Rad Power Bikes is partnering with Redwood Materials, a battery company founded by a former Tesla executive, to recycle e-bike batteries when they reach the end of their life.
Customers will be able to bring their spent batteries to Rad Power Bikes retail locations, after which the company will send them to Redwood Materials for processing and recycling. (Rad currently operates 10 retail and service locations in North America.) Rad Select stores in California and Washington will also serve as drop-off locations for vintage smartphones, laptops and tablets, for Redwood’s growing consumer e-waste collection program.
It’s a noteworthy deal considering Rad Power Bikes is the number one seller of electric bikes in North America. The company has been at the forefront of the e-bike boom since the covid pandemic and has distinguished itself with its slick e-bikes with big batteries and cargo-carrying capacity.
Redwood Materials was founded in 2017 by Jeffrey “JB” Straubel, former chief technology officer of Tesla. In addition to breaking down scrap from Tesla’s battery manufacturing process with Panasonic, Redwood also recycles EV batteries from Ford, Toyota, Nissan, Specialized, Amazon, Lyft, and more. The company also produces cathode and anode components for its battery customers.
Redwood Materials was founded in 2017 by Jeffrey “JB” Straubel, former chief technology officer of Tesla.
Redwood said it can recycle and reuse more than 95 percent of the critical metals found in the lithium-ion batteries it collects, including nickel, cobalt, copper, aluminum, lithium and graphite. Mike Radinbaugh, founder and president of Rad Power Bikes, said Redwood Materials was an attractive partner because it aims to do everything—battery processing, material recycling, sourcing new battery components—that normally requires multiple stakeholders to get done.
“A lot of programs…batteries are changed many different times before they get to the recycling destination,” Radinbaugh said in an interview. There are some competencies that can be lost there. We have the scale where we can lead this program with Redwood to demonstrate that you have a significant environmental impact here. “
People who own e-bikes have relatively few options for when their bike’s batteries reach the end of their life. Like other e-bike manufacturers, Rad Power Bikes batteries typically last 800 charge cycles, or about five to seven years. Without a well-defined collection and recycling process, most of these batteries end up in landfill – an outcome Radinbaugh said his company is trying to avoid.
The company piloted the battery collection process at a few of its locations and was pleased enough with the results that it decided to extend it to all of its stores. “It’s an in-store experience only at this time,” Radinbaugh explained. This means that customers who do not live near a Rad Power Bikes retail location will not be able to send their batteries in for recycling.
People who own e-bikes have relatively few options for when their bike’s batteries reach the end of their life
For Redwood Materials, the partnership with Rad Power Bikes will also help build support for its emerging consumer e-waste collection program. The company currently operates assembly sites in several car dealerships, including Volkswagen and Audi; Rad’s retail locations will help grow this footprint even further.
After receiving the batteries from its various partners, Redwood begins a chemical recycling process, removing and purifying related elements such as nickel, cobalt, and copper. A certain percentage of that refined material can then be re-integrated into the battery-making supply chain.
Redwood is also positioning itself as a key player in efforts to boost domestic battery supplies in the United States. Today, most of the batteries that go into everything from consumer goods like laptops and phones to electric cars are made abroad, mostly in China. The Biden administration is seeking to support domestic battery manufacturing through the Inflation Reduction Act, which provides $10 billion in incentives to companies that make batteries in the United States. And Redwood just secured a $2 billion loan from the Department of Energy to help boost its operations.
Redwood said it began manufacturing anode copper foil at its Nevada facility late last year, and is on track to produce cathode materials later this year, which contain all the important metals in a battery, such as lithium, nickel and cobalt. The anode contains copper and graphite and is mainly responsible for the charging performance of the battery. The company says it hopes to produce enough battery material to power one million electric vehicles annually.