UK company Connected Energy has commissioned its largest second-life battery energy storage system to date using repurposed electric vehicle packs from Renault.
The 720kWh/1.2MW E-STOR system is installed at Umicore’s industrial site in Belgium and uses batteries from Kangoo vehicles.
The project is a result of a collaboration deal signed in 2016 with French vehicle OEM Groupe Renault to cooperate on deploying second-life battery technology.
The system is expected to give another seven years when the value of the embedded natural resources can be utilised, claim Connected Energy.
The E-STOR system has been connected to London headquartered energy tech firm Kiwi Power’s distributed energy platform, alongside a load bank and generator.
The platform will operate and optimise the three assets in unison to maximise value. Together the assets will provide a frequency response service – also known as R1 – to Elia, the Belgium system operator.
The overall project has been led by French multinational electric utility company ENGIE, who recently joined with Sumitomo Corporation and Macquarie to invest £5million in Connected Energy to aid its ‘next phase of international growth’.