The redwood material may be worth $5 billion already

The battery recycler and Tesla partner Redwood Materials are currently in discussion to raise up to $700 million in financing. If all goes according to plan, the financing would put the company’s valuation nearly $5 billion ahead of the company’s plans to build a new plant in Nevada — though it’s not finalized yet.

Proposed redwood materials campus in Nevada.

Redwood Materials could be set to raise another $700 million in an upcoming round of financing, though the deal isn’t finalized yet, according to people familiar with the matter (via financial times). The battery recycling company also declined to comment, although people said the talks were already in advanced stages, while not finished.

Founded by Tesla co-founder JB Straubel, Redwood Materials was founded in 2017 to help create a circular supply chain for batteries. To do this, the company recycles battery materials such as lithium to help reduce the need for mining. With US President Joe Biden aiming for half of all new cars sold to be electric by 2030, the market for lithium and recycled batteries is expected to grow exponentially.

Image courtesy of Redwood Materials

In the past, the company has had backers like Fidelity, Baillie Gifford, and T Rowe Price, and many of its existing investors are expected to be part of this new funding round. Other current investors in Redwood Materials include Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Goldman Sachs, Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund, and others.

In 2021, Redwood Materials has raised more than $700 million at a valuation of approximately $3.7 billion. Earlier this year, the company also received conditional approval for a $2 billion loan from the US Department of Energy, which is also set to help develop the Reno, Nevada-area plant. The company shared plans to invest more than $3.5 billion in a factory on more than 600 acres of land outside of Charleston, South Carolina, as well.

Image courtesy of Redwood Materials

The plant in Nevada is expected to be Redwood’s first major plant, and will be dedicated to taking batteries and production scrap at the end of their life and turning them into materials that can be used to produce electric vehicles. Ultimately, the company expects the plant to produce enough batteries for more than 1 million electric vehicles annually. Tesla also has a Gigafactory in Sparks, Nevada, which sends battery waste directly to a nearby Redwood Materials facility.

Straubel is credited with founding Tesla in 2004, just a year after the company’s initial founding. He served as the automaker’s chief technology officer for 15 years, as well financial times He points out that he was an important part of the development of Tesla’s engines and early concepts for the Gigafactory. In May, he was elected to serve as an independent director of Tesla’s board of directors.

source: financial times

Article by EVANNEX.

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