Stationary storage using recycled EV batteries. Source: B2U
A 25 MWh grid-scale stationary storage system comprising 1,300 recycled electric vehicle batteries is now fully operational in California.
The project, which is the largest of its kind in the world, has been built by B2U and is connected to a solar farm.
The company’s patented, EV Pack Storage (EPS) System enables the use of EV battery packs without reconfiguration in large scale energy storage.
The company says the technology enables EV batteries to be deployed in large-scale energy storage applications in their original pack casing. This avoids repurposing costs, significantly reducing levelised cost of storage (LCOS) for grid-scale compared to systems with new batteries.
The system uses repurposed battery packs from Honda and Nissan electric vehicles however B2U says that it has successfully tested Model 3 batteries and that its technology can work with any EV battery.
The battery system charges from the connected solar farm and then sells electricity into the grid when demand is greatest throughout the day. The EPS controller monitors each pack to ensure the most efficient charge and discharge profile.
Californian solar generation and wholesale electricity prices. Source: B2U
The system provides grid services to California’s wholesale grid market 24 hours a day. The software automates market bids and is designed to take advantage of predicable daily price spikes as well as unpredictable demand shortages.
The controller also automatically disconnects batteries if they deviate from operating specifications in order to protect the system from potential hazards.
The company says that it’s technology enables the rapidly increases supply of used EV batteries to be utilised for large-scale energy storage.
Reused EV batteries for grid-scale energy storage. Source: B2U
The potential for repurposed end-of-life EV batteries to be used in grid-scale storage applications is immense.
A study in January found that end-of-vehicle-life EV batteries plus in-use V2G (vehicle-to-grid) could supply all of the world’s short-term grid energy storage requirements by 2030 and as much as 32-62 terawatt-hours of short-term storage globally by 2050.
Total technical capacity for EV batteries and comparison to grid storage demand. Source: Nature Communications
The technology being developed by B2U means that end-of-life EV batteries can be quickly and easily utilised to increase storage capacity on the grid.
Once the batteries eventually deteriorate to a point where it’s no longer feasible for them be used for grid-scale storage, they can then be removed and taken to battery recycling facilities. Tesla cofounder JB Straubel’s new company Redwood Materials is already recycling EV batteries at significant sale and is able to capture over 99% of the materials in a process they are calling “non-extractive mining”.
With companies like B2U developing technologies to maximise the total-life utilisation of EV batteries and with new recycling technologies enabling the complete capture of precious battery minerals, a truely circular economy for batteries could be within reach.
Keyword: 1300 recycled electric vehicle batteries used for biggest grid-scale storage system of its kind