Redwood Materials to supply cathode materials to Panasonic

According to foreign media reports, Panasonic said on November 15 that it will purchase recycled battery cathode materials from Redwood Materials starting in 2025 for use in its new factory in Kansas, USA.

The multi-year deal, worth billions of dollars, is the latest move by the U.S. battery industry to shorten global supply chains and reduce reliance on China. Currently, most of the key materials used in electric vehicle batteries are mined and refined in China, including nickel, cobalt and lithium.

The above goals are also the focus of the Inflation Lowering Act enacted by U.S. President Joe Biden, which among the goals is to establish a battery materials supply base in North America. JB Straubel, CEO of Redwood Materials, said in an interview: "The Inflation Reduction Act has accelerated the transformation of the entire battery supply chain." He expects the company to become the first company to mass-produce cathode materials in North America.

Image source: Redwood Materials

Redwood Materials, which was founded only five years ago, has a long-term cooperative relationship with Panasonic, which established a battery cell joint venture with Tesla in Nevada. Redwood Materials recycles Panasonic's scrap materials from the plant and has reached an agreement with Panasonic to supply recycled anode copper foil to its Nevada plant.

Headquartered in Carson City, Nevada, Redwood Materials continues to expand its operations. The company has previously said it is investing billions of dollars to expand the production of cathode and anode materials to 100 GWh (enough to meet the needs of 1 million electric vehicles) by 2025. After that, the company plans to further increase its production capacity by four times to reach 500 GWh by 2030.

The cathode is the most expensive component in the battery cell, accounting for 50% of the total cost. By recovering and reusing critical materials locally, Redwood Materials and others hope to reduce costs in the coming years. Redwood Materials’ partners include some of the world’s leading car companies, such as Toyota, Ford and Volkswagen Group.