Japanese legacy automaker Toyota announced Thursday the expansion of its partnership with American battery recycling firm Redwood Materials for critical electric vehicle battery parts.
Agreement details
According to the press release, Toyota Motor North America (TMNA) will source critical battery parts like Cathode Active Material (CAM) and Anode copper foil from Redwood for battery cells developed at the automaker’s $13.9 billion North Carolina factory that will launch production in 2025.
Some of the critical battery parts will come from Toyota’s popular Prius model that are slated to reach the end of their lives soon after hitting the market about 20 years ago. Of course, Redwoods will be the one to extract the battery minerals and recycle them for Toyota.
“Toyota Battery Manufacturing North Carolina’s start of production is right around the corner, and we’re thrilled to be procuring critical battery components and materials to filter into our battery ecosystem. We’ll continue to work toward the sourcing and recycling of battery materials here in the United States to maximize these precious resources and reduce our carbon footprint in the process.”
Sean Suggs, TBMNC President
Basically, they will collaborate in giving a second life to retired batteries from Toyota’s electrified models in California at Redwood’s Nevada recycling plant.
“Today, in collaboration with Redwood Materials, Toyota is making a decisive move toward a sustainable future. They’re not only working to ensure responsible end-of-life management for their electric vehicles but also planning to build their next generation of EVs, in part, by using sustainable and domestically manufactured battery components.”
Cal Lankton, Redwood Materials’ Chief Commercial Officer.
Purpose
The two major industry players seek to establish a circular battery ecosystem in the region, which will enable them to benefit from various federal and state programs that incentivize domestic battery assembly and recycling initiatives.
In return, it will aid the US in cutting its heavy reliance on Chinese battery components, as noted by AXIOS.
Toyota also aims to prepare for the anticipated growth of its battery recycling needs in the next few years due to the imminent retirement of the first-gen Prius batteries launched over 20 years ago.
“Working with Redwood Materials, we are creating a circular supply chain to optimize logistics, expand refining, and ensure that the valuable metals recovered can be reintroduced into our future vehicles.
Accelerating our recycling efforts and domestic component procurement gets us closer to our ultimate goal of creating a closed-loop battery ecosystem that will become increasingly important as we add more vehicles with batteries to roads across North America.”
Christopher Yang, Group Vice President, Business Development, Toyota Motor North America
Partnership’s foundation
Toyota and Redwood Material’s partnership builds on the previous pact they initiated in 2022. They primarily focused on piling and recycling Toyata’s retired hybrid and all-electric vehicle batteries.
According to TechCrunch, Redwood refurbished or recycled end-of-life batteries from Toyota’s hybrid and electrified cars. It extracted critical minerals like copper, lithium, cobalt, and nickel for remanufacturing if it cannot refurbish the batteries anymore.
This partnership will significantly aid Toyota in recycling, remanufacturing, and repurposing almost five million operating units in its battery lifecycle ecosystem. It will also support the automaker’s 2035 goal of achieving carbon-neutral global operations and the 2050 goal of zero-emission vehicles.
