Feature: Automotive
Electric Vehicle City” by Te World Electric Vehicle Association, was the first place in the UK to install BESS at EV charging points, with units made from used Renault Kangoo batteries supplied by Connected Energy – a developer and installer of BESS based on second-life batteries. The key challenge to making second-
life batteries a success for BESS is linking the EV and energy-storage value chains. This requires industry alignment, as well as enabling technology and new business models, like those developed by Connected Energy. Cranfield University, for example, has
just commissioned the UK’s largest BESS system using only second-life batteries. It will install across its campus three 300kW battery storage units, each housing 24 second-life Renault Kangoo car batteries. Known as “thin film of energy storage”, this approach to smaller distributed local energy systems will help to build national energy security and add flexibility.
There are already reports of EV charging stations being backed up by diesel generators, which surely would be madness
Extending the life of EV batteries Te case for extending the life of batteries is clear – to reduce waste and maximise the use of precious resources. Te scientific case for carbon savings is just as clear. Research conducted by Lancaster University proves that using a first-life 360kWh BESS can save 329 tonnes of CO2
emissions over the life of the system,
whereas a second-life BESS gives the benefit of 473 tonnes. Batteries are improving all the time, so
vehicle range is increasing all the time; the point at which they are considered no longer fit for life in a vehicle is when they reach ~ 75% state of health (SoH). However, this doesn’t mean they are ready for the bin; they still have significant
charge capacity and can be used in BESS until they reach 50% SoH. Tis could mean up to ten years’ more life for that battery – hence the massive impact on carbon savings and Connected Energy’s mission to help maximise the value realised from the resources embedded in EV batteries, by working directly with EV OEMs like Renault. For the automotive industry specifically,
what makes sense in the UK is an EV charging infrastructure based on small-scale BESS. A localised system – where energy is stored from solar panels, and the grid connection is managed via the management system of the BESS – is a perfect way to move forward on the road to green energy transition.
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