General Motors (GM) and Redwood Materials, a company dedicated to the circular economy of battery materials, have announced a new partnership. This agreement aims to accelerate the deployment of energy storage systems using both second-life battery packs from GM electric vehicles and new batteries produced by GM.
Energy storage is pivotal for the expanding clean energy transition due to the intermittent nature of renewable energy sources like wind and solar. It is essential to meet continuous energy demand and prevent energy wastage, especially as grid demand increases from sectors such as transportation electrification and AI computing.
According to the companies, the agreement is timely as U.S. electricity demand continues to rise. Data centres are a significant factor, with their share of national electricity usage expected to increase from 4.4% in 2023 to 12% by 2028. This rise necessitates energy storage systems capable of offsetting power outages and reinforcing the grid during peak demand periods.
Redwood Materials, founded in 2017 by Tesla co-founder and former CTO JB Straubel, is based in Nevada. The company focuses on collecting, recycling, refining, and remanufacturing battery materials to establish a closed-loop domestic supply chain. Redwood has two battery materials campuses in the U.S., one in Northern Nevada and another under development in South Carolina, with a goal of producing 100 GWh of battery materials annually.
This agreement follows Redwood’s recent launch of Redwood Energy, a business deploying used EV packs and new modules into rapid, cost-effective energy-storage systems to meet the rising power demand from AI data centres and other applications.
Straubel commented on the collaboration, stating, “Electricity demand is accelerating at an unprecedented pace, driven by AI and the rapid electrification of everything from transportation to industry. Both GM’s second-life EV batteries and new batteries can be deployed in Redwood’s energy storage systems, delivering fast, flexible power solutions and strengthening America’s energy and manufacturing independence.”
GM has highlighted that this collaboration marks a significant step in expanding its battery technology beyond electric vehicles. Kurt Kelty, VP of batteries, propulsion, and sustainability at GM, noted, “Electricity demand is climbing, and it’s only going to accelerate. To meet that challenge, the U.S. needs energy storage solutions that can be deployed quickly, economically, and made right here at home. GM batteries can play an integral role. We’re not just making better cars – we’re shaping the future of energy resilience.”
