JB Straubel, the former Tesla chief technical officer, is seeking US$700m for his battery recycling company, Redwood Materials, the Financial Times (FT) reported. 

The investment, which includes existing investors, would place the company’s valuation at nearly US$5bn and provide funds for an inaugural large scale facility in Nevada.

Those investors include Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Goldman Sachs and Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund.

Redwood Materials aims to recycle battery materials and reduce reliance on mining.

According to the FT, earlier this year, the company secured a conditional commitment of a $2bn loan from the US Department of Energy to develop the battery recycling facility near Reno, Nevada.

The plant is expected to provide battery materials for 1m EVs a year.

FT sources cautioned the new fund raising had yet to be finalised but said talks were advanced.

Redwood declined to comment to the paper.

The company last December said it would build another facility on 600 acres near Charleston, South Carolina with an investment of $3.5bn.