Rivian and Redwood Materials Partner for Battery Energy Storage in Manufacturing

Rivian and Redwood Materials have joined forces to repurpose EV battery packs into a 10MWh energy storage system at Rivian’s Illinois manufacturing facility.

On April 14, the American automotive and technology company Rivian announced a partnership with critical materials and energy company Redwood Materials to deploy battery energy storage at the former’s manufacturing facility in Normal, Illinois. The two companies’ combined solution will initially provide 10 megawatt-hours (MWh) of energy using more than 100 second-life Rivian battery packs to reduce cost and grid load during peak demand periods. Through this, costs can be saved while bolstering grid security and reliability. Redwood will integrate the EV battery packs supplied by Rivian into a Redwood Energy system that would enable Rivian’s plant in Normal to use the stored energy. Powered by Redwood Pack Manager technology, the system is scalable and offers tangible cost benefits due to using safe and proven EV batteries.

Furthermore, according to estimates, the US needs to deploy massive amounts of energy storage, to the extent of 600GWh by 2030, for capturing and balancing the growth in peak electricity demand. Visualized in real time, this requirement is equivalent to the total energy output of the Hoover Dam running for two months straight. According to 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."

Moreover, Rivian’s second-life batteries can significantly reduce costs and increase stability for the customer and the grid at large. For instance, energy stored in these batteries can be deployed to offset increased stain on the grid, thereby eliminating the need for expensive electricity purchases and easing additional load on the power system. CIO Bulletin views this partnership as being beneficial for customers in terms of the ability to transition the battery packs into stationary assets before recycling, which in turn extends useful life, decreases reliance on imported energy, and saves billions of dollars in infrastructure upgrades.