Few have been more important in bringing about the explosion of the electric-vehicle (EV) market than JB Straubel, who co-founded Tesla. Now he’s working on one of the industry’s biggest challenges: sustainably sourcing materials to make the batteries that power EVs. His company Redwood Materials—which last year raised $775 million in funding—is building massive facilities to make components from new minerals and used batteries. It’s signed agreements to help supply many of the biggest car- and battery-makers, like Ford and Panasonic.
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