Toyota works with JB Straubel’s Redwood Materials to develop a closed-loop battery ecosystem

Toyota has fallen far behind many of its competitors when it comes to electrification, but the company is slowly beginning to raise its EV game. The latest good news from the Japanese giant is a new partnership with Redwood Materials, the battery recycling concern headed by JB Straubel, to “explore a series of end-of-life battery solutions for Toyota’s proposed battery ecosystem.”

Above: Former Tesla executive and Redwood Materials founder JB Straubel with Toyota officials. Photo: Toyota

Initially, the collaboration will focus on the collection, testing and recycling of batteries from Toyota’s hybrid vehicles. The companies plan to “investigate ways to seamlessly incorporate battery recycling through domestic battery materials manufacturing into Toyota’s battery production strategy, beginning with North America.”

Redwood Materials offers large-scale sources of anode and cathode materials produced domestically from recycled batteries. Redwood says it receives more than 6 GWh of end-of-life batteries annually, which it recycles into critical battery materials. The company plans to ramp production of anode and cathode components in the US to 100 GWh annually by 2025, enough to supply more than one million EVs per year.

“We are working with Redwood Materials to identify solutions for our electrified powertrains at the end of life,” said Christopher Yang, Group VP of Business Development at Toyota. “We are committed to developing sustainable solutions that allow our batteries to provide value beyond the initial lifecycle in an electrified vehicle.”

“Toyota helped pave the way for clean transportation with the introduction of the Toyota Prius more than 20 years ago. Their commitment not only to sell millions of electrified vehicles this decade but to ensure their circularity into the future is a critical step for electrification,” said Redwood Materials founder and CEO JB Straubel.

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This article originally appeared in Charged. Author: Charles Morris. Source: Toyota