From Dead Weight to Power Source

In Northern Nevada, something remarkable is happening to old electric vehicle batteries. Rather than heading to the landfill or being melted down for scrap, they are being transformed into powerhouses for the clean energy grid. The driving force behind this transformation is Redwood Materials, a battery recycling company founded in 2017 by former Tesla executive JB Straubel. With a bold new initiative called Redwood Energy, the company is taking used EV batteries and giving them a second act, as affordable microgrids that can power everything from homes to high powered AI data centers.

The vision is simple but transformative. Many EV batteries still have about half of their energy capacity left when they are pulled from vehicles. Redwood Materials collects these batteries through a wide reaching logistics network, tests their viability, and then repurposes them into scalable energy storage systems. Instead of being tossed aside, these once retired batteries are now being plugged into a greener future.

Meet the Biggest Microgrid in North America

Redwood’s most ambitious project to date is now humming along at their Nevada campus. There, a 12 megawatt microgrid powered entirely by repurposed EV batteries is supplying energy to a modular data center operated by AI infrastructure company Crusoe. With 63 megawatt hours of capacity, the system can store enough electricity to power 9,000 homes, run 20 Amtrak trips from New York to Washington, or send an electric vehicle on a journey to the moon and halfway back.

This is no ordinary tech experiment. It is currently the largest second life battery deployment in the world and the largest microgrid in North America. Redwood is not stopping there. With more than 1 gigawatt hour of reusable batteries already in its deployment pipeline and plans to add another 5 gigawatt hours in the next year, the company is designing energy systems ten times larger than the Crusoe site. Think 100 megawatt projects built from batteries most thought were dead.

Circular Solutions at a Fraction of the Cost

Redwood’s innovation comes with both environmental and economic benefits. By reusing batteries instead of manufacturing new ones from scratch, the company creates modular storage systems at significantly lower costs. This makes clean energy infrastructure more accessible, especially in applications where traditional grid power is expensive or unreliable.

These modular systems are flexible and scalable. Whether the battery came from a Ford, Toyota, or Nissan, it can be integrated into a Redwood Energy unit. These units can operate independently or connect to the grid, storing intermittent energy from sources like wind or solar, then discharging it when needed most. Once a battery reaches the end of its second life, Redwood simply pulls it back into the recycling loop, ensuring nothing goes to waste.

With over 100,000 electric vehicles expected to retire in the U.S. in 2025, that represents a potential of 5 gigawatt hours of usable energy capacity entering the system in a single year. According to Redwood, this is not a novelty or niche technology, it is a massive, scalable resource that could supply half the energy storage market in the years ahead.

Battery Recycling Meets AI and the Lithium Loop

The story of Redwood Materials is tightly woven into Nevada’s emerging identity as a hub for lithium production and clean tech innovation. Known as the "lithium loop," this cycle starts with lithium mined in Nevada, moves through battery manufacturing at facilities like Tesla’s Gigafactory, and ends with Redwood recycling the batteries and feeding their components back into the supply chain.

Redwood’s operations at the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center are central to this loop. There, the company processes over 20 gigawatt hours of batteries annually, equivalent to 250,000 EVs, accounting for 90 percent of all lithium ion batteries recycled in North America. These operations are not just about recycling metals but creating a closed loop domestic supply chain. This helps shorten the typical 20,000 mile journey materials take around the globe before making it into a car.

 Redwood’s partnerships with major automakers like Ford, GM, BMW, and Toyota only reinforce its central role in building a more secure and sustainable battery supply chain right here in the U.S.

Regulatory Shifts and a Renewable Tomorrow

As electric vehicles become more common, so does the need to deal with what happens to their batteries when they reach the end of their automotive life. Regulatory frameworks are catching up, with new rules focused on battery disposal, second life applications, and recycling standards. Redwood Materials is ahead of the curve, helping manufacturers meet these evolving requirements and avoid the environmental burden of waste.

The company’s model aligns perfectly with the growing push toward circular economies, where reuse and recycling are not optional but essential. Its combination of sustainability, cost savings, and grid reliability positions Redwood as more than just a battery recycler. It is becoming a critical player in the future of clean energy.

As AI continues to demand vast amounts of energy and climate change pressures mount, Redwood’s second life battery microgrids could prove to be one of the most important technologies of the decade. What once powered your morning commute could soon power a server farm, a home, or even an entire neighborhood.