A second life vehicle battery project has been launched in the UK to study the viability of developing applications worldwide.
The University of Warwick’s WMG department will act as the academic research partner for the GBP1.3 million ($1.7m) project, whose partners include Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), UK smart grid systems specialist Videre Global and energy storage business Connected Energy.
WMG’s Dr James Marco said the research team would focus on creating innovative battery management software “to facilitate the active management of used vehicle batteries within a grid storage solution”.
JLR’s project lead Ryan Fisher said: “From 2020, all new Jaguar Land Rover vehicles will have the option of electrification. This project explores how automotive batteries can be given a second life in energy storage solutions to support wider industry needs.”
Connected Energy’s E-STOR energy storage technology will be adapted by the project to integrate second-life JLR batteries, the company said.
Videre Global MD Craig Morgan said the project would also “help us to understand and plan for the sustainable provision of electric vehicle charging points in remote places, together with a responsible approach to the end-of-life recycling, reclamation and safe disposal of EV batteries in the future”.
The project is co-funded by a grant from the UK’s innovation agency, Innovate UK.
Last June, Renault said batteries from its EVs would be given a second life in UK-based Powervault’s home energy storage units, to bring home energy storage “to the tipping point of mass-market rollout in the UK”.
Germany’s Daimler and Japanese chemicals firm Mitsui & Co., Ltd., are also among firms investing in moves to ramp up the development of second use lithium-ion battery storage.
