JLR repurposes car batteries for grid power storage

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【Summary】Jaguar Land Rover plans to repurpose old car batteries to store excess energy for the national grid. The company aims to create one of the largest energy storage systems in the UK, supplying enough batteries to power 750 homes for a day by the end of the year. Used electric car batteries can be reused due to their high standards, and the program has the potential to expand in the future.

FutureCar Staff Aug 28, 2023 11:39 PM PT

JLR repurposes car batteries for grid power storage

The UK's largest carmaker, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), has unveiled plans to repurpose old car batteries for energy storage. The company aims to create one of the largest energy storage systems in the UK by using its used car batteries.

Battery storage is crucial for holding excess power during off-peak times when there is an imbalance between electricity supply and demand. By storing this excess power, it can be released and fed back into the grid when needed.

JLR's battery scheme aims to provide enough batteries to power 750 homes for a day, which is equivalent to 7.5 megawatt hours of energy. The company plans to achieve this by the end of the year.

According to JLR, electric car batteries can be reused due to their high standards and durability. Even when they fall below the stringent requirements of an electric vehicle, they still retain 70% to 80% residual capacity.

The used batteries will be stored in containers located at the Chelveston renewable energy park in Northamptonshire. JLR also mentioned the potential for expansion as more containers can be created to accommodate additional used batteries in the future.

JLR believes that the utilization of used batteries for energy storage could exceed 200 gigawatt-hours per year by 2030, with a global value of over $30 billion (£23.5 billion), as stated in a 2019 McKinsey report.

Energy storage is seen as a solution to the challenge of renewable electricity generation exceeding demand or the grid's capacity to handle the energy being transferred. By repurposing old car batteries, JLR is demonstrating that these batteries can have a second life even after they are no longer suitable for use in vehicles.

Colin Walker, the head of transport at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, emphasized the recyclability of EV batteries and their positive environmental impact compared to petrol cars. He highlighted that most of the metals in EV batteries can be recycled, with only 30kg being lost after recycling, whereas a petrol car irretrievably burns 17,000 liters of fuel by the end of its life.