Energy
Tesla co-founder’s battery recycling firm gets a cushy $700M investment round
Redwood Materials, a battery recycling company founded by Tesla co-founder J.B. Straubel, has announced a $700 million investment round from external investors. The round was led by funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., and includes contributions from Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Baillie Gifford, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, and Fidelity. Additionally, Series B investors included Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund, Capricorn’s Technology Impact Fund, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Valor Equity Partners, Emerson Collective, and Franklin Templeton.
In an attempt to keep up with the growing market of car manufacturers and other transportation companies transitioning to electrification, Redwood knows that the demand for lithium-ion batteries and other materials crucial to their operation will need to be reused. Redwood’s ultimate goal is to create a “closed-loop supply chain for electric vehicles and energy products, making them truly sustainable and continuing to drive down the costs for batteries,” the company said.
Credit: Redwood Materials
After opening up a new facility near Tesla’s Gigafactory Nevada earlier this year, Redwood plans to expand its recycling efforts to make batteries more Earth-friendly and cost-effective, a plan that Straubel outlined.
“With this capital, Redwood will be able to accelerate our mission to make battery materials sustainable and affordable, accomplishing the change we need in the world with a circular economy,” Straubel, CEO of Redwood Materials, said. “We’re grateful for these strategic investors who bring decades of experience investing in and supporting companies that build transformative technology and who understand the mission and value of what Redwood is working to achieve.”
Battery manufacturing efforts are expanding through third-party suppliers and automotive manufacturers. Tesla is one of the most notable, holding several partnerships with companies like Panasonic, LG Chem, and CATL for its battery needs. Other companies, like Volkswagen, have also outlined massive battery cell manufacturing goals through the next decade and beyond, preparing for a large-scale offensive as the race for EVs continues.
However, Redwood’s recycling efforts would only improve the situation for these automakers. Instead of scraping hazardous materials from batteries after their lifespan ends, the batteries can be reused and implemented into packs after being recycled. Not only would this improve the availability of battery cells for carmakers, but it would also create a more sustainable environment in the battery manufacturing field and improve the cost of electric cars. The most expensive part of an electric vehicle is the battery pack, and due to the limited availability of battery cells, costs will only improve when more are available. With the production of new cells from various manufacturers and the recycling of old cells from companies like Redwood, costs will decrease, making electric vehicles more affordable in the long run.
“We are excited to begin this investment in the talented and accomplished team at Redwood as they expand their pursuit of building a world-class sustainable, closed-loop battery supply chain for electric vehicles,” T. Rowe Price Growth Stock Fund portfolio manager Joe Fath said. “In our view, the need for these materials will grow exponentially over time as we enter the era of de-carbonization. We believe Redwood is well-positioned to be at the forefront of tackling this emerging and critically important problem.”
Redwood’s current workload includes developing processes to produce battery materials that can be resold into the battery supply chain, making elements of the cell more readily available. Redwood has a currently active partnership with Panasonic at the Tesla Gigafactory in Nevada, along with other collaborations with Envision AESC in Tennessee, the company responsible for the Nissan LEAF battery packs, and Amazon for recycling lithium-ion batteries and other e-waste from their massive business.
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Energy
Tesla Energy celebrates one decade of sustainability
Tesla Energy has gone far since its early days, and it is now becoming a progressively bigger part of the company.
Tesla Energy recently celebrated its 10th anniversary with a dedicated video showcasing several of its milestones over the past decade.
Tesla Energy has gone far since its early days, and it is now becoming a progressively bigger part of the company.
Tesla Energy Early Days
When Elon Musk launched Tesla Energy in 2015, he noted that the business is a fundamental transformation of how the world works. To start, Tesla Energy offered the Powerwall, a 7 kWh/10 kWh home battery system, and the Powerpack, a grid-capable 100 kWh battery block that is designed for scalability. A few days after the products’ launch, Musk noted that Tesla had received 38,000 reservations for the Powerwall and 2,500 reservations for the Powerpack.
Tesla Energy’s beginnings would herald its quiet growth, with the company later announcing products like the Solar Roof tile, which is yet to be ramped, and the successor to the Powerwall, the 13.5 kWh Powerwall 2. In recent years, Tesla Energy also launched its Powerwall 3 home battery and the massive Megapack, a 3.9 MWh monster of a battery unit that has become the backbone for energy storage systems across the globe.
Key Milestones
As noted by Tesla Energy in its recent video, it has now established facilities that allow the company to manufacture 20,000 units of the Megapack every year, which should help grow the 23 GWh worth of Megapacks that have already been deployed globally.
