Currently, replacing damaged electric vehicle (EV) batteries with used, fully functioning battery packs is prohibited by most car manufacturers and workshops due to warranty issues. TREASoURcE studies the possibilities for the use of such 2nd life battery packs for energy storage in other applications in order to avoid recycling of the batteries back to the original elements with significant material losses in the process.
EV batteries are considered to be at the end of life when energy storage capacity reaches approximately 80% of original. Stationary storage has less strict performance requirements compared to EVs.
TREASoURcE will evaluate the potential for use of 2nd life electric vehicle batteries as energy storage systems and demonstrate their functionality and sustainability in three demo cases of energy storage for solar power. The demonstrations aim to increase knowledge of the batteries’ second life and their functionality and how stationary batteries can be used to balance electricity demand. The intended result is to accelerate the market uptake of this technology.
One of the tasks is to compare 1st life and 2nd life battery system sustainability. While 2nd life batteries are much more economically viable, they are often not considered due to limited certified providers. TREASoURcE will increase safety by having companies involved in the reuse business as producers, which leads to proper maintenance and better monitoring of battery condition.
Read more about the battery demo sites here.