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| Mon, 25th May 2020 11:54:00 |
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Used EV batteries for large scale solar energy storage |
MIT scientists have suggested used electric vehicle batteries could offer a more viable business case than purpose-built systems for the storage of grid scale solar power in California. Such 'second life' EV batteries, may cost only 60% of their original purchase price to deploy and can be effectively aggregated for industrial scale storage even if they have declined to 80% of their original capacity.
Used electric vehicle (EV) batteries can be repurposed to store electricity generated by large scale solar plants, according to an MIT study.
The U.S.-based researchers claimed even devices which have declined to 80% of their original capacity could offer a better investment prospect for solar-plus-storage projects in California than purpose-built, utility scale batteries, not least because such 'second life' EV batteries could cost as little as 60% of their purchase price.
MIT research co-author Ian Mathews conceded technical hurdles remained to the deployment of used EV batteries on a large scale, such as aggregating batteries from different manufacturers and screening which devices could be reused. However, Mathews insisted used EV batteries still offered a persuasive enough business case to justify the cost of recovering them, screening performance and redeploying them.
Optimal operation
The researchers used a semi-empirical model – including some 'pre-cooked' calculations – to estimate battery degradation, and concluded operating such aggregated storage devices at 15-65% of full charge would extend their second life. "This finding challenges some earlier assumptions that running the batteries at maximum capacity initially would provide the most value," the scientists stated.
Mathews said the feasibility of second-life EV battery storage would depend on the regulatory and rate-setting regimes under which they would operate. "For example, some local rules allow the cost of storage systems to be included in the overall cost of a new renewable energy supply, for rate-setting purposes, and others do not," he said.
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