Back in 2021, Redwood Materials announced its intention to expand in Europe to support the company's goal of creating a closed-loop battery supply chain. Redwood says that localizing the global battery supply chain across the U.S. and Europe will be critical to driving down the costs and increasing the sustainability of electric vehicles and clean energy storage.
To help with this goal, Redwood Materials has acquired Redux Recycling GmbH. Redwood says that Redux is the EU's leading lithium-ion battery recycler. The acquisition brings a well-established European presence into Redwood's operations. The acquisitions will expand operations, increase capacity for battery recycling, and incorporate relationships with already-established suppliers and industry partners across Europe. The European market for battery recycling and materials manufacturing is growing rapidly as it continues to be the fastest-growing EV market globally, driven by automaker commitments and strong government support to electrify.
The facility, located in Bremerhaven, on Germany's North Sea coast, is equipped for 10,000 tonnes of annual processing capacity to recycle many form factors and lithium-ion battery chemistries. The facility is centrally located within Europe and near the Bremerhaven Port, one of the largest and most important import harbours for vehicles, allowing Redwood the ability to transport, recycle, and refine electric vehicle packs and batteries from across Europe
The Redux facility is equipped to recycle electric vehicle and E-bike batteries, stationary storage systems, and consumer devices like cell phones, laptops, and power drills.
As part of this acquisition, Redwood also welcomes a team of about 70 experienced technical staff including chemical engineers, metallurgists, and material scientists. Their expertise in mechanical separation helps Redwood recover high-purity metal concentrate, a critical input for battery materials production. Redwood's technology includes advanced material recovery processes, such as hydrometallurgy, which complement Redux's pre-treatment and mechanical separation capabilities.
Redux's proprietary technology enables it to extract valuable materials from batteries, including cobalt, lithium, nickel, and manganese with a recovery rate greater than 95 percent, complementing the high percentage recovery Redwood has already accomplished in the U.S.
