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Jb Straubel

Cofounder, Tesla

Search every verified Jb Straubel interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. JB Straubel, founder and CEO of Redwood Materials and a former Tesla cofounder, discussed the company's expansion from battery recycling into battery remanufacturing, repurposing, and grid-scale energy systems during a September 2026 Axios event. He said Redwood now deploys large-scale battery arrays capable of powering loads for eight to twelve hours, often using remanufactured EV batteries. Straubel noted growing interest in microgrids and off-grid power for large industrial users and data centers, citing grid connection delays of three to five years as a driver of this shift. Straubel also reflected on his career and the energy sector's evolution, describing electricity demand as historically slow-growing but now undergoing rapid change. He credited Tesla's mission-focused approach, including Elon Musk's leadership, as a key lesson for navigating startup difficulties. He expressed optimism about energy decarbonization, pointing to sharp declines in solar and battery prices as evidence of technological progress.

Recent appearances

Notable quotes

“Part of what we focus on at Redwood today are deploying these battery systems in very large scale arrays for long durations where we can power loads for eight, nine, even 12 hours. This was kind of a crazy idea. Even just a year ago, not many people were open to considering micro grids or doing off-grid large industrial loads or data centers. But today, given so many pressures, the delays to connect to the grid that ”

“Particularly in electricity, electricity has been on a very slow, predictable growth curve for decades and decades before now. In the last year or two, that sort of set the tone for how innovation was moved into the electric energy sector. Electric power engineering was probably one of the least done majors anywhere. I even had to design my own major to study electrical systems engineering. There was nothing. And tha”

“Battery recycling will likely be regionalized due to the hazards and logistics of transporting batteries. This regionalization is a hidden benefit, enabling localized supply chains and manufacturing ecosystems, as seen in the US and China.”

“Today, Redwood recycles almost 70 to 75% of all lithium-ion batteries in the US and is the second largest nickel and lithium supplier in the country from recycled materials, displacing the need for new mining.”

“A battery's materials stay inside it and are nearly infinitely reusable. This creates a huge opportunity for recycling and reprocessing industries that will be bigger than all lithium and nickel mining combined.”

“Redwood's mission is to invent and implement a circular economy for lithium-ion batteries, focusing on recycling, reuse, refining, and remanufacturing to close the loop on critical materials like nickel, lithium, and cobalt.”

Other executives at Tesla

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