Tesla Cofounder’s Battery Recycling Startup Ties Up With Top U.S. E-Waste Processor

Tesla Cofounder’s Battery Recycling Startup Ties Up With Top U.S. E-Waste Processor

Redwood Materials says it uses proprietary technology to recover elements including cobalt, lithium, nickel, manganese and graphite from old battery cells. Redwood Materials, a startup created by Tesla cofounder J. B. Straubel to profitably recycle lithium-ion batteries, is partnering with ERI, North America's biggest processor of electronic waste, to gain access to thousands of tons of cells it can turn back into valuable raw materials. As part of the new alliance, Carson City, Nevada-based Redwood, which already recycles battery materials from Panasonic and Amazon, is investing an undisclosed amount in privately held ERI and Straubel is joining its board. Initially, Redwood will receive up to 30 tons a week of lithium-ion batteries collected by ERI. It will also begin a pilot program to recover materials from old solar panels shipped to it from the Fresno, California-based company. "We'll get 100% of the battery supply that they generate and that's a meaningful number today," Straubel tells Forbes, declining to provide financial details. "The goal here is to work together to increase that and also to address some of these new materials that we can work together on to help them pull material into the funnel." Straubel, who was Tesla's long-time chief