Subject: Cigar puff EV lithium batteries
A company which does lithium battery recycling found that many of the batteries from disassembled EVs have >50% usable life in them

So, it's developing renewable-powered microgrids, principally for AI centers (but the conceptual leap from that to, say, rural neighborhoods isn't far). And, oh yes, crypto mining (eyeroll emoji here)

" the company’s new business line, Redwood Energy, which will initially repurpose (rather than recycle) batteries with years of remaining life to create renewable-powered microgrids. Such small-scale energy systems can operate on or off the larger electricity grid, providing electricity for businesses or communities.

Redwood Materials says many of the batteries it takes in for processing retain more than half their capacity.

“We can extract a lot more value from that material by using it as an energy storage project before recycling it,” JB Straubel, Redwood’s founder and chief executive, said at the event. "

When the batteries age out, then they go to recycling, and the new arrivals take their place

A nifty concept. I's like to see the specifics, but, y'know, VC.

https://www.technologyreview.c...

-- sutton