Redwood Materials Secures Funding from Nvidia’s Investment Arm

While I still plan to discuss Tesla’s earnings in the context of the refinery and LFP on X and in a note this week, news shared in a chat caught my attention.

Redwood Materials announced they had closed a $350 million funding round led by Eclipse Ventures, with participation from new investors including Nvidia’s investment arm, NVentures.

In 2021, Redwood applied for a Department of Energy loan and in 2023 was awarded a conditional commitment for $2 billion. After an environmental assessment for Redwood Materials’ Nevada operations was released, little was heard about the loan. From the time of the conditional commitment to the election of President Trump, I do not remember any mention of the loan.

During that period, Redwood announced two major developments: they secured $2 billion in private funding and generated $200 million in revenue in 2024. This was presented as the reason for walking away from the DOE loan in a May 2025 Axios article. I believe this explanation only tells part of the story.

I have several issues with Redwood Materials’ CEO, from his over-exaggeration of the company’s capabilities to their greenwashing. Beyond supporting their mission, I believe there are many other companies just getting started with better platforms and business models. But one thing JB can do is wheel and deal. He is a consummate businessman, something many of those other companies lack. A clear example of JB’s keen business sense is that Redwood does not own the land their TRIC battery campus occupies; it is owned by a third party that he controls.

Over the past year, a few of the other companies have begun addressing this gap in leadership and are now focusing more on growth and revenue, but none of them come close to securing the funding that JB has for Redwood Materials.

Another example of how Redwood Materials has set themselves apart from others in the industry is that JB more than likely anticipated the changing of the political winds and recognized that partnering with an entity led by a figure who has used the bully pulpit to criticize the very industry that will be key to their success was not a sound business decision. Recent developments suggest he was correct.

Those recent developments, the DOE canceling grants, they may not be as unwarranted as myself and many others thought. DOE spokesman Ben Dietderich stated:

The projects had missed milestones, and it was determined they did not adequately advance the nation’s energy needs, were not economically viable, and would not provide a positive return on investment of taxpayer dollars.

While missing milestones is plausible, the rest, as a friend would say, is bullarkey. All of the recently canceled projects, from grants supporting a lithium-ion recycling plant to a primary lithium refinery, which was added to the government’s FAST-41 dashboard to expedite it, are directly in line with the nation’s energy needs. Those projects will be needed to support and create a more secure and reliable energy infrastructure and contribute to the growth of the burgeoning AI industry, a industry that the Trump administration seems to be focusing more and more of the taxpayers’ resources on.

These projects address not only national security but also economic growth, have been proven economically viable by multiple studies, and would definitely provide a return on investment for taxpayers.

However, the milestone part is very plausible, particularly with one American Battery Technology Company, which has a history of missing milestones unless they are connected to shares being awarded to executives. Moreover, all of the projects that had their grants terminated were behind in one way or another. But is that reason enough to yank the funding? With an administration where the public goal is to scrap what was created by the previous administration, combined with the added cover afforded by the government shutdown, it seems for Secretary of Energy Chris Wright it was more than enough.

That is why I doubt Ascend Elements even flinched when informed of the final $100 million of their grant being rescinded. Their new CEO, a veteran of the energy industry, recognized, like JB, that the Department of Energy is not currently a reliable partner. Other companies in the industry would be wise to follow Redwood Materials’ example: focus on private partnerships and investments, and distance themselves from the volatility of the U.S. government for the time being.

I am working on a more detailed article about this, but with the news about the recent funding for Redwood Materials, I felt it was worth some print inches today. Plus I was reminded again that Substack is a newsletter platform and that I should utilize it more for that function.

DISCLAIMER: This article should not be construed as an offering of investment advice, nor should any statements (by the author or by other persons and/or entities that the author has included) in this article be taken as investment advice or recommendations of any investment strategy. The information in this article is for educational purposes only. The author did not receive compensation from any of the companies mentioned to be included in the article.