Volkswagen expands Redwood Materials collaboration with consumer battery recycling program
Submitted by Jeff Munson on Tue, 04/04/2023 - 8:17am
Starting on Earth Day, Volkswagen of America, Inc. and Northern Nevada-based Redwood Materials, Inc. will offer consumers a convenient way to recycle rechargeable devices or lithium-ion batteries. Participating Volkswagen dealerships will offer Redwood bins for easy and safe drop off of rechargeable batteries and consumer devices, including cell phones, laptops, tablets, cordless power tools, electric toothbrushes, wireless headphones, and old vacuum batteries.
The collaboration between Volkswagen Group of America and Redwood began last year with a strategic recycling deal for all Volkswagen and Audi electric vehicle battery packs and a shared vision to create a circular EV economy.
According to Redwood, its technology can recover more than 95% of the critical minerals from batteries (like nickel, cobalt, lithium, and copper) and then manufacture the metals into battery components that are supplied to U.S. battery manufacturers for new electric vehicles and energy storage products. If adopted across the industry, battery recycling programs like this could help reduce battery costs as well as the need to mine and ship raw materials.
“Volkswagen’s goal is to provide more accessible and more sustainable electric mobility for American drivers,” said Andrew Savvas, Executive Vice President, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer, Volkswagen North American Region. “By engaging our dealers, Volkswagen is providing access for consumers to contribute to sustainable mobility.”
The consumer recycling program officially launches at 14 dealerships in time for Earth Day on April 22, with a soft launch at the Volkswagen booth during the New York International Auto Show, April 5-16.
Additional dealerships will be added throughout the year.
· Findlay VW Henderson – Henderson, NV
· Flow Volkswagen – Wilmington, NC
· Hall VW – Brookfield, WI
· Herzog-Meier VW – Beaverton, OR
· Lindsay VW – Manassas, VA
· Lindsay VW of Dulles – Sterling, VA
· Mission Bay Volkswagen - San Diego, CA
· Reydel Volkswagen – Edison, NJ
· Reydel Volkswagen – Linden, NJ
· Sendell Volkswagen – Greensburg, PA
· Street VW – Amarillo, TX
· Tracy Volkswagen – Hyannis, MA
· Toms River Volkswagen – Toms River, NJ
· University VW – Albuquerque, NM
· Mission Bay Volkswagen - San Diego, CA
The Volkswagen Group brands plan to introduce more than 25 new battery electric vehicles to American consumers through 2030, with the Group aiming for 55% of its U.S. sales to be fully electric by 2030.
About Redwood Materials
Redwood Materials is creating a circular supply chain to drive down the environmental footprint and cost of lithium-ion batteries and the electric vehicles and sustainable energy storage systems they power. Founded by JB Straubel, Redwood is offering large-scale sources of domestic anode and cathode materials produced from recycled batteries and manufacturing these critical components at scale in North America for the first time. Redwood receives the majority of end-of-life lithium-ion batteries recycled in North America today and then recycles, refined and remanufactured into critical battery materials. The company plans to ramp production of anode and cathode components in the US to 100 GWh annually by 2025, and 500 GWh annually by 2030, enough to produce more than five million electric vehicles a year. For more information, visit redwoodmaterials.com.
About Volkswagen
Volkswagen of America, Inc. is an operating unit of Volkswagen Group of America, which is a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG. Headquartered in Herndon, Virginia, Volkswagen Group of America’s operations in the United States include research and development, parts and vehicle processing, parts distribution centers, sales, marketing and service offices. Volkswagen Group of America Chattanooga Operations, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of VWGoA, operates a state-of-the-art assembly facility in Chattanooga, Tennessee, while VW Credit, Inc., another wholly owned subsidiary of VWGoA, provides financial services. The Volkswagen Group is one of the world's largest producers of passenger cars and Europe's largest automaker. Volkswagen sells the Arteon, Atlas, Atlas Cross Sport, Golf GTI, Golf R, ID.4, Jetta, Jetta GLI, Taos, and Tiguan vehicles through more than 600 independent U.S. dealers. Visit Volkswagen online at www.vw.com or media.vw.com to learn more.
