Tesla Co-Founder JB Straubel's Redwood Materials Employs Old EV Batteries to Power AI Data Centers with Renewable Energy

Tesla co-founder JB Straubel's company Redwood Materials is repurposing old EV batteries for microgrid projects, providing cheap energy storage for data centers. Redwood partnered with Crusoe to build a 63 megawatt-hour system for a massive AI data center in Texas. The global data center market is experiencing growth due to the AI boom, with Goldman Sachs estimating a 165% increase in data center power demand by 2030. Redwood has over a gigawatt-hour of reusable batteries and plans to scale up its projects.

Title: GM Expands EV Battery Usage into Energy Storage Systems for AI Data Centers

General Motors (GM) is exploring new markets for its electric vehicle (EV) batteries, driven by lower-than-expected consumer demand for electric vehicles. The company has partnered with Redwood Materials to supply battery modules for energy storage systems, particularly targeting the growing power needs of artificial intelligence (AI) data centers. These energy storage systems utilize both new and used EV batteries to power microgrids, offering a cleaner energy source for AI infrastructure [1].

GM's strategy aims to maximize its battery production capacity and explore new revenue streams. The company's electric vehicle sales may be on the rise, but consumer demand for battery-powered vehicles is far from what the company anticipated. Consequently, GM is shifting its focus to AI firms, whose power requirements align with GM's capabilities [1].

The partnership with Redwood Materials is part of GM's broader effort to diversify its battery production. GM's two Ultium Cell facilities in Springhill, Tennessee, and Warren, Ohio, could produce enough battery cells for between 600,000 and 800,000 electric vehicles annually. Additional capacity from a joint venture with Samsung planned for Indiana could soon bring the company close to producing 1 million electric vehicles in the United States per year, according to Sam Abuelsamid, vice president of market research at Telemetry [1].

In the first six months of 2025, GM sold 78,000 electric vehicles. Adding in the vehicles it produces for Honda Motor Co., the electric Acura ZDX and Honda Prologue, GM was responsible for producing 104,819 electric vehicles that sold through June [1].

GM's CEO, Mary Barra, has expressed confidence in the new business opportunities created by the company's expertise in leading cell chemistries and formats. The company is finalizing an agreement with Redwood to supply battery modules to Redwood Energy, their new energy storage business, which has been formed to meet surging power demand for AI data centers and other applications [1].

The power of power
The Detroit automaker signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding to deploy new and used electric vehicle batteries for storage systems that power a Nevada microgrid, which, in turn, powers a modular data center for AI infrastructure company Crusoe. This microgrid can deliver 12 megawatts of power at any instant, with a total capacity of 63-megawatt hours [2].

The global data center market is experiencing growth due to the AI boom, with Goldman Sachs estimating a 165% increase in data center power demand by 2030. Redwood Materials has over a gigawatt-hour of reusable batteries and plans to scale up its projects, providing cheap energy storage for data centers [2].

The use of microgrids for AI data centers is on the rise, but they cannot replace the regulated energy grid. The key is the source of electricity, with renewables being preferable to gas for environmental reasons [1].

Repurposing old EV batteries for energy storage systems is positive news for the planet. If the proliferation of AI data centers is inevitable, at least they can be powered by cleaner energy [1].

References
[1] https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/general-motors/2025/08/01/gm-battery-energy-storage/85376451007/
[2] https://mitechnews.com/artificial-intelligence/general-motors-to-sell-ev-batteries-for-storage-systems-to-power-nevada-microgrid/