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Audi to cooperate with German utility to build grid-scale ESS using used lithium-ion battery packs

A project to repurpose used electric vehicle battery packs into energy storage systems is being developed by German vehicle OEM Audi and utility EnBW.

The project will focus on using second-life EV batteries from Audi with EnBW working on developing a stationary facility that stores power from its wind and photovoltaic parks.

electric vehicle

batter

energy storage systems

German

Audi and Umicore to recover cobalt and nickel from lithium-ion batteries as they continue to pursue closed loop goal

Vehicle OEM Audi and recyclers Umicore have recovered 90% of the cobalt and nickel from the German car maker’s e-tron battery packs during the test phase of their strategic research project.

Audi and the Belgian materials technology and recycling firm will now enter the next phase of the plan to cooperate on a closed loop for cobalt and nickel materials.

The recovered materials will be used in new battery cells.

Audi battery fire risk prompts E-Tron recall in US

German car manufacturer Audi is recalling its first all-electric vehicle rolled out in the US— the ‘E-Tron’— due to the risk of battery fires.

A spokesperson for the company, which is owned by Volkswagen, told BEST Battery Briefing “moisture could, in very rare cases, enter the high-voltage battery through the low-voltage wiring via the charging-socket grommet, due to production tolerances in the manufacturing of wiring harnesses”.

Audi unveils second-life BESS in Berlin

German car giant Audi has opened a 1.9MWh second-life battery energy storage system (BESS) in Berlin as part of a research project.

Audi said the facility on the EUREF campus— a “climate-neutral-powered” centre for start-ups and innovation— uses lithium-ion batteries from development vehicles to test “interaction scenarios between electric cars and the power grid”.

Audi

BESS

second-life

lithium-ion batteries

Audi and Umicore open up on closed loop

German car manufacturer Audi and Belgium-based material tech giant Umicore have announced the successful completion of phase one testing for closed loop EV battery recycling, reporting that “95% of valuable battery materials can be recycled”.

The cooperation— which began in June 2018— is looking to establish closed loop recycling for lithium-ion batteries, as companies wake up to the challenges of producing lithium-ion batteries without effective recycling processes in place.

Audi

umicore

battery recycling

Lithium-ion recycling

(EV) batteries. BMW

Regen shocks open route to 48volt future

German vehicle-maker Audi is in the middle of testing a 48V lithium-ion system for full electric and mild-hybrid vehicles.

The prototype system allows the battery to offer 0.5 kWhs and a peak output of 13 kW through the use of electromechanical rotary dampers to harness regenerative breaking energy.

Fengfan opens stop-start Pb-A plant

One of China’s largest lead-acid battery manufacturers has opened a factory to make start-stop batteries that it will supply directly to OEM firms such as Audi, BMW, Mercedes and Volkswagen.

The factory, in Boading in the Hebei province, China, has an annual capacity of five million batteries.

Audi to introduce 48V electrical system to future cars

German carmaker Audi is to introduce a dual 12V/48V electrical architecture to future ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicles.

The 48V system features a lithium-ion battery and a DC/DC converter to integrate the 12V electrical system. The alternator achieves an energy recovery output of 10kW, adding up to a saving of up to 10g/km CO₂, according to Audi.

LG Chem to supply li-ion batteries to Audi

Korean battery maker LG Chem has struck a deal with German automaker Audi to supply lithium-ion batteries for its next generation hybrid vehicles.

The 48V batteries will be used in Audi’s new plug-in hybrid and micro-hybrid vehicles. The lithium-ion batteries are to replace currently integrated 12V lead-acid batteries.