Redwood Materials has a new business: Helping AI data centers avoid America's backed-up electric grid

Redwood Materials has a new business: Helping AI data centers avoid America's backed-up electric grid JB Straubel, co-founder and chief executive officer of Redwood Materials. Bloomberg/Getty Images Redwood Materials wants to help companies sidestep years-long waits for electricity by building on-site energy systems with recycled EV batteries, according to CEO JB Straubel.The battery recycling startup is expanding beyond collecting and processing old electric-vehicle batteries. It's increasingly pitching itself as a way for AI data centers to get power faster, without waiting for new connections to America's backed-up electric grid."Connecting to the grid can take years," Straubel wrote in a blog post on Wednesday.His solution is what the industry calls "behind-the-meter" energy systems, which operate without needing to connect to the grid. Redwood would combine second-life EV batteries with solar panels and other on-site power sources, allowing customers to generate and store electricity at their own facilities. A battery storage racking system from Redwood Materials Redwood Materials The company is already putting the idea into practice with Rivian. Redwood recycles used batteries from the EV maker and is installing energy storage systems at Rivian's manufacturing plants, building on a 10-megawatt-hour installation at the company's Illinois factory.Redwood is also packaging the batteries with its own power electronics and software, turning what began as a recycling business into a broader energy offering.The company launched its Redwood Energy division last year on the premise that EV batteries still have years of useful life after they're retired from cars. It has already built a large battery system for a Crusoe data center.Straubel's latest post makes clear where Redwood sees its biggest opportunity."The underlying problem is speed to power," he wrote, referring to the AI-fueled race to secure electricity. That marks another step in Redwood's evolution. Investors originally backed the company to recycle batteries. Today, it's increasingly selling something different: a faster way to bring power to energy-hungry AI data centers.Sign up for the AI Insider newsletter here. Reach out to me via email at abarr@businessinsider.com Read next Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know Alistair Barr is the driving force behind Business Insider's AI Insider franchise, including the AI Insider newsletter. Sign up here. Before that, he was Business Insider's Global Tech Editor and the Big Tech team leader at Bloomberg, following a reporting career at The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Reuters, and MarketWatch. Alistair covers all things Big Tech, along with startups and venture capital. He writes analysis and columns about topics including AI, cloud computing, data centers, semiconductors, online search, e-commerce, EVs, robotics, and autonomous vehicles. Artificial Intelligence Data Centers AI Insider More