Tesla Co-Founder JB Straubel's EV Startup To Set Up Facility Near Giga Nevada

Tesla Inc’s TSLA co-founder JB Straubel’s EV battery recycling startup Redwood Materials has bought 100 acres of land in Sparks, Nevada, near the electric vehicle maker’s Nevada Gigafactory, as per a TechCrunch report. 

What Happened: The acquisition is part of the battery recycling startup’s expansion plans in line with President Joe Biden administration’s drive to increase the adoption of electric vehicles and boost domestic battery recycling and supply chain efforts, the TechCrunch report noted.

The report, citing Redwood, said its current 150,000-square-foot facility in Carson City, Nevada will nearly triple in size as well. The company is adding 400,000 square feet of area to the facility and expects it to be operational by the end of the year.

The Amazon.com Inc AMZN-backed Redwood also reportedly plans to add more than 500 jobs over the next two years.

Why It Matters Straubel left Tesla in 2019 to focus on Redwood and work on recovering and recycling elements such as cobalt, lithium, nickel and copper. The demand for metals is on the rise due to the increasing shift to electric vehicles.

See Also: Tesla Co-Founder's Battery Recycling Company Ties Up With E-Waste Firm ERI

The global demand for lithium, graphite, nickel and manganese may fail to meet the mining resources currently available putting emphasis on the need to recycle even more.  

Price Action: Tesla shares closed 1.28% lower at $617.69 on Monday.

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