Ford and Volvo reunite to tackle battery recycling challenge

As global sales of electric vehicles surge, more groups are sinking investment into researching potential battery recycling processes.

Ford and Volvo are the latest groups to announce that they’re investigating the space. The two companies have aligned themselves with recycling company Redwood Materials in the hopes of creating a new recycling regime.

Based in California and founded by former Tesla executive JB Straubel, Redwood Materials is no stranger to Ford. The two firms already had a relationship with each other, having inked a deal in 2021 to develop a circular electric vehicle battery supply chain.

The start-up also has similar deals with the likes of Panasonic and Amazon.

The new deal with Volvo expands on similar ideas, where a ‘closed loop’ can score a supply of raw materials from end-of-life batteries, which can then be fed into batteries for new vehicles.

The programme will start in California. Redwood Materials will coordinate with vehicle wreckers and dealers to find end-of-life batteries before sending those batteries to its Nevada recycling facility.

“By recycling these batteries we’ll recover the valuable, critical materials inside and keep those materials directly in the supply chain loop,” said Straubel. “This immediately reduces the need for more mining and the import of these same components.”

Ford made numerous pledges to shift away from internal combustion vehicles in 2021, while also making significant investments into developing facilities specifically designed for electric vehicle production.

Volvo, meanwhile, is set to go fully electric by 2030. “This is why we are excited about Redwood Materials’ forward-thinking solutions for end-of-life battery packs to be collected, recycled and remanufactured,” said Anders Gustafsson, president and CEO of Volvo’s North American arm.

“California is the right place to start such a programme.”

The news is a reunion of sorts for Ford and Volvo. Volvo was previously owned by Ford as part of the brand’s short-lived ‘Premier Auto Group’ alongside Jaguar, Land Rover, Lincoln, Mercury, Mazda, and others.

Ford sold off Volvo in 2010 to Chinese company Geely, who have since steered the brand towards electrification, while simultaneously creating sister firms in Polestar and Lynk & Co. Polestar launched in New Zealand last year, and Lynk & Co is set to follow suit in the coming years.