Redwood Materials wants to help companies sidestep years-long waits for electricity by building on-site energy systems with recycled EV batteries, according to CEO JB Straubel.
The battery recycling startup is expanding beyond collecting and processing old electric-vehicle batteries. It's increasingly pitching itself as a way for AI data centers to get power faster, without waiting for new connections to America's backed-up electric grid.
"Connecting to the grid can take years," Straubel wrote in a blog post on Wednesday.
His solution is what the industry calls "behind-the-meter" energy systems, which operate without needing to connect to the grid. Redwood would combine second-life EV batteries with solar panels and other on-site power sources, allowing customers to generate and store electricity at their own facilities.
A battery storage racking system from Redwood Materials
Redwood Materials
The company is already putting the idea into practice with Rivian. Redwood recycles used batteries from the EV maker and is installing energy storage systems at Rivian's manufacturing plants, building on a 10-megawatt-hour installation at the company's Illinois factory.
Redwood is also packaging the batteries with its own power electronics and software, turning what began as a recycling business into a broader energy offering.
The company launched its Redwood Energy division last year on the premise that EV batteries still have years of useful life after they're retired from cars. It has already built a large battery system for a Crusoe data center.
Straubel's latest post makes clear where Redwood sees its biggest opportunity.
"The underlying problem is speed to power," he wrote, referring to the AI-fueled race to secure electricity.
That marks another step in Redwood's evolution. Investors originally backed the company to recycle batteries. Today, it's increasingly selling something different: a faster way to bring power to energy-hungry AI data centers.
