The rise of the electric cars industry is calling for cost-effective energy stations, and their deployment will be supported by older PV batteries. The automotive industry is in urgent need of solutions, as the demand of the consumers is rising. At the same time, they are in a frantic race against each other to be the first to offer complete solutions. Batteries are a key link in the chain, as electric vehicles need charging, and this charging needs to be secured for many locations.
Thus, used PV batteries come in the picture, getting a second life and saving huge amounts of money for automakers. Sure, these cells won’t perform at the same level that new batteries would, but they can still provide energy when required. After all, they will be deployed in stationary storage applications, and not on the road. Due to the high quality of these cells, they can provide a limited service for up to three decades.
The problem that automakers will have to deal with on that part is the wide variety that these used cells come with. They are different in form, size, quality, specifications, capacitance, charging rates, chemistry, etc. This is why in some cases, it is preferable to remanufacture the batteries instead of re-deploying them directly, as they are.
Already, Nissan has partnered with Sumitomo to set up a second-life battery business model under the name “4R Energy Corp.”. More automakers are currently approaching battery sourcing experts to establish similar cooperations, so we’re witnessing the rise of a new field. This new business will involve the stages of sourcing and evaluation, deployment, operation, maintenance, and decommissioning.
Image by Francis Ray from Pixabay
