Rivian and Redwood Materials Announce Energy Storage Partnership for Manufacturing

Largest repurposed battery energy storage system for a U.S. automotive manufacturer to cut energy costs, support grid reliability.

NORMAL, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--American automotive and technology company Rivian (NASDAQ: RIVN) and critical materials and energy technology company Redwood Materials today announced a partnership to deploy pioneering battery energy storage at Rivian’s Normal, Illinois manufacturing facility. Using more than 100 second-life Rivian battery packs, Redwood and Rivian’s solution will initially provide 10 megawatt-hours (MWh) of dispatchable energy to reduce cost and grid load during peak demand periods—saving on cost and supporting grid security and reliability.

Rivian will provide EV battery packs to Redwood, who will integrate them into a Redwood Energy system, supported by the company’s Redwood Pack Manager technology, allowing their stored energy to be used on-site by Rivian’s plant in Normal. This system is rapidly scalable and offers significant cost benefits by using safe and proven EV batteries. This approach enables faster, more flexible deployment of energy capacity directly at high-demand sites like manufacturing facilities.

To capture and balance the growth in peak electricity demand expected, the U.S. must deploy massive amounts of energy storage. By 2030, estimates are that over 600GWh of storage is needed to meet growing demand, stabilize peaks, and power the technology innovation of the 21st century. This represents a virtual reservoir equivalent to the total energy output of the Hoover Dam running for two months straight.

“EVs represent a massive, distributed and highly competitive energy resource," said Rivian Founder and CEO RJ Scaringe. “As energy needs grow, our grid needs to be flexible, secure, and affordable. Our partnership with Redwood enables us to utilize our vehicle’s batteries beyond the life of a vehicle and contribute to grid health and American competitiveness."

"Electricity demand is accelerating faster than the grid can expand, posing a constraint on industrial growth," said JB Straubel, Redwood Materials Founder and CEO. "At the same time, the massive amount of domestic battery assets already in the U.S. market represents a strategic energy resource. Our partnership with Rivian shows how EV battery packs can be turned into dispatchable energy resources, bringing new capacity online quickly, supporting critical manufacturing, and reducing strain on the grid without waiting years for new infrastructure. This is a scalable model for how we add meaningful energy capacity in the near term."

EV batteries are often the longest-lived part of the vehicle itself, designed to last many hundreds of thousands of miles and, in many cases, to remain healthy even when the vehicle is retired, they are extremely valuable as stationary energy storage devices.

Stationary energy storage technologies play a key role in reducing cost and increasing stability both for the customer and the grid at large. For example, during periods of peak demand like heat waves, Rivian can instantly deploy energy stored in its second-life batteries to offset increased strain on the grid, avoiding having to purchase more expensive electricity while also avoiding additional load on the power system.

Redwood's deep expertise in battery systems and power integration positions the company to capture a massive domestic supply of energy storage that is already accumulating. By transitioning these packs into stationary assets before recycling them, we can extend their useful life, decrease reliance on imported energy storage, and defer billions of dollars in costly infrastructure upgrades.

About Rivian

Rivian (NASDAQ: RIVN) is an American automotive technology company that develops and manufactures category-defining electric vehicles as well as vertically integrated technologies and services. Through innovation across its electrical architecture, end-to-end software, autonomous driving platform, artificial intelligence and propulsion, the company creates vehicles that excel at work and play while accelerating the global transition to zero-emission transportation and energy. Rivian vehicles are manufactured in the United States and are sold directly to consumer and commercial customers. Whether taking families on new adventures or electrifying fleets at scale, Rivian vehicles all share a common goal — preserving the natural world for generations to come.

Learn more about the company, products, and careers at www.rivian.com.

About Redwood Materials

Redwood Materials is building the U.S. stockpile of critical materials and deploying large-scale energy storage. Founded by JB Straubel, the company produces lithium, nickel, cobalt, copper, and cathode active material at scale in the U.S., manufactures key components for advanced batteries, and deploys energy storage systems that power data centers and the nation’s grid. Redwood is expanding domestic capacity for next-generation energy storage and strengthening U.S. energy dominance.

Learn more at www.redwoodmaterials.com