview that in many ways, Redwood materials began a little early.

“We really started early, and in a very early early time,” he said, noting that the company was collecting consumer batteries and production sculptures before the coming wave of EVS.

The current situation of the recycling market emphasizes the challenge. “At the present time, the recycling market is often the manufacture of scrap, consumer electronics and EV batteries that failed under the guarantee,” Den said. It was sufficient for Redwood to process more than 20 gigawatts annually. But it diminishes compared to 350 gigawatts in EVS today and 150 gigawatts is expected to reach the road every year.

Redwood currently has a recycling facility on its 175 -acre university campus in Sparks, Nevada, and is developing a 600 -acre facility in Charleston, South Carolina. The latter will re -manufacture cathode and copper chips, both of which contain critical minerals that the United States prefers within its limits.

The company previously stated that it will be able to make 100 gigawatts an hour annually from the active materials of cathode and animal chips by the end of this year. By the end of the contract, you expect production to reach 500 GB.