Redwood Materials has a new business: Helping AI data centers avoid America's backed-up electric grid

JB Straubel, co-founder and chief executive officer of Redwood Materials.

Bloomberg/Getty Images Redwood Materials wants to help AI data centers get electricity faster.

It plans to combine retired EV batteries with solar and other on-site power sources.

Redwood is working with Rivian and has built a battery system for Crusoe in Nevada.

EMBARGOED FOR Wednesday, October 14 at 6:00AM PT (9:00AM ET).

Redwood Materials wants to help companies sidestep years-long waits for electricity by building on-site energy systems with recycled EV batteries, according to CEO JB Straubel .

The battery recycling startup is expanding beyond collecting and processing old electric-vehicle batteries.

It's increasingly pitching itself as a way for AI data centers to get power faster, without waiting for new connections to America's backed-up electric grid.

"Connecting to the grid can take years," Straubel wrote in a blog post on Wednesday.

His solution is what the industry calls " behind-the-meter " energy systems, which operate without needing to connect to the grid.

Redwood would combine second-life EV batteries with solar panels and other on-site power sources, allowing customers to generate and store electricity at their own facilities.

A battery storage racking system from Redwood Materials Redwood Materials The company is already putting the idea into practice with Rivian.

Redwood recycles used batteries from the EV maker and is installing energy storage systems at Rivian's manufacturing plants, building on a 10-megawatt-hour installation at the company's Illinois factory.

Redwood is also packaging the batteries with its own power electronics and software, turning what began as a recycling business into a broader energy offering.