Redwood Materials and Audi want to solve recycling for electronics

Audi and battery recycler Redwood Materials will collect used batteries from mobile phones, electric toothbrushes, and other lithium-ion powered devices at participating dealerships around the nation.

Customers can drop off their rechargeable electronics, including laptops, cellphones, e-bikes/scooters, electric toothbrushes, vacuum cleaners, and power drills at the dealership starting November. The select dealerships will still have recycling bins available for the foreseeable future. 

The project builds on their existing partnership to recover Audi and Volkswagen electric vehicle (EV) batteries and marks the Nevada-based recycler’s first time working with an automaker to collect domestic lithium-ion batteries. Redwood’s facility will receive the batteries and other stuff gathered in the bins and transform them into residential, environmentally friendly EV batteries.

Redwood, the dominant player in the emerging battery recycling market, has the opportunity to address a raw material shortage that would imperil automaker’s aspirations for ambitious worldwide EV sales. Over the next few years, it’s anticipated that millions of new EVs will be on the road. The Inflation Reduction Act’s incentives can be satisfied by creating a domestic battery supply chain that is sustainable and closed-loop.

The law provides tax advantages for electric vehicles with recycled-content batteries. According to AquaMetals, almost 15 million tons of lithium-ion batteries are expected to be retired by 2030 when the majority of manufacturers intend to phase out gas engine vehicles. According to Redwood, the demand for lithium-ion batteries will rise by a factor of six or more over the following ten years.