Redwood Materials acquires battery recycler Redux Recycling - Reno Gazette Journal

Redwood Materials acquires battery recycler Redux Recycling

Northern Nevada-based Redwood Materials acquires a leading EU battery recycler

The acquisition of the European recycler represents “a significant step” in Redwood Materials’ growth plans within the world’s fastest-growing EV market.
Jason Hidalgo

Redwood Materials just staked its claim on the world’s fastest-growing market for electric vehicles, acquiring a leading European battery recycler.

Redwood Materials announced on Tuesday that it has acquired German company Redux Recycling GmbH.

Redwood described Redux Recycling GmbH as the European Union’s leading lithium ion battery recycler. Redwood Materials did not disclose the financial terms of the deal.

What does the Redux Recycling GmbH acquisition mean for Redwood Materials?

The acquisition of Redux comes about a year and a half after Redwood announced plans to enter the EU market.

The northern Nevada-based battery recycling and materials company called its acquisition of Redux “a significant step” in its goal to expand operations in Europe, which is seeing significant growth in the adoption of EVs.

“This acquisition will provide us with a well-established EU presence to quickly expand operations, increase capacity for battery recycling, and work closely with already-established suppliers, customers and industry partners across Europe,” Redwood Materials said in a statement.

“The European market for battery recycling and materials manufacturing is growing rapidly and the acquisition of Redux positions Redwood as a key player in this market.”

The Redux acquisition adds 70 more technical staff to Redwood, which continues to increase staffing. Redwood told the Reno Gazette Journal in 2021 that it plans to ramp up to 600 employees total within its U.S. operations alone.

Redux has the capacity to process 10,000 tons of battery material each year, including material from electric vehicles, and E-bikes, stationary storage systems and consumer devices such as cell phones, laptops and power drills.

Redux is also centrally located in Europe with access to Bremerhaven Port, making it convenient for transporting battery materials, according to Redwood.

Redux acquisition follows several big moves by Redwood Materials in recent years

The Redux acquisition is the latest in a string of key moves by Carson City-based Redwood Materials, which was founded by former Tesla executive JB Straubel.

In 2021, Redwood Materials broke ground on its mega campus at the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center just east of Reno-Sparks. The industrial park is also the location of Tesla’s first Gigafactory, as well as facilities for Google and Switch.

Earlier this year, Redwood Materials welcomed U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm to the same battery recycling and materials campus at the TRI Center to announce a $2 billion loan commitment from the Department of Energy to further expand its northern Nevada mega facility.

Redwood also announced in August that it has raised more than $1 billion in new “Series D” investment funding for the company. With the new Series D funding, the company has raised nearly $2 billion in equity funding to date, according to Redwood.