Redwood Materials to Recycle Hydrofoil Batteries with Flite
Flite, an Australian company that makes electric hydrofoil, and Redwood Materials, based in Nevada, say that they have started operations related to a deal for Redwood to recycle Flitecell e-foil batteries that are no longer useful in the United States.
The partnership will see Flite working closely with Redwood to get rid of Flitecell batteries in an easy and free way that encourages consumers to recycle their battery products responsibly.
Redwood says that Flite has sold more than 7,500 hydrofoils worldwide. It also says it will "sustainably recycle all of Flite's electric hydrofoil batteries that have reached the end-of-life." It will refine and make the metals into precision battery materials, which can then be put back into the supply chain for U.S. battery manufacturers.
The process will involve customers dropping off their used units at Flite service centre partner locations in New York, Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, and two cities in Florida: St. Petersburg and Fort Lauderdale.
“We recognise that the batteries we produce are the largest component of our environmental footprint as a business,” says Flite founder David Trewern. “Making it easier for our customers to properly recycle our batteries at the end of their useful life is a significant step in taking responsibility for this impact and developing a sustainable business.”
Flitecells, or battery packs, comprise lithium-ion cells enclosed in a titanium or aluminium casing (in early models). According to Redwood and Flite, Flitecells have a four-year average lifespan.
Redwood Materials is looking for partnerships and investors to become a "large-scale supplier of domestic anode and cathode materials manufactured from recycled batteries," such as lithium, copper, cobalt, and nickel.
The company plans to increase anode and cathode component production in the United States to 100 gigawatt hours (GWh) per year by 2025 and 500 GWh per year by 2030, which it believes will be enough to generate more than 5 million electric vehicle battery packs each year.
Source: Recycling Today
