Redwood Materials opens first phase of $3.5B plant in SC

Redwood Materials, a lithium-ion battery recycler, has opened operations of its $3.5 billion facility on 600 acres of Camp Hall Commerce Park in the Lowcountry — regarded as the largest economic development project in the history of South Carolina.

Redwood’s first facility at the Lowcountry campus is now recovering critical minerals, according to a post on its webste. This is a small but significant start toward what will become one of the world’s largest recovery, refining and manufacturing campuses, the post stated. Over the next decade, Redwood will continue to grow in South Carolina, creating more than 1,500 jobs, according to the post.

The South Carolina plant is expected to add 20,000 metric tons of annual materials production. The company said its Nevada headquarters campus produced more than 60,000 metric tons of material in 2024.

Redwood launched Redwood Energy in June to place used and new electric vehicle packs into fast and low-cost energy storage systems.

In August the company signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding with General Motors to accelerate the use of energy storage systems. The accelerated systems will include both new batteries made in the U.S. by GM as well as reused battery packs from other GM electric vehicles, a news release stated.

And in September 2024, BMW of North America and Redwood Materials announced a partnership to recycle lithium-ion batteries from all electric, plug-in hybrid-electric, and mild hybrid BMW, MINI, Rolls-Royce, and BMW Motorrad vehicles in the United States, according to a news release.

The partnership demonstrates a shared commitment to sustainability, and is the next step toward creating a closed-loop circular value chain for lithium-ion batteries in the country, the release stated.

Redwood Materials will work directly with BMW Group’s extensive network of close to 700 locations across the United States, including dealerships, distribution centers and other facilities to recover end-of-life lithium-ion batteries and ensure critical minerals like nickel, cobalt, lithium and copper are recycled and refined, the release stated. Ultimately, 95% to 98% of these critical minerals will be returned to the battery supply chain to build increasingly sustainable electric vehicles.

When Redwood Materials announced  in December 2022 that it would build a plant in Berkeley County, it caused ripples throughout South Carolina.

Not just because of the sheer size of the project and investment cost — spanning more than 600 acres and costing $3.5 billion —but because of the name behind it. The Nevada-based company’s founder, JB Straubel, also co-founded EV giant Tesla alongside Elon Musk.

At the time of the announcement in mid-December 2022, it was deemed the largest economic development announcement in South Carolina history. Nothing has surpassed it since.

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