September 27, 2024: BMW of North America and Redwood Materials announced a partnership last week to recycle lithium-ion batteries from all electric, plug-in hybrid-electric, and mild hybrid BMW vehicles in the US.
Redwood Materials will work with BMW Group’s network of some 700 locations across the US, including dealerships, distribution centers, and other facilities to recover end-of-life lithium-ion batteries.
BMW says the Redwood process has a smaller environmental impact than other recycling technologies or conventional mining.
“Together with Redwood Materials, BMW is laying the groundwork for the creation of a fully circular battery supply chain in the U.S.,” said Denise Melville, head of sustainability, BMW of North America. “We have said before that the future of BMW was electric, digital, and circular, and this agreement brings us a step closer to meeting that goal.
“The materials inside a battery are nearly infinitely recyclable and are not consumed or lost in their lifetime of usage in the vehicle.”
Redwood Materials operates a campus in Reno, Nevada where battery components are recycled, refined, and manufactured. A second Redwood Materials campus is under construction in Charleston, South Carolina.
This is close to the BMW’s existing plants in the state: Spartanburg, which employs 11,000 staff and the new eco-plant at Woodruff, where BMW will assemble at least six fully electric models, and the high-voltage battery packs for those vehicles, before the end of the decade.
Woodruff will be operated without fossil fuels and will use 100% green electricity.
The company’s battery cell manufacturing partner, AESC is also nearby in Florence, South Carolina.
