BMW
Battery recycling firm Redwood Supplies gained a brand new automaker companion in the present day. It has agreed to a cope with BMW of North America to recycle lithium-ion battery packs from BMW’s electrified autos and can ultimately use recycled materials from Redwood in battery packs for BMWs in-built North America because the automaker works towards a closed-loop provide chain.
“Our partnership with BMW of North America ensures accountable end-of-life battery administration that can enhance the environmental footprint of lithium-ion batteries, assist lower price and, in flip, enhance entry and adoption of electrical autos,” stated Cal Lankton, chief industrial officer at Redwood Supplies.
Redwood was based by former Tesla CTO JB Straubel in 2017, and in recent times, the startup has signed partnerships with Ford, Volvo, Volkswagen, and extra lately Common Motors. These firms route end-of-life battery packs (and, within the case of GM, battery manufacturing scraps) to Redwood, the place the nickel, cobalt, copper, lithium, and different minerals are recycled in a hydrometallurgy facility.
The cope with BMW falls alongside the identical traces. BMW’s community of dealerships, distribution facilities, and repair facilities will ship end-of-life packs on their ultimate journey to Redwood, both to the corporate’s campus in Reno, Nevada, or, in time, a second campus in Charleston, South Carolina, close to BMW’s manufacturing unit in Spartanburg, and shortly its battery manufacturing unit in Woodruff.
These two amenities are slated to construct a lot of new EVs within the coming years, together with the Neue Klasse. The Neue Klasse guarantees loads of improvements, together with a extra round strategy to automotive manufacturing. (BMW’s manufacturing unit in San Luis Potosí, Mexico, can also be scheduled to construct Neue Klasse BMWs in 2027.)