Redwood Materials, a battery-recycling startup founded by JB Straubel, a Tesla board member, has appointed Colin Campbell, Tesla’s vice president of powertrain engineering, as its chief technology officer. Redwood’s mission is to create a circular battery supply chain by turning end-of-life electric vehicle batteries and scrap into raw materials and components for new battery cells.
The company aims to localize the fragmented battery system by producing critical battery components at scale in the US, using an increasing amount of recycled content. The move follows Campbell’s 17-year tenure at Tesla and is part of Redwood’s ongoing efforts to attract top talent from the electric vehicle company. Tesla has not yet commented on the departure.