Gary Zhou 
Key Points
- 💼 Former Tesla executive Colin Campbell joins battery recycling startup Redwood Materials as Chief Technology Officer.
- ♻️ Redwood Materials, founded by Tesla co-founder J.B. Straubel, focuses on creating a circular battery supply chain through recycling materials for new battery production.
- 🚗 Campbell expresses excitement to work on broad EV and clean energy adoption by solving problems upstream and creating critical battery components at scale.
- 🌐 Redwood Materials and Tesla maintain a close relationship; Redwood supplies Gigafactory Nevada with recycled battery materials.
Battery recycling startup Redwood Materials has appointed a former Tesla executive as its new Chief Technology Officer. In a LinkedIn announcement, Colin Campbell, who previously served as Tesla’s Vice President of Powertrain Engineering, revealed that he has joined Redwood Materials.
Headquartered in Carson City, Nevada, Redwood Materials was founded by Tesla’s co-founder and former Chief Technology Officer, J.B. Straubel, who is now a Board Member. The startup specializes in battery recycling, aiming to establish a circular battery supply chain. This approach involves recycling materials from used batteries and incorporating them into the production of new cells.
Colin Campbell emphasized this objective in his LinkedIn post, expressing his gratitude for his 17-year journey at Tesla and explaining his new role at Redwood Materials.
“At Redwood, I will continue to work on electrification — but this time, ensuring broad EV and clean energy adoption by solving problems further upstream! Redwood’s mission is to create a circular battery supply chain, localizing the current fragmented system by creating critical battery components at scale in the US for the first time — and from an ever-increasing amount of recycled content.”
“I’m humbled and excited to join, learn from, lead, and grow a team that, while still in the first chapter, has already accomplished so much! This team is innovating across chemical, mechanical, electrical, and systems engineering – the future at Redwood is very exciting!” Campbell wrote.
Redwood Materials has other former Tesla personnel in its ranks, including operating chief Kevin Kassekert, who previously held the position of Vice President of People and Places at Tesla. It’s worth noting that more than 120 employees at Redwood Materials were formerly part of the Tesla team.
Although Redwood and Tesla are distinct entities, they maintain a close relationship. In the past, Redwood’s official social media account announced that its Battery Materials Campus 1 facility in Northern Nevada would supply recycled battery materials to Tesla’s Gigafactory in Nevada.
