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☆ Fashion Faces Recycling Fees Similar to Other Industries
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Dieter Holger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +7 min

Electronics and packaging companies have banded together to help pay for recycling programs under government rules. EPR programs charge producers tiny fees—often a fraction of a penny—on individual items to fund waste collection and recycling. The fees from the relevant products, such as packaging, electronics or clothing, then fund recycling, including infrastructure, collection, sorting and public communications. Recycling successEPR programs can significantly boost recycling rates, according to a study published this month from the Recycling Partnership, a nonprofit group. It is expanding its textile recycling beyond its customer network, which includes Levi Strauss & Co. and VF Corp. -owned The North Face.

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Redwood Materials expects to draw down the first loan tranche later this year, Chief Executive JB Straubel said in an interview. The IRA rules are designed to shift the U.S. battery supply chain away from China, which currently produces 70% of batteries for electric vehicles. EXPANSION PLANSRedwood Materials, founded in 2017 by ex-Tesla executive Straubel, is on a path to become one of the world’s largest recyclers and re-manufacturers of battery materials, including copper, lithium, cobalt and nickel. Redwood Materials said it will supply copper foil from Nevada to Panasonic (6752.T) for battery cells produced at the Nevada Gigafactory that Panasonic jointly operates with Tesla. Redwood Materials has supply agreements with a number of manufacturers, including Ford, Toyota Motor (7203.T) and Volkswagen Group (VOWG_p.DE).

☆ Redwood Materials scores a new $2 billion loan to build out battery recycling facility in Nevada
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Lora Kolodny | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Redwood Materials was founded by former Tesla CTO and cofounder JB Straubel in 2017 during his tenure at Elon Musk's car company. The battery-recycling startup will use the funding to build and expand its battery recycling facility outside of Reno, Nevada. Redwood Materials has attained a $2 billion loan commitment from the Department of Energy, the agency announced on Thursday via its loan programs office. As CNBC previously reported, last year Redwood Materials struck a multi-billion dollar deal with Tesla supplier Panasonic. Redwood Materials has a pilot line up and running for production of anode copper foil in Nevada already.

☆ Amazon's plastic packaging was reportedly found thousands of miles away at illegal dump sites in India
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Aaron Mok | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Amazon delivery packages from North America were found in illegal dump sites and mills in India. Plastic waste ends up in dump sites that emit vile odors and can pollute the air, Bloomberg reports. Amazon delivery packaging was also found mixed in with materials processed at sugar cane and paper mills in Muzaffarnagar, according to Bloomberg. Bloomberg's findings come three years after the Indian government lifted its ban on importing plastic waste due to the country's waste shortage, the India Times reported. The spokesperson also referred Insider to Amazon Second Chance, a guide for customers to understand how to recycle their Amazon packaging.

☆ Elon Musk's former right-hand man is taking the next big step in his plan to make EVs cheaper by recycling old batteries
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Alexa St. John | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The EV battery recycling giant just announced a new plant in South Carolina. The plant will help carmakers get the materials they need to make EV batteries. With more and more demand for the materials to make these things, taking advantage of recycling can ease a supply crunch and eventually drive down costs. "The goal is to make the most sustainable battery materials," said Jackson Switzer, Redwood senior director of business development and one of Insider's 100 People Transforming Business. "To make the most sustainable battery materials, we need to get as much recycled nickel, cobalt, and lithium as we can into the front end of the system.

☆ Carmakers fighting for battery supply need ways to track EV ingredients. A new kind of 'passport' could be the answer.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Alexa St. John | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A "battery passport" that traces everything from a battery's mining to recycling could help. Experts say using the battery passport could separate auto-industry winners from losers. That challenge could be alleviated by the "battery passport," a new way of documenting where all the bits of a battery come from and where they're going. In Europe, newer regulations have increased scrutiny of battery sustainability and safety. The battery passport could make it easier to get through them.

President Joe Biden last week doled out $2.8 billion to miners developing new U.S. sources of lithium, nickel, copper and other EV minerals, as well as battery parts manufacturers and recyclers. Those grants followed August's Inflation Reduction Act, which links EV tax credits to minerals extracted domestically or from 20 allies. "People have a misconception about how quickly we can get mines up and running given the U.S. permitting process," said Megan O'Connor, Nth Cycle's CEO. "Hopefully, they'll give us some help and fast track some of the permitting process," said Kent Masters, Albemarle's CEO. The yawning divide between America and China's approaches to funding the EV supply chain is now a top concern for many policymakers and their advisers in the nation's capital.

☆ Automakers' need for EV tech has flipped a long-standing power dynamic — and these 18 battery outfits are reaping the benefits
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-05 | by ( Alexa St. John | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The battery business is booming amid massive electric-vehicle plans across the auto industry. Car companies need more battery makers, chemistry firms, recyclers, and more. Once car companies started making their more-than $515 billion electrification plans, they began scrambling to secure battery technology and supplies. To start with, today's battery makers are struggling to churn out enough supply to power all those promised EVs. Because automakers new to the EV business lack the in-house expertise to make and manage their own batteries, talent is in short supply, too.

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