WRI’s Vishant Kothari presents “Understanding 1st, 2nd & 3rd Life of Electric School Bus Batteries” to attendees of STN EXPO West in Reno, Nevada, on July 15, 2024.
Batteries can also be recycled, “I am not aware of the chemical type or where they
are sourced,” said Anderson of batteries powering Falls Church’s electric school buses. “I would love some infor- mation about this to be available for districts.” Energy consultant Ewan Pritchard said he expects
NMC batteries to be largely phased out in about five years, as LFP batteries have a longer life. GreenPower and RIDE already offer LFP, and Accelera by Cummins is launching in 2026. “NMC is less robust technology,” he said. “It does have
higher initial energy capacities, but it also has higher degradation.”
Warranties There’s still much unknown about exactly how long
batteries last under what conditions. Estimates say 15 to 18 years or possibly longer. OEM battery warranties typically cover eight to 10 years, though RIDE offers a 12-year warranty. “It gets into how much confidence these big manufac-
turers have in their batteries,” said Pritchard. “Everyone is delving into the unknown.” “The batteries are far exceeding the warranties the
OEMs expected,” WRI’s Kothari added. “It remains to be seen how long these batteries will eventually last in the bus. There are some additional variables, like V2G. It’s an additional cycle of the battery to participate in those ac- tivities. How does that impact the degradation timeline and eventual end-of-life opportunities?” Electric school bus batteries are typically swapped
out when they are only able to charge to 70 percent of their original capacity. Batteries are still useful for many other applications at this level. They can and often are reused in electric vehicle charging, to augment charging stations and for on-site charging at events. They can also be used for energy storage on the grid, which the California Energy Commission is researching.
66 School Transportation News • NOVEMBER 2024
though there are few U.S. recy- clers currently available. Spiers New Technologies does the re- purposing and remanufacturing of two-thirds of the country’s
non-Tesla electric vehicle batteries, according to a report from the Washington State Department of Ecology. WRI notes that reuse is by far the most desirable op-
tion, in terms of efficiency and sustainability. When that isn’t possible, recycling is likely to happen given how valuable the components are. “The likelihood of these batteries ending up in landfills
is close to zero,” Pritchard said. If a battery needs to be swapped out while under warranty, the OEM will provide a new one. Pritchard said warranties typically don’t specify what happens to the old battery or who takes possession of it. Some OEMs are sub- ject to Extended Producer Responsibility regulations that put the onus of end-of-life decisions them, according to supply chain analyst IDTechEx. “Our hunger for these batteries, I don’t see it flattening
at any point,” noted Pritchard. “The recycled market will all be driven by the demand. There isn’t a whole lot of recycling right now because there isn’t a lot of supply and a lot of demand. But the capabilities are there, I’m not worried about that.” What about when a bus is outside warranty? “There
are a range of scenarios that could take place depending [on] who owns the buses, who owns the bus batteries, where the buses are located, the competency and capac- ity of the maintenance staff,” Kothari added A used battery outside warranty could likely be sold at
an auto auction. There is no central way for regulators or other entities to track batteries that are out of warran- ty, a major impediment to improving battery reuse and recycling policies, advocates noted. “How can you standardize testing of used batteries?”
Kothari asked. “Once we have some degree of standard- ization of these used batteries, that will help identify for everyone involved that this particular pathway of reus- ing is preferable.”
PHOTO BY VINCENT RIOS CREATIVE
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