by Jason Hidalgo, Reno Gazette-Journal, July 25, 2022
Redwood Materials is doubling down on its battery facility just east of Reno-Sparks once again with the acquisition of 75 more acres of land.
The acquisition increases the footprint of Redwood Materials’ planned battery recycling operation at the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center to 175 acres. The company, which was founded by former Tesla Chief Technology Officer JB Straubel and is based in the Nevada capital of Carson City, broke ground on its Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center Battery Materials Campus last year. Tesla’s Gigafactory 1 is also located in the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center.
“We’re excited to be increasing our commitment to Nevada through the expansion of our Battery Materials Campus, adding more well-paying jobs in the region and further integrating into the community,” said Redwood Materials Chief Operating Officer Kevin Kassekert in a statement.
Redwood Materials also inked a deal to lease an industrial building near its battery site from Locus Development Group as part of the development firm’s new Comstock Commerce Center.
The center, known as “C3” for short, spans 688 acres and will have nearly 8 million square feet of industrial space once built out. Redwood Materials will be leasing just under 670,000 square feet of Class A industrial space inside the Comstock Commerce Center.
Locus Development Group CEO Joel Grace called Redwood Materials the perfect, high-profile anchor for its new industrial center.
“Redwood plays an important role in the world’s transition to electric mobility,” Grace said in a statement. “Locus Development Group is proud to be associated with a company that is leading the way toward a dramatic reduction in carbon emissions.”
In addition to Redwood Materials’ large project at the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center, the company also has operations in Carson City, where its headquarters are located. The company recycles more than 6 gigawatt hours’ worth of end-of-life batteries every year to produce critical battery materials for electric vehicles and electronics. That is double the number it shared just last year.
Redwood Materials has been busy setting up agreements with various companies for its recycling and battery material business. One of its clients is Tesla partner Panasonic, which signed a deal with Redwood Materials in 2019 for reclaiming scrap generated by its operations in the Nevada Gigafactory.
Redwood Materials also announced a partnership with Ford in 2021, with the automaker agreeing to invest $50 million toward Redwood’s closed loop battery recycling system.