GM and Redwood Drive US-Made EV Batteries Into Grid Storage
General Motors signs a non-binding memorandum of understanding with Redwood Materials to accelerate GM battery energy-storage ambitions by deploying systems that integrate new US-manufactured GM batteries with second-life battery packs from GM electric vehicles. The collaboration advances GM's advanced battery technology beyond cars and deepens the partners’ existing work on grid-scale storage.
“The market for grid-scale batteries and backup power isn’t just expanding; it is becoming essential infrastructure,” says Kurt Kelty, GM vice-president for batteries, propulsion and sustainability. “Electricity demand climbs, and it will only accelerate. To meet that challenge, the United States needs energy storage solutions that can be deployed quickly, economically, and are manufactured at home. GM batteries can play an integral role. We’re not just making better cars—we’re shaping the future of energy resilience.”
In June, Redwood Materials launched Redwood Energy. This business converts used EV packs and new modules into fast, low-cost energy storage systems engineered to meet surging power demand from AI data centres and other applications. Today’s memorandum enables Redwood to leverage its integration prowess by pairing second-life GM EV packs with new US-built batteries, thereby creating a domestic, cell-to-system solution.
GM second-life EV batteries already power the world’s most extensive second-life battery development and the biggest microgrid in North America—Redwood’s 12 MW/63 MWh installation in Sparks, Nevada, which supports AI infrastructure company Crusoe.
“Electricity demand accelerates at an unprecedented pace, driven by AI and the rapid electrification of everything from transport to industry,” notes JB Straubel, founder and chief executive of Redwood Materials. “Both GM second-life EV batteries and new batteries slot into Redwood energy-storage systems, delivering fast, flexible power solutions and strengthening America’s energy and manufacturing independence.”
US electricity demand continues to rise, partly driven by AI data centres that are expected to increase their share of national power use from 4.4 per cent in 2023 to 12 per cent by 2028. As consumption grows, the need for grid-scale energy-storage systems that offset outages and reinforce the network during periods of high demand intensifies.
GM and Redwood Materials anticipate announcing further details of their plans later in 2025.