Rivian, a leader in electric vehicles, has launched a new battery energy storage system (BESS) at its plant in Normal Illinois in collaboration with Redwood Materials, an expert in battery materials and energy technologies. They will use over 100 recycled batteries from Rivian vehicles to help them reach a total storage capacity of 10 MWh.
This collaboration is timely considering the growing constraint in the industrial production process due to the mismatch between energy consumption and energy infrastructure development. With the use of batteries that have already passed the road test but can no longer be used, Rivian and Redwood Materials have created a loop in the energy value chain.
Circular Energy: Turning Retired Packs into Industrial Assets
Under the agreement, Rivian provides used EV battery packs to Redwood, which integrates them into a specialized Redwood Energy system. The installation is powered by Redwood’s proprietary Pack Manager technology-a “universal translator” that allows various battery packs to be orchestrated safely as a unified stationary storage resource.
This modular approach offers a rapidly scalable and cost-efficient alternative to traditional storage solutions. It allows high-demand sites like the Normal facility to bring significant energy capacity online years faster than waiting for traditional grid infrastructure upgrades.
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“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.”
Scaling to Meet a 600GWh National Challenge
A staggering task is ahead of the grid in America; by 2030, 600 gigawatt hours of energy storage would be necessary just to cope with peak loads and foster innovations. This amount of stored electricity is analogous to the capacity of the Hoover Dam generating for a period of two months.
“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.”
Extending the Lifecycle of American Innovation
EV batteries are engineered for extreme durability, often remaining highly functional long after a vehicle is retired. As stationary storage devices, these packs operate under much gentler conditions, making them ideal for “peak shaving”—discharging stored energy during heat waves or high-traffic periods to avoid expensive electricity surcharges and grid instability.
By transitioning these packs into stationary assets before they eventually reach the recycling phase, the partnership extends the useful life of domestic materials, reduces reliance on imported energy storage, and defers billions in infrastructure costs.
