Upcycled EV Batteries Provide Solar Energy Storage

When EV batteries are retired, they still hold about 65-85% of their original capacity, which is insufficient for cars, but adequate for power storage. B2U’s EPS technology turns EV battery packs into power storage, without modifications. Repurposed batteries are cost-effective for storing green energy when weather conditions prevent solar energy generation (such as at night, or on cloudy days).

As governments invest in EV infrastructure in an effort to make combustion engines obsolete, this nascent technology could prevent millions of spent battery packs from languishing in landfill. The American Inflation Reduction Act – signed into law in August 2022 – invested roughly $370bn into green energy initiatives such as renewable energy, and even increased subsidies for the purchase of EVs. The EU’s Green Deal also presents a new law on circular batteries to support the transition to green energy. Meanwhile, both the EU and the UK are banning the production of petrol and diesel cars from 2035.

There’s a clear business push for closed-loop battery supply chains. Nevada-based Redwood Materials collects end-of-life batteries from EVs and separates the raw materials for use in new battery anodes and cathodes. And English firm Aceleron builds circular energy storage battery systems that can be easily dismantled and repaired.

Aceleron also launched Batlab, a self-sustaining, solar-powered battery servicing container, in February 2023. It was recently deployed in a refugee settlement in Uganda to repair and reuse batteries used in consumer products, and satisfy the community’s energy needs.