Recycled EV batteries to be used in power grid

A project is bringing Bosch, the BMW Group and Vattenfall together sees the companies reuse old electric vehicle batteries to form a large-scale energy storage system in Hamburg. Bosch, BMW, and Vattenfall believe in the concept to the extent they have launched the Second Life Batteries alliance. BMW is supplying batteries from its ActiveE and i3 electric vehicles, while Vattenfall has agreed to operate the massive storage system at its site for a period of 10 years. Bosch is in charge of integrating the batteries and managing the system. The storage solution will become part of an already existing Vattenfall virtual power plant. This allows the partners to combine various small, decentralized power generating systems to market them as a shared power plant.

According to the company, the project allows the three partners to gain numerous new insights into potential areas of application for such batteries, their ageing behaviour, and their storage capacity. Bosch’s management algorithm is intended to ensure maximum service life and performance as well as other benefits.

The company has already gained its first experiences in the field. In Braderup, located near the German island of Sylt, Bosch has built one of Europe’s largest energy storage systems to temporarily store the energy generated by a wind farm if needed. To do so, the company has connected thousands of small lithium-ion batteries to form a large-scale network. In Kelsterbach, a community close to Frankfurt, Bosch has installed a similar lithium-ion storage system at a housing complex. This knowledge is also making a difference in the Second Life Batteries project.

“The project is important because it combines two strategically significant goals,” says Bosch CEO Dr. Volkmar Denner, who believes in the future of the electric drive. “In electromobility, we see a future mass market accompanied by many new business models and solutions. Stationary energy storage systems that enable people to continue making good use of used batteries are part of this. Such decentralised storage systems allow us to make a major contribution to a secure power supply.”

The current plans call for the construction of a storage unit with an output of two megawatts (MW) and an installed capacity of two megawatt hours (MWh) in Hamburg. The energy will be fed into the energy balancing market to balance out short-term fluctuations in the power grid. More than 100 vehicle batteries will be interconnected to achieve these targets. The entire system is compact enough to fit in a small building. It provides enough output in mathematical terms to supply 30 four-person households with power for seven days. The partners expect the storage unit to be operational by the end of 2015.