U.S. startup Redwood Materials Inc on Tuesday said Japan's Toyota Motor Corp has become the latest auto industry giant to join its comprehensive electric vehicle battery recycling initiative.
The five-year-old firm has focused initial work at a 175-acre campus in northern Nevada, but plans to build an even larger complex in southeastern United States, its chief executive and founder, JB Straubel, said in an interview. Redwood Materials is ramping up U.S. production of anode and cathode components to 100 gigawatt-hours by 2025, enough to supply batteries for 1 million EVs a year. With its second facility, the production target will be 500 gWh by 2030, enough to supply 5 million EVs a year or more, said Straubel, a co-founder of Tesla Inc.
Straubel said Redwood Materials is having"various discussions" with Tesla, but has no deals to announce yet. Tesla's partners also include Panasonic.