September 21, 2023: Redwood Materials has realized its expansion into the European EV and ESS battery recycling market by acquiring Germany-based Redux, the companies announced on September 19.
Nevada-based Redwood said in February 2022 it was looking to move into Europe where EV sales are forecast to account for nearly 30% of cars by 2025.
The deal with Redux, for an undisclosed sum, gives Redwood a well-established presence in the EU from which it can quickly expand operations, the firm said.
Redux’s plant in Bremerhaven, on Germany’s North Sea coast, is equipped for 10,000 tonnes of annual processing capacity to recycle items including EV and e-bike batteries, stationary storage systems and consumer devices.
As part of the acquisition, Redwood is taking on an existing team of around 70 staff including chemical engineers and material scientists.
The company said Redux’s proprietary technology enables it to extract materials from batteries including cobalt, lithium, nickel, and manganese, claiming a recovery rate greater than 95%.
Energy Storage Journal reported in February that Redwood had received a conditional commitment for a $2 billion US federal government loan to push ahead with plans for the phased construction of its first battery materials campus in South Carolina.
The company said it ultimately planned to produce 100GWh annually of ultra-thin battery-grade copper foil and cathode-active materials from new and recycled feedstocks at gigafactory scale in the US for the first time.
Photo: Redux