The Powerwall remains a desirable home battery as well, with more than 850,000 units installed worldwide. These translate to 12 GWh of residential entry storage delivered to date. Just like the Megapack, Tesla is also ramping its production of the Powerwall, allowing the division to grow even more.
Tesla Energy’s Role
While Tesla Energy does not catch as much headlines as the company’s electric vehicle businesses, its contributions to the company’s bottom line have been growing. In the first quarter of 2025 alone, Tesla Energy deployed 10.4 GWh of energy storage products. Powerwall deployments also crossed 1 GWh in one quarter for the first time. As per Tesla in its Q1 2025 Update Letter, the gross margin for the Energy division has improved sequentially as well.
Tesla Energy shined in what was a weak delivery report for the first quarter, as the company’s frequently-forgotten battery storage products performed extraordinarily well.
Tesla reported its Q1 production, delivery, and deployment figures for the first quarter of the year, and while many were less-than-excited about the automotive side, the Energy division performed well with 10.4 GWh of energy storage products deployed during the first quarter.
This was a 156 percent increase year-over-year and the company’s second-best quarter in terms of energy deployments to date. Only Q4 2024 was better, as 11 GWh was recorded.
Tesla Energy is frequently forgotten and not talked about enough. The company has continued to deploy massive energy storage projects across the globe, and as it recorded 31.5 GWh of deployments last year, 2025 is already looking as if it will be a record-setting year if it continues at this pace.
Tesla Megapacks to back one of Europe’s largest energy storage sites
Although Energy performed well, many investors are privy to that of the automotive division’s performance, which is where some concern lies. Tesla had a weak quarter for deliveries, missing Wall Street estimates by a considerable margin.
There are two very likely reasons as to why this happened: the first is Tesla’s switchover to the new Model Y at its production facilities across the globe. Tesla said it lost “several weeks” of production due to the updating of manufacturing lines as it rolled out a new version of its all-electric crossover.
Secondly, Tesla could be facing some pressure from pushback against the brand, which is what many analysts will say. Despite the publicity of attacks on Tesla drivers and their vehicles, as well as the company’s showrooms, it would be safe to assume that we will have a better picture painted of what the issue is in Q2 after the company reports numbers in July.
If Tesla is still struggling with lackluster delivery figures in Q2 after the Model Y is ramped and deliveries are more predictable and consistent, we could see where the argument for brand damage is legitimate. However, we are more prone to believe the Model Y, which accounts for most of Tesla’s sales, and its production ramp is likely the cause for what happened in Q1.
In what was a relatively bleak quarter, Tesla Energy still shines as the bright spot for the quarter.
Tesla has chosen the location of its latest manufacturing project, a facility that will churn out the Megapack, a large-scale energy storage system for solar energy projects. It has chosen Waller County, Texas, as the location of the new plant, according to a Commissioners Court meeting that occurred on Wednesday, March 5.
Around midday, members of the Waller County Commissioners Court approved a tax abatement agreement that will bring Tesla to its area, along with an estimated 1,500 jobs. The plant will be located at the Empire West Industrial Park in the Brookshire part of town.
Brookshire also plans to consider a tax abatement for Tesla at its meeting next Thursday.
The project will see a one million square-foot building make way for Tesla to build Megapack battery storage units, according to Covering Katy News, which first reported on the company’s intention to build a plant for its energy product.
CEO Elon Musk confirmed on the company’s Q4 2024 Earnings Call in late January that it had officially started building its third Megapack plant, but did not disclose any location:
“So, we have our second factory, which is in Shanghai, that’s starting operation, and we’re building a third factory. So, we’re trying to ramp output of the stationary battery storage as quickly as possible.”
Tesla plans third Megafactory after breaking energy records in 2024
The Megapack has been a high-demand item as more energy storage projects have started developing. Across the globe, regions are looking for ways to avert the loss of power in the event of a natural disaster or simple power outage.
This is where Megapack comes in, as it stores energy and keeps the lights on when the main grid is unable to provide electricity.
Vince Yokom of the Waller County Economic Development Partnership, commented on Tesla’s planned Megapack facility:
“I want to thank Tesla for investing in Waller County and Brookshire. This will be a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility for their Megapack product. It is a powerful battery unit that provides energy storage and support to help stabilize the grid and prevent outages.”
Tesla has had a lease on the building where it will manufacture the Megapacks since October 2021. However, it was occupied by a third-party logistics company that handled the company’s car parts.
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