Rivian and Redwood Materials partner to re-use Rivian batteries at Normal plant

[ACDC]

https://www.redwoodmaterials.com/ne...energy-storage-partnership-for-manufacturing/

Rivian and Redwood Materials announce energy storage partnership for manufacturing

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

April 14, 2026

American automotive and technology company Rivian 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.

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[Mos Eisley]

Interesting use of second-hand Rivian batteries: Rivian and Redwood Materials Announce Energy Storage Partnership for Manufacturing

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.

 

[MountainBikeDude]

It's about time. This was always part of the pack design for end of life use in grid storage.

From 5 years ago

 

[VSG]

EV batteries are often the longest-lived part of the vehicle itself

This bears repeating.

 

[Lmirafuente]

One of the reasons my wife ultimately agreed to buy a Rivian goes back to a conversation we had with RJ Scaringe at one of the first public exhibits of the R1T at the Overland Expo West in Flagstaff (my profile picture actually has the patch they were handing out at the time).


During that conversation, he shared that battery packs from early R1 test vehicles—once they had reached the end of their usable life—were being donated to Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria to help store energy from newly built solar installations. He mentioned that a single R1 battery pack could power up to five homes.


Recovery from the hurricane stretched well into 2018, so it was powerful to hear how Rivian was already thinking beyond the vehicle itself—designing with sustainability in mind and planning for second-life battery use in real-world scenarios.

 

[NY_Rob]

I know it's a pipe dream at this point, but could you imagine if homes in Cuba were allowed to have these batteries/systems fed by solar?

 

[mkhuffman]

I would love to be able to buy an old pack and do a DIY installation at my house. In theory it should be a lot cheaper than the equivalent new battery.

 

[VSG]

Right? It's like 10 powerwalls, at probably the cost of 1.

 

[savethemanual]

Please help me understand, if a battery is no longer a good use in an EV...how is it still good to use in another application? I know with many home battery set ups, they are often charged and discharged daily to make best use of peak vs off peak electric rates.

 

[derekmw]

From what I understand...no longer good in an EV but there's still plenty of life in it. say even if it only had 70% capacity left, as a driver, you'd swap it out, but for backup solution in a home setting, it's still very useful and for many years to come.

My powerwall is set to only drain down to 20% but then it charges back up to 100% and may sit like that during the early peak cost hours, until solar isn't generating enough, and it starts to use that battery until it drains it back to 20%

 

[VandalSibs]

Please help me understand, if a battery is no longer a good use in an EV...how is it still good to use in another application? I know with many home battery set ups, they are often charged and discharged daily to make best use of peak vs off peak electric rates.

From what I understand...no longer good in an EV but there's still plenty of life in it. say even if it only had 70% capacity left, as a driver, you'd swap it out, but for backup solution in a home setting, it's still very useful and for many years to come.

My powerwall is set to only drain down to 20% but then it charges back up to 100% and may sit like that during the early peak cost hours, until solar isn't generating enough, and it starts to use that battery until it drains it back to 20%

There's also the matter of battery recycling, which essentially gives new life to most of the materials in the pack when properly taken apart. I don't think that any company has that up and running at a giant scale (I know Redwood mentioned above does do some recycling). Not sure if this announcement involves any true recycling or if it's just straight-up repurposing the packs...

 

[roberttatefan]

Please help me understand, if a battery is no longer a good use in an EV...how is it still good to use in another application? I know with many home battery set ups, they are often charged and discharged daily to make best use of peak vs off peak electric rates.

There are also vehicles that were involved in an accident where the pack remains salvageable in addition to the aforementioned cases where battery degradation means the pack isn't desirable as part of an EV platform but the capacity is still sufficient for other, stationary use cases.

 

[Kunzene]

There are also vehicles that were involved in an accident where the pack remains salvageable in addition to the aforementioned cases where battery degradation means the pack isn't desirable as part of an EV platform but the capacity is still sufficient for other, stationary use cases.

My pack was replaced last summer due to an alert that appeared, and I believe was ultimately traced to a bad thermistor. Battery itself was still at something like 97% capacity at 75k miles. I’d like to think it would be repurposed for something like this.

 

[renderpaz]

I know it's a pipe dream at this point, but could you imagine if homes in Cuba were allowed to have these batteries/systems fed by solar?

If we're performing magic tricks what Cuba really needs is individual liberty and property rights.

 

[Rivian Owner]

This article came out about Redwood back in Oct of last year. https://www.volts.wtf/p/can-second-life-ev-batteries-work It might address some of the questions you may have about how their technology works.

Someone was questioning why a battery may still work for grid energy storage when it no longer functions for a EV, I think this article addresses those concerns?

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