Tesla and Panasonic partner Redwood Materials has broken ground on a $3.5 billion battery plant in South Carolina, set to be the JB Straubel-led company’s second.
Redwood Materials broke ground on the South Carolina battery materials facility last week, as announced by Director of Public Affairs and Government Relations Morgan Crapps in a LinkedIn post. Located outside of Charleston, the plant will be used to recycle, refine, and manufacture anode and cathode components, not unlike the company’s Nevada materials location.
“And we’re off! Redwood Materials has officially broken ground in South Carolina at our second Battery Materials Campus! An exciting milestone as we move one step closer to closing the loop and creating a circular supply chain for battery materials here in North America,” wrote Crapps in the post.
Originally expected to begin construction in Q1 2023, the so-called Battery Materials Campus will also be like the Nevada location in that it will use 100 percent electric operations, and it won’t use any fossil fuels in its processes. Yates Construction is set to oversee the project, and Crapps also says that subcontractors can bid to be a part of the project here.
Redwood Materials is focused on creating a circular battery economy, using recycled battery materials to re-manufacture products used in electric vehicle (EV) batteries. Last year, the company provided a one-year update on its recycling business, pointing out that it could recycle around 95 percent of metal materials from end-of-life EV battery packs.
Earlier this month, the company highlighted that it’s building a cathode plant in Nevada that will support a capacity of over one million EVs per year. Beyond its close work with Tesla and Panasonic at Gigafactory Nevada, Redwood Materials also has partnerships with Toyota, Volkswagen, Volvo, Ford, and more.
Additionally, Redwood Materials founder JB Straubel was a founder of Tesla, working there until 2019, and he began serving as a board member for the automaker last year.
What are your thoughts? Let me know at zach@teslarati.com, find me on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send your tips to us at tips@teslarati.com.
