Critical materials such as cobalt, lithium, nickel, and copper are indispensable to the modern American economy. They form the backbone of technologies ranging from computers and smartphones to energy storage, defense systems, and AI data centers.
However, the United States currently imports almost all of these essential minerals, often sourcing them from volatile regions or geopolitical rivals. Redwood’s mission is fundamentally aimed at transforming this dependency and establishing a secure, domestic supply.
Redwood is rapidly becoming a pivotal domestic producer of critical minerals. The company is now comparable to the largest U.S. source of nickel and stands alone as the only large-scale domestic source of cobalt. Furthermore, its operations represent one of the most significant, and virtually sole new, domestic sources of lithium and copper to emerge in decades.
With approximately 90% of all lithium-ion batteries processed in North America passing through its facilities, Redwood’s Nevada Campus produced over 60,000 metric tons of materials last year, establishing it as one of the nation’s most vital sources of critical minerals, whether mined or recycled. The company is now expanding its capacity with the initial startup of its South Carolina campus, adding an initial 20,000 metric tons of annual materials production.
The extraction of critical minerals is expensive, and the global supply chain remains fragile and dominated by China. Yet, as one of the world’s largest consumers of EVs, consumer electronics, and power tools, America already possesses a tremendous internal reserve of lithium, cobalt, nickel, copper, and manganese, currently locked inside everyday products.
For instance, the U.S. fleet of five million electric vehicles alone contains an estimated 2.25 million metric tons of these materials. These resources can first be unlocked through reuse in stationary storage systems and subsequently through the full recovery and refining of the underlying minerals.
Redwood’s objective is to keep these resources within the United States—recovered, refined, and redeployed for the nation’s strategic advantage. This strategy effectively converts yesterday’s imports into tomorrow’s strategic stockpile, making the U.S. more competitive, resilient, and less susceptible to foreign supply chain controls.
Access to critical minerals is not merely an economic concern; it is a vital matter of national security. The same materials powering batteries are essential for the technologies that ensure the nation’s operations and security.
- Nickel and Cobalt are necessary for specialized aerospace and defense alloys.
- Copper forms the foundation of industrial wiring and power transmission.
- Cobalt and Copper are also critical components in the manufacturing of semiconductors and advanced electronics.
By providing domestic access to these materials, Redwood helps ensure the U.S. maintains the resources necessary for military readiness, technological leadership, and energy resilience at home.
South Carolina: The Next Hub for Recovery and Refining
The company has successfully commenced operations at its 600-acre campus in Berkeley County, South Carolina, with the first facility already recovering critical minerals. This initial step marks a significant beginning toward what is planned to become one of the world’s largest recovery, refining, and manufacturing campuses. Redwood is committed to continued growth in South Carolina over the next decade, which is projected to create more than 1,500 high-quality jobs.
South Carolina, a long-standing leader in advanced manufacturing across textiles, automotive, and aerospace, is now taking its next strategic step into critical minerals. By securing and processing these resources domestically, the state strengthens both its economy and the national interest, contributing to the rebuilding of American industry through high-value manufacturing, energy security, and local job creation.
By achieving large-scale recovery of critical minerals, Redwood is laying the foundation for American leadership in advanced manufacturing, infrastructure, and the high-power technologies of the future. With recycling operations now running in South Carolina, the company is actively helping to transform the U.S. into a nation capable of securing and reusing its own essential resources.
[source: Redwood Materials]
