Rivian (NASDAQ: RIVN) and Redwood Materials have partnered to install a 10-megawatt-hour battery energy storage system at Rivian’s manufacturing facility in Normal, Illinois. The system repurposes more than 100 used Rivian EV battery packs into stationary storage that can dispatch energy during peak demand periods, reducing electricity costs and easing grid strain.
Highlights
- First repurposed EV battery storage system at a U.S. automaker’s manufacturing plant, using more than 100 second-life Rivian battery packs to deliver 10 MWh of dispatchable capacity.
- Redwood Energy integration: Redwood’s Pack Manager technology controls packs of mixed chemistries and health states as a single dispatchable asset.
- Peak demand management: The system allows Rivian to deploy stored energy during high-demand periods like heat waves, avoiding costly peak electricity purchases.
- Grid-scale ambitions: The companies cite projections that the U.S. will need more than 600 GWh of storage capacity by 2030 to meet surging demand.
How the System Works
Rivian supplies retired EV battery packs to Redwood Materials, which integrates them into a Redwood Energy system at the Normal factory. Redwood’s Pack Manager software manages batteries of varying chemistries and degradation states as a unified storage resource. The companies described the system as rapidly scalable, with cost advantages over new-build storage since it repurposes batteries that retain significant capacity after vehicle retirement.
EV batteries are typically designed to last hundreds of thousands of miles. In many cases, packs remain functional well after the vehicle they powered is retired, making them well-suited for stationary energy storage applications with less demanding duty cycles.
Peak Demand and Grid Relief
The practical application is straightforward. During periods of high electricity demand — heat waves, for example — Rivian can draw on stored energy rather than purchasing expensive peak-rate power from the grid. This offsets additional load on the regional power system while cutting the facility’s energy costs.
The companies framed the partnership in the context of broader U.S. energy challenges. They estimate the country will need over 600 GWh of storage by 2030 to handle peak demand growth and the load surge driven by AI infrastructure buildout.
Executive Statements
“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.”
Broader Context
Redwood Materials, founded by Tesla co-founder JB Straubel, launched its dedicated energy storage business unit, Redwood Energy, in June 2025. The Rivian installation builds on the company’s existing work. Redwood previously deployed a 12 MW / 63 MWh microgrid at its Sparks, Nevada campus, assembled from 792 second-life EV packs. The company also signed an MOU with General Motors last summer to repurpose GM EV batteries into grid-scale storage.
The approach positions Redwood at an unusual intersection in the U.S. energy storage market: the company has both a domestic feedstock of retired batteries and a growing roster of anchor customers. Redwood has stated it will transition packs into stationary storage assets before eventually recycling them at end of life — extending useful life, reducing reliance on imported storage, and deferring infrastructure upgrade costs.
Second-life battery storage is gaining traction across the EV industry. Nissan has deployed similar systems using retired LEAF batteries, and multiple startups are scaling commercial projects using repurposed packs from various automakers.
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