Steve Marcus/REUTERS
- Google is investing in Redwood Materials, boosting its latest financing round to $425 million.
- Big Tech is increasingly interested in power infrastructure for the AI era.
- Redwood Materials has expanded from battery recycling to grid-scale energy storage.
Redwood Materials has landed Google as a new investor, capping an upsized funding round that values the battery recycling and energy storage company at more than $6 billion.
The development underscores rising Big Tech interest in power infrastructure for the AI era.
The Nevada-based startup said Wednesday it completed the final close of its Series E financing, bringing the total raised to $425 million.
The round was increased from a previously announced $350 million amid strong investor demand. Google joined the final closing of the round alongside existing backers, including Capricorn and Goldman Sachs.
Google's participation adds another tech giant to Redwood's cap table, following Nvidia's investment earlier in the round through its venture arm NVentures.
The growing interest reflects a bet that Redwood's energy storage business — which repurposes used electric-vehicle batteries to store power — could become critical infrastructure as electricity demand surges from AI, data centers, and broader electrification.
Founded by Tesla cofounder JB Straubel, Redwood Materials originally built its business on recycling lithium-ion batteries and recovering key metals, including lithium, nickel, and cobalt. More recently, it has expanded into grid-scale energy storage through a new unit called Redwood Energy, which uses second-life EV batteries to stabilize power supply and support energy-hungry data centers.
The company has argued that energy storage is no longer optional but essential as AI workloads strain existing grids. Redwood says the new capital will help it scale its energy storage platform while continuing to invest in recycling and critical minerals processing in the US.
With Google now on board, Redwood is positioning itself at the intersection of AI infrastructure, energy security, and domestic supply chains — a combination investors increasingly see as strategic as the power demands of the AI economy accelerate.
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