Rivian and Redwood deploy 10 MWh second-life EV battery system to cut costs and support grid stability in Illinois.
Rivian , an electric vehicle maker, and battery recycling and materials company Redwood Materials will deploy a 10 megawatt-hour second-life battery energy storage system at Rivian ’s manufacturing facility in Normal, Illinois, using more than 100 repurposed electric vehicle battery packs to cut energy costs and support grid stability during peak demand.
The system will take used Rivian EV battery packs and convert them into a stationary energy storage unit on-site at the factory. Redwood Materials will integrate the packs into its Redwood Energy system, using its Pack Manager technology to control and dispatch stored electricity when needed. The setup is designed to reduce peak electricity costs and ease strain on the local grid.The initial deployment will provide 10 MWh of dispatchable energy. The companies say the model is designed to be scalable and can be expanded as more second-life battery packs become available. The focus is on turning retired EV batteries into a distributed energy resource for industrial use rather than sending them directly to recycling.Rivian said the approach extends the useful life of its batteries beyond vehicle use and turns them into grid-supporting assets. Redwood Materials will handle system integration and energy management, positioning the setup as a flexible storage solution for manufacturing sites with high and variable electricity demand.Batteries beyond vehicle lifeElectricity demand in the U.S. is rising faster than grid expansion, creating pressure on industrial users who face higher peak energy costs. Large-scale storage systems are increasingly seen as a way to balance demand without waiting years for new transmission infrastructure.The companies argue that second-life EV batteries offer a faster route to add storage capacity. Instead of manufacturing new stationary batteries, they reuse existing EV packs that still retain usable capacity after vehicle retirement. This reduces costs and shortens deployment timelines for industrial energy storage.“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.”Grid load shifting strategyRedwood Materials said electricity demand growth is becoming a constraint for industrial expansion and that existing battery assets in the U.S. represent a large untapped energy storage base. The company is positioning second-life batteries as a near-term solution to expand grid capacity without waiting for new manufacturing or infrastructure buildouts.“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.”The system is intended to support peak shaving, where stored energy is released during high-demand periods such as heat waves. This reduces the need for expensive peak electricity purchases and lowers stress on the grid while maintaining stable factory operations.Redwood said its battery integration platform is designed to scale as more EV packs become available across the U.S. fleet, turning retired mobility batteries into a distributed storage network for industrial and grid use.The deployment marks one of the early industrial-scale uses of second-life EV batteries directly at a manufacturing site, combining energy storage, cost reduction, and grid support in a single system.
EV Batteries Grid Stability Peak Shaving Redwood Materials Rivian Second-Life Batteries
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